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Hero Dynamight, in the hero industry, is a hero that is seen as conservative, dutiful, and pretty level headed. While it was no lie that he has an unsteady temper, he was still seen as a hero that was to be respected along with handsome features which led to much love and admiration from the public.

As sad as it may be—Dynamight, to the public, doesn't seem much a person who would enter or even be interested in any sort of relationships in the romance area.

As mentioned once in an interview starring him, he spoke quote unquote; "I couldn't care less about that shit. Relationships will hinder my fucking job." 

So it was definitely the opposite of "expected" when he posted on Twitter—revealing a secret, an underlying love that went unspoken for nobody knows how long.

Unspoken, until now, that is.

Dynamight. ✔ @gemgdynamight 3h ago

im in love. im so cooked

981.3K Likes          131.9K Shares 

Comments

sodapop @wordsbubbleuplike 

Replied to @gemgdynamight HUH ??? is this even real or is this a PR stunt... i thought u said relationships were a liability, and that it'll get in the way of ur work ?!?!

Ayane :3 @grahhluvayane

Replied to @gemgdynamight DID DYNAMIGHT GET HACKED?

skibidi slicers!! @sigmasigmaboi

Replied to @gemgdynamight Guess I'll tell my friend to stop being delusional now.

banshee! :0 @dekuenthusiast Shared @gemgdynamight's tweet. 3h ago

#dynamightbealoverboy i have so much theories about this! i (delusionally) came up with SO SO SO much possibilities regarding who Dynamight could be in love with. i mean, dynamight doesn't seem like the type to fall in love with just anyone, and i'm SURE he doesn't just bullcrap his standards. laying all my bets on this, he's definitely pining from afar for ... Read more.

Shared post:

 Dynamight. ✔ @gemgdynamight 

im in love. im so cooked

351 Likes          4 Shares

Hero Daily @dailyheronews 1h ago

Hero Dynamight: PINING FROM AFAR?

With Dynamight's confession to the public in regards of a secret love, there is no doubt that there are possibilities Hero Dynamight may be pining from afar! With Dynamight's high standards and tough heart, the public is to unravel who the person that turned his jagged heart into mush is yet to be! 

The public has created many different speculations—shall he be pining from afar for a fellow hero? It's not that hard to believe, for somebody must be so worthy they marched their way into Dynamight's interests!

#HeroDaily #Dynamight #GEMGDynamight #SecretLove

98.7K Likes          1.9K Shares

Comments

yumiikakaka @ilovecheeze1111

Replying to @dailyheronews laying out my bets, it's hero deku

Akiyo || COMMS OPEN @akidoesarts

Replying to @dailyheronews Dynamight caught lacking???? 

ingenium fangirl @obnoxiousherolover2

Replying to @dailyheronews could it b hero shouto? i mean, theyre rivals n dyna prolly only wnts the best of the best..

Katsuki was strolling through Musutafu, doing his daily patrols as part of the morning shift he takes. Patrolling wasn't anything special, really—he just wandered around, watching closely to catch any robbers or threats around the area. Stopping a few thieves and low class villains that were way too cocky for their low skill, he still sweated heavilly along with being under the sun all day.

Now it was four o' clock in the afternoon, and in a very long hour, his shift would gracefully come to an end.

He was on top of a high building, just watching the city below him as he sat by the edge with his PR manager relentlessly calling him on the phone. He eventually got pissed off and silenced his phone, as he was in the middle of patrol and he could deal with that shit later (He just didn't wanna listen to his PR manager nag). Plus, he was tired from walking around all day.

And even when he was taking small breaks, he still had to be observant—therefore he was carefully observing the streets, he watched for any sort of abnormalities or any potential threats. 

Boom! He heard a faint explosion as his ears twitched at the chatter and loud shrieks of the citizens. He jumped off the building, using his explosive quirk to glide through the air and make it a safe landing whilst being fast enough to catch the villain.

Rushing to the area of destruction, a convenience store was left in depression; windows left shattered and burnt, unequal pieces of shattered glass remained outside the building, along with products being wiped off the shelves.

Another robber. Katsuki thought as clicked his tongue. 

He looked around to find whoever caused the destruction, so he could beat his ass and turn him in to the police.

Catching somebody with a bandit-like mask with arms filled with chips and money, he rushed towards him with a heartfelt explosion. The robber's eyes quickly glinted in fear, reaching for his cargo pants' pockets. 

He pulled out a grenade, which he carelessly threw at the precious hero. Katsuki shot up in the air, far enough from the radius of the explosion caused by the grenade. 

"Grenades don't do shit to me, thought you knew that, scum!" The hero shouted with a grin on his face as he hovered in the air, practically nose diving onto the robber.

He pinned him down, grasping on his wrists tightly whilst he grabbed some sort of communication device from his pockets. "Hīrō's Convenience Store, Gappōri street. Need the police here to arrest this jackass. He was armed with grenades, I'm not sure if he has any other weapons."

As the sounds of the police's sirens neared the area, Katsuki tightened his grip on the robber that continued to flail right under his restraint. The built up audience cheered for their beloved hero, seeing how the hero totally had the guy defeated in just a matter of less than several minutes. The owner of the convenience store rushed to thank him, and Katsuki opted to accepting their gratitude with gritted teeth. He was still very bad with people.

Katsuki stood up once he saw the familiar color scheme of the police cars, letting the police do their job and finish the rest of the situation.

"Thank you, Dynamight." One police officer spoke, as the other cuffed the thief's wrists tightly. 

He pat down any dust that was caught on his hero costume. "It's my job."

"You're cuffing my wrists too hard, honey." The thief hissed with a masochistic grin on his face, licking his teeth. He glared at the police from the corner of his vision, having his entire body face the ground whilst the police arrested him.

The police officer tightened the cuffs around his wrists even more. "I'll tighten them even more if you complain."

Getting ready to leave the scene, he was quickly stopped by his biggest nightmare—well, not his biggest nightmare exactly, biggest nuisance. An entire mob of reporters as well as wannabe interviewers.

"Dynamight, Dynamight!" The press shouted in desperation to catch the hero's attention, chatter echoed the streets.

That was a lot more reporters than usual. Katsuki was usually stopped by at least four or five after stopping minor incidents, this one was at least two dozen—which was insane, by the way.

He didn't even stop anything major! That wasn't even a villain, it was just some jackass who used pathetic grenades to rob a store.

Microphones surrounded him, the cameramen were practically fighting each other to get a good spot for better capturing. He thought he would die with pride by fighting a big fucking villain, he never thought he would die by being mobbed by the press!

"Holy shiiii-eeeesh!" He quickly cut off on his language, seeing as tons of cameras were filming him. He didn't wanna lower his rank any lower because some kid cried about him swearing on camera.

"You guys really aren't letting me go now, are you?"

The area was quickly getting packed, and with the area getting packed, it was getting way too hot. He felt like he was under the scorching sun on the peak of summer! He felt disgusted with the sweaty reporters that kept rubbing their bodies on him.

"We just want to ask a few questions!" A brunette with her hair tied along with an obnoxious amount of red lipstick spoke out, holding a mic to his face.

And by a few, they definitely meant a lot. And Katsuki wasn't in the mood to answer questions from a hundred reporters one by one.

"Listen, I have an entire flock of villains to stop. My patrol can't go to waste because I'm entertaining your questions. Want an interview? Schedule one. I'm not answering shhhh-tuff toda-"

He turned away from the press, but even more surrounded him! There was practically no way out, unless he flew out—which wasn't ideal, cause his explosions can be a hazard and he didn't want to harm citizens, no matter how careless they can be.

"Shit, I got circled." he thought, rubbing the sweat from his forehead as he used his mask to act as a headband to push his blond hair away from his face.

Despite those very kind words, the press did not prevail. "Who is it you're in love with?!" 

They weren't even asking about the robbery. 

The hero raised a brow, immediately stopping in his tracks. He turned back towards the one who askee the particular question, holding himself back from throwing hands. "In love with? What type of bullcrap is that? I just stopped a potential threa-"

"We saw your post Hero Dynamight sir! Was it a PR stunt or was it really you?!"

His red eyes widened comically, opening his mouth to speak but nothing was coming out. 

Post? What post? There was absolutely no way the media would see any post like that in his official account. Did they get ahold of his private account? That's some crazy stalking there, cause Katsuki had a very precisely written username—which could be mistaken for completely anyone!

And even if they did find his private account, they'd still need to push in a request to follow—which Katsuki can easilly reject, having only a few friends accepted into his private account.

Katsuki looked around him, and the press just kept pooling around him. Random citizens gathered around the area with their phones, not exactly capturing the situation silently as it unveiled. 

"Fans have been speculating it's the new hero that is back and working in the hero field: Hero Deku. Is this tr-"

"Hold on, what post? Where was it posted?" He spoke sharply which immediately cut the reporter's sentence off, furrowing his brows as he menacingly walked over to her with his eyes narrowed.

"On Twitter, y-your official account, sir!"

.

.

.

Official account?

He almost never posted on his official account. He always left the posting crap to his assistants, to the person who was in charge of social media in his agency. He couldn't have posted on his main account! 

His face slowly painted itself with utmost horror as he grabbed his phone from his pocket with shaky hands, unwrapping the protective material from the casing. "I always make sure to be extra careful, what the fuck." he kept in his thoughts as he went on Twitter. The only instance where he would post shit by himself is by his private account. The Media team must've messed with his official one.

And there it was, posted... on his official account. His Media team didn't do this. Holy shit. He did this.

Dynamight. ✔ @gemgdynamight 4h ago

im in love. im so cooked

1.31M Likes          283.2K Shares 

"Holy shit." the words just slipped out of his mouth, still shook by the catastrophe he caused in the media. He was too caught up in the moment to care that he swore on camera. Who the fuck even cares? Everybody in Japan knew he had a sharp tongue. "That's why my PR manager kept calling. Holy shit I'm so fucking dead to my PR manager."

He scrolled further through Twitter, and holy shit were there a lot of posts about his mishap.

salmon fish @dynadekuinvestigator 1h ago

OKAY GUYS DYNAMIGHT IS CONFIRMED IN LOVE!!! AAAAA BETTING ALL MY CARDS I HOPE IT'S HERO DEKUUU:( he's allowed to love whoever he wants, but let me live my LIFE! #dynamightbealoverboy

[dynamight&dekuchibis.gif]

27.1K Likes          783 Shares

polyester sweater @thirdofdecember 2h ago

#DYNAMIGHT Okay let's just appreciate how BEAUTIFUL LOVE IS. We all expected that Dynamight wasn't the type to be engaged in relationships, let alone be in love, BUT HE IS. AND HE CONFIRMED IT HIMSELFFFF. Idc who hes in love with cuz its not my business to meddle, but I appreciate him for being in love bro it just made me believe in love even more

3.1K Likes          71 Shares

Madoka @magicaruinedmylife 1h ago

PLEASEEEE MY BFF IS LEGIT BAWLING HER EYES OUT RN CAUSE SOMEBODY TOOK HER BELOVED DYNAMIGHT'S HEART IDK WHAT TO DO. #DYNAMIGHT #dynamightbealoverboy

347 Likes        2 Shares

Tons of questions ran through his head, his heartbeat elevated, and he felt light from shame, nausea, and being hit with the pitiful realization that he couldn't deny it was his own fault. How did this incident even happen? Katsuki swore he was always extra careful whenever he switched accounts on social media. He made sure he was on the right one earlier when he posted that shit!

It had only been four hours since it was posted, and it's already gained a million likes! And there were a lot of shares too. Katsuki couldn't even grasp the severity of the situation, it was way too big, and it was getting way too out of hand. 

It would be too late to delete the post now, the dent on the media's still going to be there and he has a feeling this won't sink down any time soon...

What did he do wrong?

Lunch Break earlier ...

It was twelve o' clock in the noon, and Katsuki decided to drop by U.A. to keep Izuku company during his own lunch break.

Gliding through the air using the same explosion pattern he'd been using for more than a decade, it wasn't a very long trip to make considering the super incredible skill the hero had.

He walked through the gates just so casually, without staff batting an eye due to how used they are to this particular scene. Strolling through the same hallways he wandered through during three consecutive years of his highschool days, he looked for the correct classroom.

He opened the gigantic door to Class 1-A, making a very flamboyant and flashy entrance with a devious smirk plastered on his face, casually making his way over to the teacher's desk. 

Seats were left tidy and organized; the classroom was completely empty, asides from only him and Midoriya Izuku. 

He always visited Izuku, usually having nothing else to do during his lunch breaks and he felt excessively bored. It was basically a common occurence now—Hero Dynamight barges into Midoriya-sensei's classroom to mess with him, or to give him shit about the lunches he eats.

Izuku rolled his eyes as he proceeded to ignore the other, continuing to munch on his pathetic tuna onigiri.

"That's a pretty pathetic tuna onigiri even for you, Sensei. Can't even eat decent food without me cooking for you?"

"Visiting me again, Dynamight? Don't you see me enough? You should be thankful there aren't any students here. Oh no! The great and haaaandsome Dynamight is here, I might faint from his strikingly sharp jawline!" Izuku laughed whilst mocking his students with cheeks puffed up from eating his food, subconsciously complimenting the other which easily fed his ego.

"Also, my tuna onigiri isn't pathetic."

Katsuki stepped closer in his private space, narrowing his eyes as his face was just breaths away from the other. "I don't know if you're pathetic for commenting about my jawline, which, I agree is pretty sharp, or if you're fucking endearing for even making that observation." 

He smirked and stood up straight with his arms crossed in an attempt to look intimidating, eventually breaking into a laughing fit as he left the freckled man wordless. 

"It's not my observation." Izuku countered whilst sipping coffee from his All Might mug, meekly avoiding eye contact with the other man. A faint blush from embarrassment faded in on his face.

"Uh-huh. Sure. And pigs fly."

"Technically, with how quirks have been developing, it's probably possible to make a pig fl-"

"And you're still the same old creepy stalker, so I do believe that you made that observation." Katsuki cut him off, asserting his point.

"What? When was I ever a stalker?" The teacher furrowed his brows, feeling insulted that he could even be called a stalker—let alone creepy.

Katsuki shrugged and pointed at his All Might mug. "I don't know, look at all your shit dedicated to All Might. The notebooks! The man's practically your father, Izuku!"

"And he's still a cool guy!"

"He's practically a fucking shrimp!"

"A shrimp that's seven feet tall!" Izuku's eyes glistened with tears that threatened to fall from how violently he's been laughing.

"So you do agree you're a creepy stalker." Katsuki lightly slammed one hand on the desk, looking down at the other with a teasing smirk.

"I'm not!"

"You are."

"I'm just observant."

The hero narrowed his eyes. He was curious, but he knew better than to show it—so he challenged him. "Oh yeah? What else have you observed about me?" 

Izuku stared at his face with a focused look, squinting one eye as he examined his features.

Katsuki swallowed the built up saliva from the back of his throat, not knowing as to why he felt nervous under the boy's gaze. 

"Your..." the teacher trailed off, slowly standing up, subconsciously making his way closer to the hero's face.

With his heart speeding up, Katsuki's face felt like it was under flames. His entire body froze, unable to move.

"My... what?" Katsuki spoke without the gravel in his voice, a bead of sweat travelling from his temple to his cheek.

Izuku backed away with a smile, sitting down as he laid his chin on his palm. He looked up at the blond who he didn't know was mentally dysfunctional at the moment.

"You don't really see it, and I don't see it often either, but your eyes kind of turn from red to orange under sunlight. Kind of an amber, you know?"

Katsuki's eyes widened, slightly backing away with a slight flush on his face to stand up straight.

This is the guy that knows the most about me, more than anyone.

He didn't know if the air conditioning was shit or if his face felt a little hotter all of the sudden. He and Izuku had been friends for practically their entire lives, rivals back then, sure, but it was a way shorter period than how long their friendship had extended. 

Izuku had always been observant, Katsuki knew that. But simply knowing he was observant never made it any easier for Katsuki whenever he was told about details he, himself, never knew about himself. Izuku knew him like the back of his scarred hands.

He softly coughed on his hand, looking to the side. The hero shrugged, "Right. I-I knew that." 

He stuttered. For the first time since he was an adult.

He stuttered.

Izuku took a small sip out of his mug, before then connecting the contact between their eyes once more. "Did you, though?"

"I think that's enough nerd time for today. See you later, die before me and I'll kill you." he hurriedly spoke, swallowing the lump in his throat before he decided to leave the classroom.

Turning away, he was almost by the door. With a heartrate that was elevated by the tension that occured just now, he knew he couldn't look at the teacher one more time like this. He just needed to gain his composure, breathe in, and breathe out, and he'll be fine by later. Clutching his chest, he made sure to keep his heartrate in check. 

"Bye, Kacchan!" Izuku shouted from the empty classroom as the hero waved goodbye back to him whilst he was still turned away from him.

Leaving the school's campus, his lunch break wasn't over yet. It was still noon and his lunch break didn't end until one o' clock in the afternoon.

He blasted his way to chill on top of a nearby building. A building not too high, but not too close from the ground either. He could easilly leave the building once he spots a villain there. Laying down like a starfish on top of the uncomfortable concrete, he let the sun burn on top of him.

"You don't really see it, and I don't see it often either, but your eyes kind of turn from red to orange under sunlight. Kind of an amber, you know?"

He squinted at the sun, wondering if his ruby eyes looked close to amber.

His gauntlets were getting pretty heavy on his wrists, and he didn't have the need to use them as of the current, so he quickly clicked them off to remove some weight on his wrists and so it wouldn't feel so tight around his arms.

Sitting up straight, he grabbed his phone from his pocket and opened it to go on Twitter, to rant about his day on his account so he could at least let out some steam.

He logged out of his official account, because he wasn't that stupid, actually, he wasn't stupid at all thank you very much, to rant on his official account. It was dumb and unprofessional. 

The signal seemed pretty damn fucked and it took long to switch between accounts. He looked at the signal bar and saw that it was on one bar. Clicking his tongue, he restarted Twitter in the middle of switching accounts out of impatience. But when he refreshed, it still seemed to appear as his private account—so he didn't seem to have any problems.

Scrolling on his feed, he eventually saw a new post from the fanpage which he embarrassingly followed.

salmon fish @dynadekuinvestigator 23h ago

ok, so ik im delusional but so are the 200k peeps that follow me! we are officially the biggest dynadeku fanpage, and i couldnt feel any more lucky. so here, have sum dynadeku photos i snatched the past month! not all of them cuz im gatekeeping>:)

[attached 20 photos]

23.1K Likes          834 Shares

Comments

yipee  @ilovemybf0219

Replying to @dynadekuinvestigator CONGRATS ON 200K !! and how dare u gatekeep ... :(

salmon fish  @dynadekuinvestigator

Replying to @ilovemybf0219 THXXX and i had to :( IM SORRYYYYy

Chizuru  @sanadachizuru143

Replying to @dynadekuinvestigator More pics to my dynadeku folder!! [happy]

salmon fish  @dynadekuinvestigator

Replying to @sanadachizuru143 glad to play a part in your folder!

 

The explosive hero sat on the rooftop of a random building, not too high, but not too close to the ground either. His face was dusted with a light red as he scrolled through the photos attached in the post, eyebrows furrowed.

One picture caught his eye; in which he and Izuku sat side-by-side on the ledge of a building caught his eye, with them being covered by the shadows as the sun set just behind them, slivers of light squeezed their way through the space between them.

"What am I fucking doing, man? I'm such a loser." He thought to himself as he sighed and left the post.

Going to his profile, he continued to his primary plan: which was to do his daily report on his private account, to at least let his feelings steam out for a bit.

katsuki @fuckersgofuckoff 🔒 1m ago

im in love. im so cooked

0  Likes           0 Shares

Back to the press...

"Holy shit. My Twitter bugged." He swallowed the lump in his throat as his eyes pooled with dread, glancing at every reporter in his field of vision to make sure they were really... a lot.

He rubbed his nose bridge using his index finger and thumb. "I knew I shouldn't have used Twitter with shitty signal!"

He didn't even mean to say that out loud, but the world still kept spinning either way. It wasn't like they'd make theories about that shit. Or maybe they would, the media is really creepy.

"What are you implying, Dynamight?" A reported with blue hair chimed in, pointing the mic all over his private space.

More chatter surrounded him, and Katsuki immediately went back to regretting about even saying anything. He lit a small explosion between his palms as a small warning, which led the press to back away, leaving a bigger radius of space around him.

"What I'm implying is that my PR manager can handle this shit! Schedule a fucking interview next time, but I'm not gurranteeing that I'm gonna be attending!"

And then the space around him seemed enough for him to exit the situation he got himself into.

Katsuki shot up in the air using more explosions, which caused the press to duck for safety. He fleed from the scene until the unbearable chatter faded away as he covered bigger distances.

He decided that he'll just cut his patrol short, and it was already nearing five o' clock anyway. What're they gonna do? Kick him outta his own agency before they get kicked out first? 

Besides, his day was pretty tiring. Having the press swarm him, having the entire social media incident thing, he now saw that defeating cocky villains were indeed something he would prefer over everything else that crashed down on him. He headed back to his agency to at least shower and change outta his hero costume.

The hero practically slammed the door to his agency open.

"Woah!"

He slightly jumped as he nearly crashed bodies with a familiar red-head with the signature jagged teeth: Kirishima Eijiro, his friend throughout his U.A. days up until the present—who is also arguably also one of the best friends he has.

"Thought I'd see you here, great to know I was right! Sup, dude."

"Jeez, what a scare. I just got here." Katsuki furrowed his brows, unable to cross his arms due to the huge grenades attached to his costume. "What're you doing in my agency?"

Eijiro proceeded to laugh awkwardly before deciding to ask the big question, in which he slightly hesitated due to the probability that he might leave the agency with second degree burns. "I came to ask about the post thing. What happened, bro? You're usually very professional and careful on your main account." 

Yeah, he's usually very professional and careful on his main account because it wasn't him posting the shit on there. It was his Media team.

"It was an accident."

"An accident?"

"That shit was supposed to be on my private account. Twitter bugged and it posted on the official one."

Thankfully, though, Katsuki was probably too tired to murder the red-head.

Eijiro raised a brow, "Damn. How'd that happen?"

Katsuki sighed. Is he going to keep asking questions about this? He'd already gone through a shit day. "I had bad signal, I was in the middle of switching accounts and I restarted Twitter in the middle of it. The UI showed I was in my private account, I guess it glitched."

"Yikes, what're you going to do about it?"

"Let my PR manager handle it." The blond deadpanned, which earned a snort from his friend.

Eijirou patted his shoulder and spoke, "Alright, that's good to know. You do you, bro. I'll go now, that was pretty much all I came for. See you sometime!"

And then he left the agency.

Before closing the doors, the red-head said, "Take care dude! The press can be really obnoxious."

The explosive hero nodded, deciding to not say a word about it. That dumbass really came in just for the gossip, huh?

Katsuki sighed, walking over to the locker room. "Good thing my PR manager wasn't here." 

"Honey, I'm home." Katsuki called out as a joke, kicking his shoes off, placing them neatly beside his roommate's own pair.

Izuku shouted with a voice that was muffled inside his room. "You're back early." 

"Yeah, didn't want the press to kill me. Sorry I didn't get to cook your lunch today, I had to leave early for a case."

"It's okay, I read your note! Hold on..."

That's right, Katsuki and Izuku were roommates in their apartment.

They decided to be roommates after a while because Izuku was complaining about feeling lonely, and Katsuki was the only friend he'd feel comfortable living under the same roof with. With the childhood friends thing and how they grew close in the past few years, it just seemed reasonable. Part of it was to cut on the rent and save money, though. They've lived together shortly after graduation.

Katsuki walked over to Izuku's door. "You eat yet?"

"Not yet! I'm finalizing some things. I'm almost finished, I just need to do one more student!" The freckled boy shouted once more again.

"Stupid workaholic. I'm gonna cook dinner, and when I tell you to fucking eat, you're gonna fucking eat!"

"Okay!"

The blond marched over to the kitchen, deciding to go into something a bit simpler this time around. Fried eggs with runny yolks paired with fried rice sounded great, and he knew Izuku would appreciate it. Well, he better. It was also a simple dish, so he would be able to cook it in no time. 

He placed the pan on the stove and poured oil, preparing the plates and utensils whilst he waited for the pan to heat. Cracking two eggs open, he quickly laid them out on the pan, not letting them simmer for too long to have a good consistency. After the eggs were done, he laid them out on the plates and sprinkled them with salt and pepper.

Katsuki heard a door creek open, and found that izuku was making his way over to the kitchen. He walked over next to Kacchan and peered over on the food he was cooking. Katsuki placed butter on the pan, then he left the pan on low heat. He minced garlic and chives whilst he waited for the butter to fully melt, then he could add the rice and turn up the heat.

"The only dish I could do is instant ramen." Izuku commented, laughing whilst he carefully observed Katsuki make fried rice.

"That's not a dish, dumbass." He retorted while mixing the rice with the butter, before then sliding in the garlic and the chives.

"Exactly." The freckled man agreed, which earned a stifle of laughter from the other.

Izuku grabbed his chopsticks, sitting comfortably by their dining table in front of the blond.  "This looks really good, Kacchan!" 

Katsuki scoffed whilst chewing on his food, making sure to swallow before speaking. "Everything I make is good."

For a while, they just ate in silence and heard nothing else other than the faint sounds of chewing, as well as drinking out of their glasses of water.

Usually, Izuku was quite the chatterbox whenever they were eating at the dinner table—always throwing in questions about work, talking about some students in the classes he holds, or generally just useless things that Katsuki somehow gets interested in. It wasn't like he was at the point where he'd admit it to Izuku, though.

"I saw a video of you from earlier. On the hero blog." The freckled man chimed in after a moment of silence, with food still inside his mouth as he obnoxiously chewed.

He swallowed the food in his mouth before speaking once more. "You were cool out there, Kacchan. Beating up a robber in under a minute?" He added, softly laughing.

"Seems like you were the only one that cared about that." Katsuki muttered as he poked on his rice using his chopsticks, his head resting on his hand.

"What do you mean?"

Katsuki laughed, recalling the memory that pissed him off by 200% when he was still in that situation. "Got mobbed by the press, there were at least two dozen there or more. It was insane."

After Izuku finished his plate, he arranged his chopsticks neatly and finished his glass of water.

"So, you're in love?" He laughed softly once more, glancing at the boy that was sitting just across him. Almost looking hurt, but it was a mixture of confusion and... something unexplainable.

Katsuki froze in his tracks, holding in his breath for absolutely no reason. He sighed, downing the last of his water. "You saw that too, huh?"

"Pretty hard not to when it's... well, it's up on the trending list. Kiyoko-san must be furious." Izuku joked, poking fun at his friend. 

"Who's that again?"

"Your PR manager?"

"Right, I knew that."

"Uh-huh. Sure. And pigs fly." The freckled boy quoted the exact words Kacchan spoke to him the same day.

They sat once more in silence, both running out of ways to exit the now very awkward conversation and situation. Katsuki arranged both of their dishes, walking over back to the kitchen to place them by the sink. 

"Well. Quirks have been evolving... so it's pretty damn possible for a pig to fly." The blond quoted him back, a faint blush dusted his face with his back turned on the other.

Izuku giggled, but the laughter eventually died out.

It was a weird atmosphere, both didn't quite have any ideas as to what to say to the other—a little uncomfortable to sit in, even. Both of them didn't push on the topic any more, since Katsuki seemed a little tense at the sudden mention; Izuku didn't want him to feel weirded out around him, but he would be lying to himself if he didn't feel off about the situation either.

Katsuki never turned back to look at him since he brought up the conversation.

Izuku bit his lip and chimed in, taking a gamble. Still sitting uncomfortably by their dining table, he nervously spoke, "I just... don't get why you didn't tell me first."

"Tell you what?"

"That you were in love. I mean, I'm your best friend, aren't I? And we live together... so, uh. Yeah. I don't see why not?"

Katsuki stayed silent at that, without a response.

There were a lot of reasons why he couldn't tell him, one of the primary reasons being that: he's the one who's got him acting like a loser over. It wasn't worth it to lose a friendship they had worked on for many years to rebuild, just because Katsuki spoke about his unresolved feelings.

Izuku didn't deserve that shit, Katsuki knew that. And he didn't want him to reel in guilt for the rest of his life just because he couldn't reciprocate somebody else's feelings. He didn't want him to feel like it was a responsibility to return whatever he was feeling.

"Wait! I'm not—I'm not saying that you were obligated to!" He added, waving his hands frantically in hopes that the other wouldn't get the wrong idea. "I guess... I don't know, is it something I did that made you feel like you can't talk to me about something like this?"

"It's not like that."

The blond muttered without Izuku hearing, remaining with his back turned on him, still standing tensely by the sink with dishes unwashed. He washed his hands and dried them by the cloth hung up on the cabinet.

He turned back to look at him from the sink to over the dining table just across their kitchen, "You never did anything. It's on me."

Izuku still sat on his chair, not moving a muscle other than fiddling with his fingers. "Why'd you tell the public before me?"

"Truthfully speaking, I didn't mean to." Katsuki answered whilst leaning on the kitchen counter, he shrugged and spoke once more. "It was an accident."

"An accident?" He raised a brow.

"Yeah. Posted on the wrong account." 

Wrong account? Izuku kept in his thoughts, curious. But he didn't push any more questions. Kacchan must've had a long day.

The green-haired man slowly nodded, releasing the breath he didn't even know he was holding. He stood up from where he was sitting to go wash the dishes. Turning the sink on, he teased, "So, who is it?"

Red eyes widened as he was caught offguard, accidentally choking on his own spit. He coughed violently, grasping the kitchen counter with strength. Unwanted images of stupid freckles, viridian eyes, and stupid green hair appeared in his mind, which led to him not only embarrassingly choking on nothing, but also blushing furiously.

"S-Sorry! You seem a little... I don't know, uncomfortable? You don't have to tell me! I was just... teasing..?" Izuku laughed uncomfortably, scrubbing the soap-filled sponge on their dishes. "You must love them a lot, huh?"

Katsuki drank from a glass of water, looking down at the kitchen counter, before locking contact with viridian eyes. A faint blush dusted his cheeks and the tip of his nose. That was all Izuku had to see to understand.

"As expected. It's pretty hard to march your way into the great Dynamight's heart!" Izuku laughed uncomfortably, looking down at the dishes he'd been washing.

The blond looked back at the dishes Izuku was working on, seeing a huge lump of foam he'd formed after scrubbing the dishes in a circular motion for too much. His mind was definitely out of the gutter.

Scooping a piece of foam, he smothered it all over on his curly and matted green hair.

Izuku shot a look at him, furrowing his brows. He cupped water in his palms and splashed it on the other. 

"Focus on washing the dishes, dipshit!" Katsuki laughed, placing his hands on the running water to smother it all over the green haired boy's face.

Izuku wiped his face using the sleeve of his t-shirt that plainly said Jacket (he thought it was funny) and retorted, "Not if you don't stop, jerk!"

By the time they were done, no dishes were successfully washed, an unecessary amount of water was wasted, foam from the soap was all over their hair, and their shirts were stained with droplets ranging from small to big.

Both of them were laughing, faces drenched with soapy water. Katsuki pushed two of his fingers on Izuku's forehead and spoke, "Mind you I'm going to change in my room because some jackass got my shirt wet."

He walked away, and heard Izuku shout from the kitchen: "Get me a shirt from my room, too!"

"Fuck you!" He shouted back, throwing in a middle finger directed at him. Izuku laughed loudly as he returned to washing the dishes.

Marching his way all over to his room, he closed the door behind him without needing to lock it. He knew Izuku was the same polite bastard that always knocked before entering a room. 

He grabbed a change of clothes from his drawer and laid them out on his bed. He sat on the floor beside his bed for a while, before then grabbing his phone to go on Twitter.

At least then, their signal was good and Katsuki wouldn't mess with the log-in process. 

katsuki @fuckersgofuckoff 🔒 1m ago

i think i'll keep the post up.

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Chapter Text

Dynamight. ✔ @gemgdynamight 19h ago

im in love. im so cooked

39.9M Likes          2.8M Shares

Red Riot ✔ @manlyriot 2h ago

Imagine being in love lol

271.2K Likes          19.3K Shares

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Pinky 🎀 ✔ @pinkqueenpinky

Replying to @manlyriot what does this mean are u breaking up w me 😞

Red Riot ✔ @manlyriot

Replying to @pinkqueenpinky WAIT BABY NOOO I WAS JUST TEASING MY BRO :(

Chargebolt!!! ✔ @zapdochargebolt

Replying to @manlyriot There's a slur for people like you

It was a warm saturday. The sunlight bled through Katsuki's curtains and cast a faint glow on his face; he wondered how long that sunlight was burning on him, and his mind trailed to how much those fancy window blinds costed. He'll be sure to make that investment in the near future.

Saturdays were great. He never had to wake up with obnoxious alarms—which he also hated so much, and there was also an option where he could choose to never leave bed.

But seeing how he had a roommate that was extremely clumsy and can't take care of himself for shit, he jumped out of bed nonetheless and carefully folded his blanket, flattening his pillows on the way as well. He walked towards his bathroom to do his bathroom duties and brush his teeth. 

Looking at the mirror in front of him, Katsuki squeezed a generous glob of minty toothpaste on the bristles of his toothbrush. Just as he was about to brush his teeth and kill the damn germs, his ears twitched as it heard a weirdly loud noise that seemed like it was caused by his roommate because of course, why the fuck wouldn't it be?

Brushing his teeth at a quickened pace, he spat out the toothpaste and gargled mouthwash. He also made sure to clean the toothpaste remnants on his sink because he wasn't a nasty individual, unlike the guy he strangely enough, lives with. Katsuki stormed out of his bathroom and out of his room, only to find Midoriya Izuku doing strange shit in the kitchen once more.

The last time Katsuki found Izuku inside the kitchen, he accidentally left the food for too long and they were left with a piece of charcoal they wouldnt even be using, as well as good food that was completely wasted.

He probably should've banned him from using the kitchen ever again, but he would be lying to himself if he said he didn't find it funny.

"What the fuck, Izuku." 

"Hi."

He walked over to the green-haired man, who was currently blending fruits in a blender with a loosely tied apron. Izuku offered a meek smile, raising both of his hands as he backed away from the blender as if it was a crime scene.

"Kacchan, in my defense—"

"In your defense, you clearly don't know how to use a fucking blender at all!" Katsuki cut him off, opening the blender to grab a whole, but very mangled apple. He looked at the apple in disgust, and then back at the person who committed the crime with the same amount of disgust in his eyes.

"Did you even slice this shit?"

Izuku's eyes comically widened as if he learned something new. "You have to slice those?"

.

.

.

They stared at each other in silence.

How can somebody be so smart, analytic, and observant at the same time as well as be the most stupid person on earth? Katsuki also didn't know.

The blond's mouth opened to form a word, but Izuku beat him to it. "Well when you usually put bananas in a blender it's okay to not slice them up too much."

Katsuki saw red.

And now he suddenly felt like he was the one getting insulted instead of the graphically murdered apple. He immediately grabbed the cutting board that was hanging on their wall, grabbing the knife as well as placing a new apple on the cutting board with agility to slice into pieces. Slicing the apple into eight pieces, he showed them to Izuku by practically shoving it right to his face. Izuku backed away slowly.

"Izuku, bananas are soft. Apples aren't."

"Oh."

"Yeah, oh." Katsuki mocked him with a straight face. "What were you even making?"

"I was trying to be a good roommate and—I guess I tried making a fruit smoothie for you?" Izuku awkwardly laughed, pointing at the milk carton he's already opened for what he was trying to make.

Visually, Katsuki's face looked nonchalant and snobby as ever. Take a trip into his mind, yikes, he was a furious blushing mess.

"Anytime you try to do so, it's always a disaster." The blond muttered, turning away from him to focus on cleaning the counter and to hide his face that was embarrassingly blushing. He thought it was sweet that Izuku tried to make something for him, and now he was hiding the fact that his heart was leaping halfway up his throat.

"Right, I'm sorry." Izuku spoke, voice small.

If his heart was beating in a good way earlier, it had now dropped to a not very good way. The funny twists in his stomach from earlier were now twists of nausea.

Turning to look back at Izuku, he was fiddling with his fingers whilst blankly staring at the ground. Katsuki knew that Izuku felt upset by what he said, and oh did he feel upset at himself too.

Panicking about what he should do, he decided it was going to be a simple and straightforward.

"Izuku, I-"

"I won't touch the kitchen again! I'm so sorry it was definitely my fault this time, I should've thought a little bit more before-"

And of course he's still the same apologetic dumbass. Katsuki pinched his freckled cheeks and stretched them, leading a jolt of surprise on Izuku's end.

"I was kidding." Katsuki stated whilst letting go of his hold on Izuku's face, leading to Izuku rising his hands to his cheeks in pain. His skin definitely stretched from that.

Even with all the character development he's gone through, Katsuki is still too stubborn to say the two simple words 'I'm sorry'. 

Izuku softly giggled, understanding the man. "It's okay, it was on me."

Katsuki aggressively ruffled the boy's messy head of hair. Izuku closed his eyes at the contact, slowly peeking using the other. The blond's lips were uplifted into a slight smile, flicking his fingers onto the boy's forehead. 

"Stop letting people step all over you."

Izuku nodded, keeping that in mind.

Katsuki returned to slicing up more fruits to place in the blender. 

In the kitchen, Izuku had opened a rectangular window just above the sink, between two cupboards to let some fresh air in. With the sun rising, light came with it. Where Katsuki stood, the light hit him. Not too warm, but it cast a faint yet noticeable glow. 

He couldn't help but admire the way the man looked under the glow of natural light—how the sun glowed above him as if it were a natural spotlight, with Katsuki being the star and Izuku being the only audience. It felt weird to be seeing all this for free.

The color of his ash-blond hair reflected on his black shirt, almost as if it was radiating; as if it was its own light source. His eyes—glimmering from a striking red to a golden orange, Izuku couldn't help but admire as they went from sharp rubies to soft amber.

He looks like the sun. The freckled boy kept in his thoughts, smiling to himself. 

He truly did. He chuckled, thinking of Katsuki's blond spikes as sun beams.

"I can't believe I'm just... I'm just so casually your roommate." He blurted out, pointing at himself.

Katsuki raised a brow, grabbing the fruits he'd sliced to place them inside the blender. He closed the blender, not pressing the button to operate it just yet. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean—well, I look kind of plain, don't I?"

Katsuki, oh how he wanted to deny that so badly.

"How so?"

Izuku's breath hitched. He looked at the floor, then back at his friend. "You look..."

The blond stared back at the green-haired man as if he was trying to uncover his deepest secrets, even looking a little puzzled. And so Izuku was hit by a sudden nervousness that circulated all over his body, making his legs feel weak.

The sunlight was still there, letting Katsuki glow under its rays of light—reminding him of the fact that he, indeed, lives with somebody so close to perfect in a messy world filled with imperfectness.

Katsuki's a star, Izuku's the ground. All he could do is watch him from above, unable to reach him.

"... like a model." He sighed in defeat, eventually saying the thoughts that begged to be released from his mind out loud.

He'd already acknowledged and accepted the fact that he found Katsuki attractive. But it couldn't be anything more than that, right?

The racing in his heart was probably normal.

Except he hadn't felt like that towards anybody else.

Katsuki had done modelling before, in the course of his career as a hero—Izuku knew that, as he's seen some of his pictures in magazines or posts, some even printed on billboards. There were pictures of him that were professionally taken by high quality cameras, editing, and even with makeup.

And yet it was during some random morning that he'd actually seen the beauty the man held. On some random morning, where they were bantering on and about by the kitchen counter. On some random morning, where he'd coincidentally stood where the sunlight was destined to fall upon.

"I don't think you're plain." Katsuki said, effectively cutting him off his trance as he placed the used utensils and cutting board by the sink.

Izuku laughed awkwardly and spoke out of pure modesty, "You don't have to lie to make me feel better."

The other looked at him as if he said something wrong, and Izuku just glanced back with pure confusion in his eyes.

Katsuki shrugged it off, running the tap water to wash the utensils they'd used. "I like your freckles." 

Viridian eyes slightly widened, looking at his faint reflection from their kitchen counter. He brought his hand up to touch the side of his face that had quite a few freckles, the other side of his face held a rough and jagged yet precise scar.

"An eight when you're not being a menace." The blond spoke quietly something that probably wasn't meant to be heard.

The freckled man raised a brow at his friend who was now leaning on the counter. "What?"

Katsuki stood up straight, positioning himself to stand in front of the boy, towering over him even though he was just a little over three inches taller.

"You're an eight when you're not being a menace." 

His eyes widened, heartbeat elevating for some unspecified reason. A feeling he couldn't exactly lay his finger on, unknown, and yet familiar.

It was a huge thing for Katsuki to say, seeing as he'd always thrown backhanded insults towards everybody he knew. Especially towards Izuku, so this was something he found to be quite out of the blue.

Deciding to play it off as a joke, he laughed and questioned, "Just an eight? Why not a ten?"

Katsuki pinched the boy's nose. "You can't be one 'cause I'm the ten."

The green-haired boy took a while to response, freezing as if he was a computer stuck loading. After catching up, he laughed softly. "Sure, Kacchan."

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

Izuku ignored him with a smile on his face, turning the blender on which caused a loud and unpleasant noise—enough to tune down the noise Katsuki was making.

"Oi!" Katsuki elbowed him.

"Sorry, Kacchan! Can't hear you!" He laughed, speaking at a loud volume to overcome the noise of the blender.

"Hey Izuku, I have something for you in my pocket."

"What is it?"

He pulled out his middle finger.

katsuki 🔒 @fuckersgofuckoff 11m ago

im too prideful for this

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minah 🔒 @myprivluvvv

Replying to @fuckersgofuckoff isn't pride a laundry detergent

katsuki 🔒 @fuckersgofuckoff

Replying to @myprivluvvv thats tide dumbass

DENKSKSK 🔒 @chargephone111

Replying to @fuckersgofuckoff Pride as in gay right

katsuki 🔒 @fuckersgofuckoff

Replying to @chargephone111 message me right now

DENKSKSK 🔒 @chargephone111

Replying to @fuckersgofuckoff WHY AM I BLOCKED

It was now an hour after noon. Though it was a saturday, Katsuki still found himself in the middle of his PR manager's office, wearing a very unprofessional choice of clothes: the same black shirt he'd worn earlier during morning, and some random pair of baggy jeans he'd found inside his closet.

He sat on a couch in the color of a dark magenta, sitting just in front of his Kiyoko, his PR manager. She'd worn a very professional choice of clothes, much in contrast to him—her black hair was tied into a nice bun, her bangs were hairsprayed so they wouldn't stick out of their position. An ironed suit with a very white button-up paired with a black tie, she also wore a medium-length skirt to finish the outfit off along with loafers and black tights.

Katsuki looked at her and looked back at himself. Kiyoko also eyed him and his very fashionable outfit choice.

She grabbed her coffee from the glass table between them and slowly sipped out of it, leaving no lipstick stains on the edge of the mug. "Dynamight-san."

"PR manager."

Kiyoko sighed, sitting up straight. "I'm sure you know pretty well why I've called you here."

"No, no I don't." Katsuki obviously denied, dismissively waving his hand in the air.

His PR manager glared at him, grabbing her phone which was situated between them. She opened Twitter and showed him the post through her phone.

Dynamight. ✔ @gemgdynamight 1d ago

i just MIGHT be in love.

45.1M Likes          3.2M Shares

A bit too much likes and shares for his liking. Good news is, he'd probably rise in the ranks as a hero, bad news is, he had a gained lot of unecessary popularity. A lot more than he wanted.

"You've gained quite the popularity, Dynamight-san." She jokingly said in a sarcastic phone, softly placing her phone down on the glass table.

Katsuki winced. "Yep."

Kiyoko sighed, crossing her hands on top of her lap. "I'm all in for helping you gain popularity, Dynamight-san—that's the purpose of my job. But please, do not attempt any public stunts without my approval."

He'd expected this talk would come very soon. It was unwanted, but it was expected.

Though he'd been avoiding talking about it all day just like the day before, he knew he couldn't avoid it forever when he finally saw the first call of the day from his PR manager. He didn't want to be a fucking coward!

He wondered if it was the right time to speak out his mind. "It was a fucking accident."

"An accident?"

"Yes." Katsuki groaned, leaning his head back on the couch.

His PR Manager raised a brow. "And how did that exactly happen?"

"I came to ask about the post thing. What happened, bro? You're usually very professional and careful on your main account." 

Yeah, he's usually very professional and careful on his main account because it wasn't him posting the shit on there. It was his Media team.

"It was an accident."

"An accident?"

"That shit was supposed to be on my private account. Twitter bugged and it posted on the official one."

Izuku still sat on his chair, not moving a muscle other than fiddling with his fingers. "Why'd you tell the public before me?"

"Truthfully speaking, I didn't mean to." Katsuki answered whilst leaning on the kitchen counter, he shrugged and spoke once more. "It was an accident."

"An accident?" He raised a brow.

"Yeah. Posted on the wrong account."

"Why does everybody ask me this?"

His PR Manager stared at him, confused. "What?"

"Nothing. I posted on the wrong account, that's all."

Katsuki was now sitting on their couch in the middle of their living room.

He'd been reading a shoujo manga he seemed to take an interest in for the past two hours. Wearing his metal framed reading glasses, he finished around two volumes and was about to go for his third, until Izuku walked in and sat beside him going unnoticed.

"Kimi ni Todoke?" he asked, which led the other to jump a little.

"No." Katsuki deadpanned.

Izuku slid a little closer, silently reading the manga with him. It wasn't his type of manga, as he usually went for mangas that revolved around heroic themes and mangas that involved solving crimes for thrills. 

But he knew that Katsuki liked reading Shoujo mangas, having seen him read them occassionally during his free time. He's tried some himself, even reading Kaguya Sama: Love is war, which was the blond's favorite read out of all of them. 

They even have a shelf by their living room, just sitting beside their television. Half of it was decked in Shoujo mangas, and the other half were decked in Shounen mangas—typically mangas that had something to do with All Might.

Katsuki just let him sit by him, unbothered. He was a little too deep in reading his manga. He didn't really mind.

He'd been a lot more comfortable with Izuku, especially because he's been his roommate for over five years. Izuku knows a lot about him, and he couldn't care less whether he knows he reads Shoujo mangas or not. Hell, Izuku even knows where he keeps his boxers. There was nothing to be afraid of, not a single judgmental bone lied inside that boy.

Izuku was practically attached to him by his side. His body heat, the texture of his clothes, the tangled mess he calls hair that occasionally brushes by the side of Katsuki's face, Katsuki could feel all of that.

He didn't really care all that much about it even with the unsorted life worth of feelings still lingering in there, since he'd been a lot more comfortable with him over the years they've lived with each other inside their apartment.

Katsuki centered the manga so that both of them could read without his private space getting invaded.

"Kazehaya's very handsome." Izuku commented, looking at a specific panel where Kazehaya was talking to his friends. 

"All Shoujo protagonists are." The blond responded, pushing his glasses whilst it slid off his nosebridge. Izuku watched him silently as he did so.

"What a nerd."

Katsuki closed the manga with a loud clap, and in contrast he placed it gently on their tiny coffee table to make sure there won't be damages. "What the fuck? And I'm the one you call a nerd?"

Izuku rose his pointer finger while he held it beside his face and smiled with his teeth to mock the boy. 

Katsuki furrowed his brows, finally taking his glasses off. "Fucking hypocrite! Talk to me when you don't have over ten nerd book volumes over All Might alone." He turned away from him.

The freckled boy tugged on his arm, but he just wouldn't budge. "Kacchan!"

Still tugging on his arm, Katsuki still wouldn't respond to anything he said. Sighing in defeat, Izuku stopped tugging and crossed his arms. "I have NINE analysis notebooks on All Might." 

Katsuki turned back to look at him, stifling a laugh. Letting out a chortle, Izuku resorted to lighly punching him by the left side of his chest. "You're horrid."

He continued to laugh, even though his friend wasn't laughing with him. Probably 'cause he was the one being laughed at. 

"Also, Ashido-san has a get-together this evening."

"Say what now?"

"Kacchan? Are you done dressing up yet?" Izuku asked from the other side of the boy's room. He'd knocked at least four times now, and he still wasn't hearing anything from the blond.

Knocking once more (he was more of loudly thumping on the door), he furrowed his brows and shouted, "That's it, I'm coming in!"

Entering his room, he saw that the clothes Katsuki was supposed to wear were laid neatly on his bed, and nobody was there. He walked deeper in the room, and heard a glass door slide from another nearby room.

"Oh shit." He couldn't avoid the vulgar language in his mind any longer.

But he couldn't exit the room in time.

The bathroom door clicked open, and Izuku was now met with a very clean Katsuki who was also very naked other than the towel that wrapped around his waist, essentially covering his private parts.

"KACCHAN!" Izuku screamed in surprise whilst his face was slowly painted with horror and embarrassment, still at the door with his hands up for some reason.

Katsuki gazed at him with a blank look on his face, glancing at what he was wearing then at himself. 

"What the fuck, Izuku? What if I walked outside naked?" He laughed in a situation that was not very laughable, water dripping from his ash blond hair. 

"Well you didn't, so—you know what, bye!" The freckled boy left the room and slammed the door close, having no intentions to continue the conversation any longer.

He leaned on the door, not knowing what to do with his heart that was currently slamming inside his chest. Izuku was breathing in fast rates by this point, a nervous feeling strummed through every inch of his body, rendering his mind useless for any other thoughts. 

"What a weirdo." He heard from the muffled voice inside the room. 

Shouting back, he responded, "I can still hear you!"

After calming down, he remained with his back on the door, still leaning on it. "What was I thinking?!" He thought to himself, shakily raising his other hand to feel his face. Warmth immediately travelled from his cheek to his hand, and he swore the air conditioning was broken because it felt so hot inside their apartment.

Images of Katsuki fresh out of the shower, with that damn towel and his hair drenched, they flooded Izuku's brain and there was no drain. His toned body, the rhythm the water droplets went with when thet dripped off of his spikey hair, and—

The door behind him moved, and before he could react, he knew he was tumbling over.

His back fell right onto Katsuki, who caught him. 

"Woah, woah, woah. Damn, what the hell were you doing at my door? Eavesdropping whilst I changed clothes?" The blond joked. He wore a dark orange turtleneck with baggy pants that were pretty washed out.

Izuku kept his composure in check and stood right back up, patting himself to fix his clothes. Standing in front of him, he caught up on what Katsuki had just said. His face stained with a violent blush, opening his mouth to speak but never being able to utter anything that was actually understandable. "I—you, hey!"

Because even if he'd gone through hell throughout all his life, Izuku was still a pretty damned nerd.

Katsuki teased, laughing softly. "I didn't take you for a pervert."

Izuku stayed silent at that, too shy to make any actual eye contact.

"... you're not an actual pervert, are you?" 

Izuku's face darkened with disgust, jaw left hanging with the flabbergasting accusation. "What?! I'm not! I was just leaning on the door."

The blond raised a brow and spoke whilst sounding unsure, "Right..."

They stood still for a while, without uttering anything else. Katsuki took the initiative and started walking away, letting his key dangle loudly on purpose to signify to Izuku that they have to get to the car. Being the same kid he was over twenty years ago, Izuku still trailed after him. 

Only this time, he walked beside him instead of walking behind him.

Once they got to the car parking lots and found Katsuki's car, he opened the door to the passenger's seat for Izuku to enter. 

Something felt like it was twisting, as if it was knotting in Izuku's stomach. Something he couldn't place his thoughts on, unfamiliar yet something he felt he'd been finding. Something he didn't know whether it was negative or positive, but he felt like it was a latter of both.

It had been a feeling that he, admittedly, had been reeling upon for a while. Not too long ago, but not too recent either. He always thought it was nothing, therefore he never sat on the reverie of thoughts that surrounded the subject. But this time...

He slowly got inside the car and sat on the passenger's seat, and Katsuki closed the door behind him.

The blond sat on the driver's seat and locked the car doors. Starting the car, he simply spoke, "Radio's on."

Izuku smiled, choosing to play songs at a low volume so that they could still have conversations inside the car. 

Mina invited both of their friend groups for a little get-together, something that usually happens twice a month. To catch up with work, talk about other things they've picked up, new interns, and to drink. Izuku knew that Katsuki always says he "doesn't want to attend", but he's pretty sure what he says is never true—seeing how he looks at least a little happier whenever he sees his friends from highschool.

Usually there's booze, bottles of alcohol, but Izuku doesn't think he's ever seen Katsuki drink before. Perhaps it's because he's a person that invests in self care, or he just doesn't like the general idea of headaches from hangovers.

"I have a press conference next week." Katsuki brought up whilst driving, one hand kept on the steering wheel to carefully drive. He didn't want to damage his new porsche, who'd even want that?

Izuku raised a brow, confusion rising. "For what?"

The blond shrugged. "The Twitter post. They demand answers, whether it's going to affect my work or not."

Right, Izuku had totally forgot. 

"That's stupid." Izuku joked, "You're still doing great out there."

"Dunno... maybe it is distracting me." Katsuki chuckled, speaking out of sarcasm. The freckled boy decided to not respond after that, being unable to find any proper responses. He doesn't know if that was the actual reason himself. The blond made a sharp turn on the road which, in turn, scared the living life out of the green-headed boy. He chuckled and asked, "You alright?"

"Probably not." And the worst thing was, he didn't even know whether he was joking or not.

dezuku 🔒 @smallmightcrashinout 3m ago

WHY is this happening to me

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dezuku 🔒  @smallmightcrashinout

Replying to @smallmightcrashinout i dont know it's just been kind of odd......

dezuku 🔒 @smallmightcrashinout

Replying to @smallmightcrashinout ive been feeling this for a long time now but it's only now that i thought "wow, this might NOT be normal"

dezuku 🔒  @smallmightcrashinout

Replying to @smallmightcrashinout how do you know when you're in LOVE love???

"What the fuck're you doing?" Katsuki spoke whilst backing the car up slowly, as if he was parking it. Izuku slightly jumped and his phone nearly fell out of his grip.

Izuku laughed nervously. "We're here already?"

"Yeah."

Chapter Text

"Bakugo! Midoriya! Thought you guys wouldn't be coming for a sec." Mina immediately greeted them with an inviting grin, spreading her arms out for a quick embrace.

Mina had rented a karaoke booth for their friends that evening.

The room was dimly lit, with no other light source other than the huge television and the orange LED lights that were hung up on the edges where the wall meets the ceiling—illuminating a faint, orange glow inside of the space.

There was a box of alcohol that was not-so-neatly laid out on the rectangular table that was fit between two couches, presumably ordered by Denki who gwts wasted every so often.

Colorless, white text were plastered all over the television screen with a dark scenery of needles for the background—for somebody that was about to sing, pretty obvious about that.

Their friends were happily chatting with each other, empty glasses of alcohol messilly placed all around the rectangular table. While they weren't exactly wasted yet, Katsuki saw from the look of Denki's eyes, which were already drowsy and for some reason frog blinking, he knew that they'd be a bunch of drunk idiots by an hour.

Well, it was only Denki who looked not so far from completely wasted—his friends were still functioning completely normal, having only taken about one or two drinks themselves.

Katsuki, on the other hand, doesn't drink even on such occasions. He wouldn't drink even if his life depended on it. He'd rather have a fully functioning liver and a healthy lifestyle rather than giving all of that up for a bit of fun.

Izuku on the other hand wasn't much of a drinker as well, but he'd go for a drink or two occasionally—although he doesn't go as far as getting wasted. Whenever he does, it's usually out of his control.

"It's good to see you too, Ashido." Izuku returned her greetings, leaning in for a soft hug.

Katsuki chose to say nothing and instead looked at her with a scowl glued to his face. Mina replied to him with a tiny laugh, punching him lightly on the right side of his chest playfully.

The quick intro for the chosen song stopped, and the white lyrics quickly were filled from left to right with color, and Katsuki soon noticed that Ochako was holding the microphone.

An English song started playing. Izuku, to an extent, understood English—so he still had a pretty great idea of what the song is.

red means i love you by madds buckley

"Unusual—They say strange fascination, infatuation", She softly sung with the microphone just about the right distance from her mouth.

They both weren't exactly sure about what song Ochako was singing—feeling a sense of unfamiliarity but a slight tinge of excitement, the thrill of listening to a song blind. Well, Izuku was pretty sure he was the only one that felt that. Katsuki felt nothing.

Izuku poked at Katsuki's shoulder. "Come on, Kacchan. Let's sit." he pointed at a vacant space on one of the couches, just right beside Shoto.

Katsuki rolled his eyes and retorted, "Don't tell me what to do." but nonetheless followed the boy's direction anyway. Izuku responded to his attitude with a tiny laugh.

They walked towards the vacant space, and the heterochromic-eyed man moved a little so they could have a bit more room to sit. Izuku meekly smiled at him whilst Katsuki's face remained expressionless.

"Hello, Midoriya. Hello, Bakugo. It's good to see you two." Shoto greeted them in a monotonous voice, sitting politely as if he was a typical middleschool class nerd. Izuku sweetly greeted him back whilst Katsuki just had the same old scowl plastered on his face.

"A lunatic,

Call me what suits your taste, I just wanna taste 

And I've always heard it's what's inside that counts"

Izuku raised a brow, feeling some sort of familiarity in the situation of the song Ochako was singing.

Just as he was about to open his mouth to comment about it, Mina chimed in with a quick yet quiet, "Let her have her moment." and cut him off from what he was going to say.

"CAUSE MY INSIDES ARE REEEEDDDDD!

AND YOURS ARE TOOOOOOOO!!"

The brunette, who was singing softly, was now screaming the lyrics in a way that overcame the loudness of the speakers itself. They wondered whether she overcame the soundproof walls that prevented disrupting other karaoke sessions.

Izuku quickly nodded at Mina's words, yet he turned over to Katsuki. He tugged on the end of his long sleeved turtleneck, leaning closer to indicate he was going to whisper something.

Katsuki furrowed his brows, confused about what the man was doing.

He leaned his head closer towards Izuku, hesitant. Izuku started whispering, though it was inaudible due to the loud volume of the speakers and the person who was holding the microphone.

"What? I can't fucking hear you."

"This song is a little personal, don't you think?" Izuku softly giggled whilst whispering at Katsuki's ear. He pointed at his friend who was now singing in a very emotional state of mind.

Katsuki turned to look at Ochako, stifling a laugh. "Holy shit, I definitely see it."

"AND THE RED ON MY FACEEEE!

IS MATCHING YOOUUUU!!" 

Ochako was practically screaming rather than singing now, holding the microphone using one hand, holding a bottle of alcohol using the other. She was a very lightweight person—everybody in their class knew that. Any dosage of alcohol can and will make her drunk.

He looked back at Izuku from the side, who had now backed away slightly after relaying his message to the blond.

Katsuki leaned closer to whisper something back whilst snarkling, "We've got to record this shit. She's drunk as fuck."

"AND GOODNESS YOU'RE BLEEDING,

Izuku silently laughed, watching as Katsuki pulled out his phone out of his pocket. He swiped his screen to get to the camera and Izuku commented out of nowhere, "It's always got something to do with blondes."

Blondes. Katsuki dumbfoundedly repeated in his mind.

WHAT A WONDERFUL FEEELIINGGG,

The camera app, for a split second, was set on the front camera, and for a second, Katsuki stood there staring at himself.

He stared as he saw the vague luminescence of orange reflecting on his face, countering the darkness they were bathing in. The orange luminosity nearly made his blond hair seem orange, his spikes seeming a bit reflective and bright.

YOU'RE DOWN AND YOU'RE PLEADING, MY HEAD IS JUST REELING,"

He turned on the back camera and directed it at the brunette, who was now singing her heart out louder than she had ever sung before. Izuku giggled as he leaned closer to watch the view from the phone's screen.

The close proximity was doing things to Katsuki mentally and also physically. He hoped nobody sees that.

"THE REEEDDDD MEAANSSS I LOOVEEE YOOUUU!!"

"This is gold." Shoto spoke monotonously, an emotionless expression plastered on his face. He'd been trying to catch up with modern humor, but Izuku and Katsuki just looked at him with concern on his face. 

"Todoroki..."

Needless to say, Katsuki was now laughing very loudly at Shoto's face. 

They had been inside the karaoke booth for a while. Katsuki and Izuku arrived at the place around 8 o' clock in the evening, though when he'd checked his phone it was nearly midnight. The rest of their friends were goofing on and about, with the effect of alcohol turning their brain into a liquid mush. Nearly everybody was over-the-top drunk, except for Katsuki, Izuku, and Shoto—who is actually a pretty well-composed person, seeing as he'd refused every offer of alcohol.

Izuku had only consumed one shot of alcohol over the course of the evening, which was due to Ochako shoving the glass in his mouth for some reason. 

He was talking to Katsuki on the couch, who had both of his feet rested on the table, until a very drunk Kaminari Denki approached them—in which, both feared for their brains that were about to be affected by how fried Denki's brain was.

"Midoriya, d'you wanna hava go at singin'?" Denki drunkenly offered, handing him the microphone using one hand, whilst the other hand was shakily holding one glass of alcohol.

Underneath those spikes of ash blond, Katsuki, though he wasn't exactly peering at the interaction, silently judged Denki for the amount of alcohol he had consumed in just one night. That's got to be unhealthy—why do people destroy their livers for temporary fun and entertainment? Katsuki also didn't know.

Katsuki finally turned his head to look at the interaction that was happening just beside him.

"Y'should siiiing, Midoriya!"

Izuku awkwardly laughed, waving his hands refusingly. "Ah, I really don't think I should." Replied the freckled boy towards his drunk friend,.

But before he knew it, Denki had already shoved the microphone in his palm and pulled him to stand up straight. The drunk boy rotated him so his body was facing the television, and to his horror, the song's intro had already started and his friends were looking at him expectingly.

Katsuki knew how much of a people pleaser Izuku was. Ever since their childhood, ever since his birth. Izuku has this sort of self-sacrificial mindset, where he tends to not care whether he's doing something out of his own will—but as long as that shit makes somebody happy, he'd be happy to drink water that had rusty nails that were marinating in it for a month. He knew that boy wouldn't refuse a thing from anybody. 

"Oi, don't force the nerd to do shit." Katsuki warned the other blond, who was only giggling sloppily under the effect of alcohol.

"He hasn't sung 'et!" Denki said in his defense, which was a very stupid reason. He drank the rest of the liquid inside the glass bottle that he was holding in his left hand.

"And? If he wanted to, he would've earlier."

Katsuki wondered if Denki's throat ever started to go numb from the amount of beer he'd consumed over the course of the evening. His own throat was starting to go numb for him.

Katsuki scoffed and rolled his eyes at his ignorant friend, before lightly tapping on Izuku's back. "You know you don't have to, right?" He asked in more of an assuring tone, making sure he wasn't doing things out of his comfort zone.

Thankfully, the intro was a bit long and the song hadn't started yet.

"Insulting of you to think I can't do this." Izuku playfully replied with a smile so reassuring.

Katsuki's heart skipped a beat for a split second at Izuku's smile, before clicking his tongue, raising both of his hands defensively. "Fine, you fucking people pleaser."

l-o-v-e by rocco

"Love of my life, where have you been all this time? How long I've been waiting, for someone worth saving" Izuku sang softly against the microphone, voice too shaky, hesitant, and quiet to overcome the loudness of the karaoke's speakers. 

Katsuki was still against Izuku singing, most likely because he knew it was out of his own free will and Denki was forcing him because he barely had the willpower to refuse—but he would be lying to himself if he didn't find his singing amusing.

"It looks like you’ve taken my heart,

Nobody was paying attention at this point, all too drunk to even see straight. 

It’s quite a surprise, you're still here right by my side"

Nobody except Katsuki, who was still there—listening to every word, every syllable Izuku pronounced heistantly against the microphone, face illuminated by the light that the television projector emitted. Izuku fiddled with the wire of the microphone, nervously singing whilst everybody was doing their own things.

He stared—not in a creepy way, but because he felt a little confused; puzzled.

He stared, wondering why every bit of noise other than Izuku's singing was filtered out.

He stared, wondering what about the man made his heart become the warm fire during the winter—wondering what were in his eyes that made him feel like he was lost at times—lost, but never wanting to be found nor returned, lost, but wanting to travel deeper until he was in a point of no return.

He stared, looking for an answer behind those green eyes that probably had no thoughts behind them.

And most importantly—he stared at Midoriya izuku. Not at Midoriya-sensei, not at Hero Deku, but at Midoriya Izuku.

Whenever he thought he was done sinking, only to find out he was sinking at an accelerated speed, sinking faster than he'd ever been before. He sunk lower and lower, having no platform to land on to stop his fall.

A feeling of longing, wanting to stand by his side—Katsuki denied all of that. The twisting feeling in his stomach? He said it was nausea. It was nothing else other than the feeling whenever he saw the sickening face that he just so coincidentally can't get enough of.

But he couldn't run away.

The twisting feeling was always there, lingering whenever he was in close proximity with the man.

The twisting feeling was there whenever he received the same old texts that he was so eager to open for some particular reason, in which the answer subconsciously always at the back of his mind, but he never chose to believe it. 

The twisting feeling was always there whenever he thought of the man—pacing around in his room, wondering why his mind operated like that.

Midoriya Izuku was never hard to fall for. 

It was him making things harder for himself.

Perhaps he'd been in love for longer than he'd thought.

He looked back at him, his heart aching in an uncomfortable way, but at the same time, he didn't want to get rid of the ache.

As he looked back, Izuku was already looking right back him with an unsure expression as he sung.

And before Katsuki knew it, the world started to slow down. Because he saw and heard nothing else other than the man that hesitantly sung against a microphone that was used by many people before him.

His heart squeezed and tightened, making simply breathing become hard for him to do.

Feeling lightheaded with the environment, he abruptly stood up whilst clutching his chest, running towards the door. He didn't know why he did, his body just moved before his mind could ever think.

"If you take my hand, there might be chance I’ll ask you to dance— Kacchan?" Izuku put a halt to his singing, a tiny gut feeling telling his brain that something was wrong.

He dropped the microphone at the couch's vacant space. It made a thud sound through impact, made louder due to the speakers.

Turning around to run for the door whilst avoiding the multiple obstacle courses like glasses and bottles splattered all over the floor, nonetheless, he still stepped on one slippery cushion that was unluckily positioned by the door and he immediately fell face first, face hitting the artifical wood. He felt like something was bleeding, but he quickly regained composure and turned the doorknob.

Shoto chimed in a question and asked, "Midoriya, where are you going?" he inquired with concern.

With his back turned towards him, Izuku simply replied, "I'm going out."

Leaving without uttering any more words, Izuku looked left and right—in hopes of seeing the familliar blonde tuft of spikes just around the corners.

But he couldn't—all he saw were empty hallways, the silence so loud it made him feel a little bit more nervous. He turned left and ran for the flight of stairs, worried and hoping to ask the receptionist if they've seen anything.

With thoughts that were racing at more than two-hundred kilometers per second, he swallowed the saliva that was building up at the back of his throat. Why did he leave so early? And why so suddenly? 

Izuku was worried, of course he'd be.

Katsuki never abruptly leaves without a reason—did he sense a villain attack? Did he feel nauseous? If he actually felt nauseous, he would've told Izuku that he was going to head out for the bathroom. And he never consumed any alcohol—so why? Did he feel sick?

He stopped at the foot of the flight of stairs to release the breath he didn't even know he was holding whilst running. Holding onto the railways, he took even breaths and started walking down the steps at a faster speed than usual, though careful not to slip.

Albeit an attempt at taking precaution was there whilst bolting down the stairs, he nearly tripped on his foot just by the last step he took. Grasping the smooth wooden railing by his side, he nearly saved himself from messing up his face even more. 

He took a turn, looking for the receptionist, but he immediately caught a glint of familiar blond spikes by the other side of the clear glass doors. He walked, walked, then his walking suddenly escalated to jogging, and then into running. He quickly opened the glass doors, leaving them swinging after his exit, calling for the boy.

"Wait for me, Kacchan!" Izuku called after his childhood friend who was now in the middle of the nearly empty parking lot, halting his walking.

Katsuki's head shot up as the familiar nickname of his was being called, and he turned to look behind him. His ruby eyes stared wide, his face flushed red for an unknown reason that only Katsuki knew for himself.

The blond stared right back him, breathing heavily as he froze in his tracks.

They were now standing in front of each other, a little more than a ten meter distance between the two of them.

Izuku was slightly crouched down, hands on his knees for support whilst breathing heavily from running.

He looked at him, confused and a little baffled. A red hue dusted the tips of  Katsuki's ears, his nose, and his cheeks. Lips slightly parted in surprise as if he was going to say something, but nothing actually came out. He just stood still, hesitating whether he should actually say something.

It was already late at night, nearly midnight. If they'd just looked at the sky above, the stars glistened and twinkled without a care in the world—the full moon radiating such beauty, casting a faint glow of moonlight just on top of them, basking them in a faint darkness other than the light source that the building behind Izuku emitted.

"Wait for... me..." Izuku repeated under his breath as he breathed heavily, seeing the blond that was standing in front of him from afar.

He walked closer until walking turned to jogging, slowly lessening the distance set between them.

Katsuki's eyes squinted and stared at his face in confusion. Izuku felt nervous all of a sudden and opened his mouth to say something, until Katsuki grabbed his face by the chin and questioned, "Why are you bleeding from the nose?"

Izuku was surprised at the sudden movement, and the close proximity between him and the blond's face.

He wiped the blood off his nose using his sleeve. Izuku peered his eyes to the left and truthfully answered, "Nn... I tripped on a pillow and my face landed on a door."

"That's so fuckin' dumb." Katsuki commented, letting go of the hold he had on the boy. "Also, that's gonna be hard to wash out." He added.

Izuku nodded. "I'll do the laundry!"

"Sure you will, just after about fifty questions asking me what every button does."

"What? No—you're keeping me off track. Anyway, why'd you leave? I was worried, you left without a reason—and so abruptly too! One second I was singing, and then you were gone, I don't get it! Was I that bad that I caused you to leave? Were you feeling sick? Nauseous? How come you'd be nauseous when you never touched any booze? I—"

Izuku was quickly cut off after he felt a rough, calloused hand on his mouth. Katsuki had shoved his hand on Izuku's mouth. "I'm not answering you if you're muttering." 

"And it's not your singing, dumbass." Katsuki felt the need to add.

Izuku relentlessly nodded, until Katsuki removed the hand he kept on the boy's mouth.

The freckled man remained silent, looking at him in an expecting manner. Expecting an answer, expecting an explanation. 

Katsuki sighed and gave in, jumping into an explanation. "It was hot in there and I felt sick. Place reeked of alcohol." he lied with gritted teeth. Sort of. He did feel sick, but it wasn't because of the karaoke booth or anything.

Izuku hesitantly nodded, trying to understand.

Though with remaining curiosity, he decided to push in a final question—to answer his confusions. "Sick? You never took any alcohol, though?" Izuku asked, face relaxing into a neutral, yet concerned expression.

Katsuki ignored his question and walked towards a nearby street lamp, sitting by a curb nearby. The softness in his eyes flickered to look at Izuku, expecting him to sit beside him.

Ignoring the faint acceleration of his heartbeat, he walked over slowly and sat beside the blond, folding both of his legs up until his knees touched his chin.

Izuku never had an explanation as to why the softness in those eyes made his throat lurch out in excitement—the familiar, exhilarating feeling that cycles throughout his entire body as if it had mixed into his bloodstream.

"I don't really like parties." Katsuki clarified, placing one of his hands on the concrete pavement, acting as a pillar for his body as he folded one of his knees in, his other arm resting on it. "They're too loud."

The freckled boy slowly nodded, understanding. He understood why Katsuki didn't like parties—being there nearly his entire life, he would be stupid if he didn't know that fact.

He knew that Katsuki rathered silent places—places where people are more likely to leave him alone, without getting too much attention garnered to himself. Despite his personality being brash and somewhat loud, parties were never it for him.

It was fascinating to see Katsuki like that—sometimes Izuku thinks he's lucky to have Katsuki trust him enough to show him his vulnerable sides. And he truly is, because Katsuki doesn't just show that part of him to just anybody. Izuku knew that.

Knowing that part was something he can keep all to himself made him feel good in a way that he can't explain.

But simply knowing that fact never made it any easier for Izuku—the stirring in his stomach, the heat that rises on his face, the injection of adrenaline, and the intoxicating feeling that lingers a lot longer than it's supposed to whenever he gets caught staring, it was an unknown feeling with unknown causes that was pretty hard to deal with every waking hour.

He watched as Katsuki continued to ramble on about why he doesn't favor parties, just enjoying the rare occurence where Katsuki actually does all the talking.

Katsuki was looking at the sky above, and though Izuku was curious to look aswell, his attention was drawn elsewhere—unable to look at anything else. He stared at Katsuki, in awe about how perfect he looked even without meaning to.

The streetlight, illuminating orange light, basked Katsuki's face in a strange glow that, in turn, made his hair look like it was radiating its own light.

His face had a soft hue of yellow-orange light dashed all over where the light was able to hit, and only then was Izuku able to see his side view in perfect view without any distractions.

The blond always looked pretty under any sort of lights—gleaming even under the darkest of nights.

Katsuki was known for his intimidating, sharp red eyes which looked like they could cut in just one gaze, but what Izuku's noticed is that they hint at a tinge of innocence in them once they were rested. Whilst they were still intimidating, they were notably softer whenever he wasn't scowling.

A part of him that Izuku hopes he has to himself.

Izuku didn't know where the strange feeling of euphoria started floating around whenever he spent time with his childhood friend—all of their friendly banters, watching him silently as he showed him a side that he never showed anybody in fear of being seen as vulnerable.

Watching him from afar in silence was good enough for him.

It was only recently when he figured out that these feelings were probably never just a fluke.

But Izuku wanted to be selfish, just for tonight. He wanted to be only person to see these sides of him. He wanted a piece of him that only he could have.

The streetlight flickered faintly.

He didn't know how long he'd been staring until his eyes met finally with fiery, red eyes, staring back without saying a word.

Izuku's eyes widened, seeing as he'd been caught. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing ever really came out.

"So, what do you think, Izuku?" Katsuki asked, the gruffiness in his voice completely fading out. Izuku didn't know why he felt really nervous; it wasn't like it was the first time he'd been caught staring.

"Co-Could you repeat the question?" He laughed awkwardly, which led to Katsuki raising a brow at him.

Katsuki narrowed his eyes, suspicion flooding his brain. He opened his mouth and spoke, "You're usually attentive as fuck." 

"A-Ah. Must be the alcohol." Izuku replied, laughing awkwardly as he avoided eye contact. He couldn't look at him when he knew that those red eyes were glaring at him, as if piecing him together. He was freaking out internally.

It was silent, and for a while, Izuku thought that was where their conversation ended. 

That was until Katsuki spoke once more, pushing a banter. "I didn't take you for a lightweight. You took one fucking shot, which was forced by round face."

Izuku stole a quick glance, before directing his gaze at the concrete pavement. He pulled his legs that were folded up to his chin tighter, unable to calm the rage and fury his heart was going through.

His eyes narrowed, frustrated. He knew that his face was definitely red from his ears til his nose. His brows furrowed as he bit his lip to prevent any more responses—fearing that if he opened his mouth, something wrong would come out. Something that could ruin everything they've ever had, and will ever have.

Katsuki just glanced at him silently, a little confuzzled—seeing as the boy was doing things that were quite unexplainable.

Katsuki wanted to be mad, to tell him that he should man up and tell him whatever the fuck was going inside his mind. But the more he stole glances of his face, his hands that were shaky for some odd reason, he just couldn't find himself in any position to get mad at Izuku.

Soon, glancing turned into blankly staring. And blankly staring turned into gazing with a meaning to piece together the mystery of Midoriya Izuku, as they swam under the moonlight and the occasional kisses the air grants their faces under the night breeze. 

"You look cold." Katsuki stated, more of a general affirmation rather than a clarification.

Izuku slowly turned his head to look at him, being met with the same piercing gaze that's always been there since childhood. His mouth slightly parted, struggling to find a response.

The blond stood up, patting his jeans for any dust that got hooked in from sitting on the bare, concrete curb. He stretched for a bit, before turning towards Izuku, who was still sitting down. He looked down at him.

"Let's get back to the car, it's getting late anyway." He said, holding out his hand palm-side out. Izuku's eyes seemed to light up with a little bit more life, seeing the boy's hand held out just for him. Katsuki didn't know why he held his hand out either.

The freckled man hesitantly took his hand, legs wobbly from the shift in weight after he stood up. Dark spots and a grain of colors surrounded his vision for a while, until they finally faded out and his normal vision was quickly returned.

Upon seeing his hand still on Katsuki's, he quickly retracted it with the same burning sensation in his face and the elated feeling that surrounded his heart and stomach.

The walk back towards the car was silent, short, and awkward, but nothing was ever perfect with them.

Sometimes Izuku would catch Katsuki glancing at him with an unexplainable look on his face—indifference, probably—but sometimes it was Izuku that was caught stealing glances.

They walked side by side so close, their shoulders bumped occasionally as they walked. He wondered what was that electrifying feeling that surged through his body whenever his shoulder made contact with Katsuki's.

He'll know someday, but right now, he was okay with it being a mystery.

Hero Daily @dailyheronews 1h ago

Hero Deku: PINING FROM AFAR?

While the public already had suspicions about Hero Deku potentially being enraptured inside of a romantic pickle—it wasn't for the faint hearted to realize that there is a possibility that Hero Dynamight was involved in his romantic struggles, Hero Dynamight being his love interest!

Videographer Akihito Shota, a very lucky Paparazzi, had surprised all of us as he captured a video capturing Hero Deku and Hero Dynamight from afar just in front of Sayaka Karaoke Booths, Musutafu; In which fans speculated that Hero Deku's gazes were "looks of love". 

#HeroDaily #Deku #GEMGDynamight #Love

[07150420.PNG]

29.3k Likes          1.2k Shares

Chapter Text

"We're home!" Izuku enthusiastically called to nobody, lightly pressing on the light switch to brighten the dark setting. His eyes squinted in reaction to the sudden change of light and ambience in the environment.

Katsuki eyed him from the side as he watched his roommate kick off his loose coat, leaving the piece of leather on the floor.

"Where will you place your coat?" The blond scolded, flicking his fingers between the other's forehead. Izuku slightly flinched at the contact, and looked at the coat that lied mindlessly on their floor.

Katsuki sighed. "Not on the damn floor." he clarified, pointing at the wooden coat rack situated beside their door. 

"Okay, I'll hang my coat on the coat rack, Mr. Dynamight." Izuku teased, crouching to pick up the piece of leather before then hanging it upon one of the arms of their wooden coat rack.

The freckled man looked back at his friend, who was already staring back at him with arms crossed and a raised brow. Katsuki let out a deep sigh and stretched his arms.

"I'm heading to bed. 'Night." The blond yawned, heading to the direction of his room. Izuku watched as the small bit of light emitting from the crack of the closed door eventually turned off.

He stared at Katsuki's door for a while in silence, breathing slowly as he felt his heart yearn for something, whilst his mind continued to tell him that nothing was out of place. But something felt missing.

He didn't know why the world suddenly started to spin slower, why his heart started beatng faster, he wasn't even familiar as to when this feeling started. It just happened, and he's just been trying to live with it.

Izuku sighed, grabbing his phone out of his pocket. It was already one in the morning, probably time for him to sleep.

"Goodnight." he spoke quietly, before turning on his heels to close the main lights of their apartment, and then entering his room for a good night's rest.

Izuku couldn't easily get his good night's rest, though. He laid on his bed in a starfish-like position, a change of clothes still not met. He turned to his side, hugging his All Might stuffed toy and shut his eyes, attempting to sleep.

He re-opened his eyes, succumbing to the fact that he, indeed, can't find rest. Having nothing else to do, he opened his phone which was tucked neatly inside the pocket of his jeans. The freckled man scrolled mindlessly through social media apps: Youtube, Tiktok, Instagram,

and then Twitter.

Hero Daily @dailyheronews 2h ago

Hero Deku: PINING FROM AFAR?

While the public already had suspicions about Hero Deku potentially being enraptured inside of a romantic pickle—it wasn't for the faint hearted to realize that there is a possibility that Hero Dynamight was involved in his romantic struggles, Hero Dynamight being his love interest!

Videographer Akihito Shota, a very lucky Paparazzi, had surprised all of us as he captured a video capturing Hero Deku and Hero Dynamight from afar just in front of Sayaka Karaoke Booths, Musutafu; In which fans speculated that Hero Deku's gazes were "looks of love".

[07150420.PNG]

#HeroDaily #Deku #GEMGDynamight #Love

64.1k Likes          3.9k Shares

Izuku could feel the tips of his ears go red, the familiar thumping against his heart coming back, racing once more. He felt the nauseating feeling that curled throughout his stomach, and felt the feeling of ocean waves as if his body was floating admist a body of water, light and weightless. 

Swallowing the saliva that built at the back of his throat, with his heart thumping, he nervously pressed the PNG that came with the post. He unnoticingly closed his eyes.

Noticing this, he peeked using one eye, and saw a beautifully shot picture of him staring deep into Katsuki, a slight smile on his face as his eyes stared softly. Katsuki's back was about against the camera, the luminescence of the streetlight shone upon Izuku's face. 

Still staring at the photo, Izuku buried his nose in his pillow, feeling the warmth from the tip of his ears travel to his face and his neck—the nauseating feeling in his stomach worsening.

"It's not a look of love... I look at Kacchan like that all the time..." Izuku commented, his voice muffled against the softness of his pillow. He didn't know he was subconsciously curling into himself until he saw his legs neatly tucked, reaching his abdomen. 

I look at Kacchan like that all the time... Izuku thought back at the words he mumbled out loud, suddenly blushing furiously. He curled in on himself even more, his heart practically beating out of his chest. 

The freckled boy kicked at his bed, feeling the urge to hollow out his stomach. He buried his face fully into his pillow, finding it concerningly hard to breathe. Turning his head to the side so he could get some air, he tried to ignore the overwhelming feeling that his heart was giving him. Because what was he thinking?!

He felt like he was floating, despite laying on the comfort of his own bed. Every part of his body felt like it was giddy, toe-curling. And he didn't know why.

Needless to say, he couldn't sleep that easily that night. And when he finally did, he was holding the warmth of his phone over his heart.

The morning Izuku woke up, it was the crack-ass of dawn and there was a huge pounding on the other side of his door. Groaning, he sloppily left his bed and ran his scarred hands through his unruly mess of hair. He grabbed his phone to check the time,

5:02 A.M.

It was a time a tad bit too early for Izuku to wake up during the weekends—plus, the fact that he went to sleep at one in the morning. He's barely accomplished the ideal amount of sleep during the weekdays, all he wants is to go back to sleep.

Sitting back on the comfort of his bed, he planned to just dive right back into bed. That was until Katsuki shouted his name. 

"IZUKU!" he heard Katsuki's muffled call from the other side of his door.

Stumbling and half-asleep, Izuku yawned and stretched his limbs before walking towards his door. He slowly turned the doorknob, and didn't know whether he was surprised or not to see a fully dressed Katsuki, looking at him as if he was disgusted.

"Ka...cchan?" Izuku spoke, yawning. He looked at him with half-lidded eyes. "Why're you waking me up..." he stretched, "... at five in the morning?" and continued.

Katsuki crouched down to grab a bumpy beige backpack that was set on the floor just beside him. Izuku didn't even notice it. "Hiking. You and I."

He gazed vacantly into nothing, too sleepy to even catch up to anything.

"Oi!" The blond smacked him in the head, which awakened him to his senses. At least it temporarily woke him up.

"Ah—sorry, what was that?" Izuku laughed meekly, running his left hand through his hair. Katsuki glared at his lack of self-awareness in the mornings, but nonetheless sighed and repeated what he said previously. "Hiking, You and I."

Hiking, it's something that Katsuki does at least every other month. It's an activity the blond does primarily with only himself, Izuku's never actually seen him invite anybody along with him—even more so himself. 

A little more awake than earlier, Izuku simply nodded at the sudden invitation. He knew that Katsuki doesn't simply invite just anyone during these types of things, how could he reject his offer? And knowing Izuku's people pleasing self, he wouldn't have rejected it anyway.

"Okay." Izuku responded in simplicity, nodding. "I'll go put on some clothes—"

"And go shower, you're still wearing the same clothes from yesterday. Did you not change clothes last night?"

Izuku looked down at what he was wearing. Needless to say, he was still wearing the same pair of baggy jeans and the shirt from yesterday. He yawned, shrugging it off as he's about to hit the showers anyway. "Guess I forgot. Okay, see you..." he stretched, "... when I'm done getting ready."

Katsuki hummed in agreement, turning away to leave and wait for the boy.

Izuku stood in front of the shower, muscles relaxing upon the sensation of the warm water hitting his skin. He closed his eyes as he scrubbed soap on his entire body.

The boy had always liked and appreciated showers—cold or warm. Aside from the cleanliness, he'd always found a sort of serenity in them. Aside from his body being cleaned, his mind, as well, is being emptied.

The warm shower cast mist on the glass sliding door, water droplets that sometimes race each other to the bottom. He glided his hands through his hair as he applied conditioner, and imagined...

Kacchan?!

Izuku's eyes shot open as he dreaded looking down at the lower part of his body. 

5:43 A.M.

"Are you done yet?!" Katsuki exclaimed through the other side of Izuku's door. He was hopping his Jorts in, and hastefully replied, "Nearly!" and tripped. "Oof!" Katsuki heard, and rolled his eyes. "I'm okay!" Izuku chimed. "I didn't ask!" The blond retorted in a loud tone of voice. 

Opening the door at a fast enough speed to slap air onto Katsuki's face, Izuku was done getting ready. The blond analyzed what he was wearing: Jorts that were cut just below his knees, a loose khaki button-up a few sizes bigger than his own, its sleeves reaching just above his elbows. A few buttons were undone, letting a sharp v-cut travel all the way to a few inches below his collarbone. He wore the same, signature red shoes over black socks that were ankle-length.

Izuku analyzed what Katsuki was wearing aswell, now being able to think straight unlike earlier in the morning. He wore loosely fitted jeans, along with a black shirt layered under a loose brown cardigan that Izuku had never seen him wear before. He wore a brown pair of shoes that looked like loafers, along with black socks as well.

Katsuki hummed, "You look like crap." turning away to walk off. Izuku's eyes widened slightly, feeling warmth by the tips of his ears. He doesn't even know why.

Izuku trailed after him, fiddling with his scarred hands.  "Do I have to bring anything?" he asked, popping out from behind him.

He stood beside the blond who held the same large beige backpack from earlier in the morning. 

"No, you wouldn't know what to bring." Katsuki deadpanned and half-insulted him, smacking Izuku's bangs out of his round face. His green waves flopped back to their position, still unruly even after showering. "I already have everything we need in here." he slapped the beige backpack, which looked pretty packed. 

"Snacks?"

"Got them."

"Water?"

"It's all in here."

"What if we get lost?"

"I know how to navigate."

"Portable charge-"

"Are you fucken' doubting my ability to pack?! I'll have you know I'm the best packer and hiker out there." Katsuki snapped, without any actual bite in his words. 

"No, sir!" Izuku shot back, complying.

The pro-hero stared at the green haired boy with a look in his face, arms crossed. Izuku, feeling nervous, swallowed the built up saliva at the back of his throat. Katsuki huffed, and slung the heavy backpack on his shoulder as if it was nothing. He shoved his other hand in his pockets, and sharply turned away.

"C'mon, then. Better head to the car."

"Okay!"

Izuku stared out the window rolled down halfway as he sat on the passenger seat. The air from outside blew cool kisses upon his face, his hair waved with the rhythm of the wind. He smiled against the faint sunlight, taking in the morning air.

Katsuki peeked at him from the side, only his dominant hand held the steering wheel. He couldn't see much apart from Izuku's hair as he was looking out the window, but he could see part of his reflection from the part of the window that wasn't rolled down.

The freckled boy looked away from the window, still smiling. He turned to look at his friend that was driving. He was shocked, to say the least, when he found that the blond was already looking at him from the side. 

Katsuki's eyes flicked back to the road. Izuku never knew how much he longed for somebody to look at him until that moment.

He wondered what the electrifying feeling that surged through his body was when their eyes met in pure coincidence.

Katsuki coughed on his other hand. Izuku noticed that he looked a tad bit more red in the face, his eyes more narrowed than usual. He continued to analyze him, and his body language changed by a tiny bit. The freckled boy wondered what all that was about.

"We're still pretty far away." Katsuki spoke, avoiding eye contact. Izuku looked back at the halfway-rolled down window, and pressed the button to fully roll it down for more air. "I don't mind, the view's beautiful here, Kacchan."

Bzz. Katsuki's phone buzzed with a notification, presumably a text.

"Fuckin' extras, I'm driving over here..." he muttered, pulling his phone out of his pocket using his vacant hand. "Could you reply to this for me, Izuku?" Katsuki handed the phone to him.

"A-Ah, yeah." Izuku grabbed the phone using two hands, and opened it.

Katsuki's lockscreen was of them two on the blond's 26th birthday—Katsuki looking at Izuku with a genuine smile as he wiped the excess frosting off the green-haired boy's face. He remembered there being more people in the background of the original picture... Why were they cropped out?

Izuku felt a nauseous sensation in his stomach once more, but in more of a... good way? Though, what makes this ironic, is that he doesn't remember ever being prone to car sickness until that moment.

He'd already known the passcode to Katsuki's phone, so he didn't find the need to ask about that anymore. He didn't wanna disrupt his driving.

Izuku looked at his messages, and saw that Eijiro was the one that texted.

Kirishitma Eijiro 🖕🖕 

Sat at 7:23PM

Bakugo Kacchan

>> ehat

kirishitma eijiro 🖕🖕

>> Are you going?? Here karaoke with Ashido and the kthers

Bakugo Kacchan

>> yeah me and the nerd's gnna be there wait ur fking ass

kirishitma eijiro 🖕🖕

>> Kk

6:13AM

kirishitma eijiro 🖕🖕

>> You free today? Hangout with us bro

>> It'll be me, Ashido, Sero, and Kaminari

Bakugo... Kacchan? Izuku thought back at the nickname set for his friend, raising a brow.

"Ah, Kirishima texted." Izuku told him, looking at the boy for a response.

Katsuki sighed. "What'd the fucker say?"

"Nn, he asked if you were free. He wants you to hangout." Izuku relayed information, still peering at him for a response.

Katsuki stayed silent for a minute, before saying, "Tell him I'm spending the day with you."

Izuku nodded, biting his lip as his heart squeezed once more against his own will. 

Tell him I'm spending the day with you. 

Oh yeah, his mind just had to repeat that to nail it in his head. And Katsuki just had to say it so nonchalantly.

Kirishitma Eijiro 🖕🖕 

Bakugo Kacchan

>> yeah me and the nerd's gnna be there 

kirishitma eijiro 🖕🖕

>> Kk

6:13AM

kirishitma eijiro 🖕🖕

>> You free today? Hangout with us bro

>> It'll be me, Ashido, Sero, and Kaminari

Bakugo Kacchan

>> hii midoriya right now, kacchan's with me

>> he told me to say that he was going to spend the day with me, i'm so so sorry

kirishitma eijiro 🖕🖕

>> Oh, it's no worries! Take care of our Bakugo ;)

>> Use protection!!!

Izuku smiled at how thoughtful his friend was, telling them to be cautious while they were hiking! He admired Kirishima for his endearing attitude of always looking out for his friends.

"S'all good now?" Katsuki asked tentatively, eyes narrowed as he remained looking at the road in front of him.

Izuku shut his phone and gave a thumbs up with a smile plastered on his face. "Yup! Kirishima even told us to use protection."

...

"I'm gonna kill that bastard."

Katsuki and Izuku had finally arrived at the hiking area. Izuku looked around his surroundings, inhaling the scent of mud and riverbanks. There were a lot of trees and logs floating mindlessly across bodies of water. From the looks of it, not a lot of people go to this site—seeing as it was only the two of them there.

Katsuki slung the backpack on, and turned to look at his hiking partner; hand out, palm side up. "Let's go?"

Izuku stared at his hand with a somewhat caught-off-guard expression, flicking his eyes back at his hiking partner, and then at the hand he was holding out. Katsuki noticed this, and quickly retracted his hand. He hadn't even noticed that he'd done it. 

They placed their phones inside of the bag, making sure that there won't be any distractions.

Katsuki trailed his eyes towards the path they were going to take, and proceeded to avoid eye contact for the first few minutes of their hike. Izuku just trailed behind him, and gawked at the insects and other animals they could find in the site. 

"It's a little muddy and steep here. I rarely take this path, but I figured you slipping would make a funny scenario." Katsuki chortled, smirking as he looked behind him to see Izuku. 

"I won't trip, you think too lowly of me!" Izuku shot back, suddenly gaining confidence as he walked towards him, now standing beside him. 

The blond rolled his eyes and stepped over rocks to cross a shallow river, looking like he was unable to lose his balance despite carrying a heavy load of equipment.

He looked at Izuku from the other end of the small obstacle course with a cheap, challenging smirk on his face. 

Izuku took a deep breath and looked at the rocks. The rocks didn't look so bad. He stepped foot on one of them, and was quick to realize, that damn those rocks were slippery from the mud.

"Think you can do it, Hero Deku?" Katsuki stuck his tongue out, taunting him.

A newfound determination struck in Izuku's eyes, and he hopped over the rocks as if they were nothing. At the last rock, he jumped and spun like a figure skater as he stepped foot on the same ground as Katsuki's.

Katsuki looked at him with widened eyes and a wide, open grin that spoke, That was fucking badass!

"I think I can do it, Dynamight." The freckled boy spoke in arrogance.

But the fire of his determination from earlier had suddenly died and his legs felt weak. He took another step, and the next thing he knew, he was falling. 

The blond barely had any time to catch him, until he latched onto his wrist and pulled him back firmly. Izuku readjusted himself and made sure he was sturdily standing up. He felt the heat from his neck travel quickly to his face.

"Woah there, now. Don't get too cocky." Katsuki ruffled the mess of his green waves. Izuku sighed and nodded as they continued on their trail.

Both of them continued along their hike, with Izuku getting fascinated over every bit of nature and its phenomenons.

Izuku watched as a parade of birds glide over the sky above them, their formation never failing to fascinate him on how intelligent these creatures were. He saw a red ant hill along their trail, and crouched over to look at them. He proceeded to give them bread crumbs as he "wants them to eat good food". Katsuki rolled his eyes but found it quite endearing, not that he'll ever say it out loud anyway.

"Remember when we used to hunt for beetles, Kacchan?" Izuku spoke, recalling certain memories as he remained crouched down. 

Katsuki saw him pick up something, and replied, "Yeah. We were five or something."

Izuku stood up with a rhino beetle and a mischievous grin. "I got this little guy." 

Without notice, Katsuki was a little startled. From afar, it didn't look like it, but to Izuku, oh he knew. He wasn't scared of it or anything, he was just a little startled.

The blond chuckled, crouching to admire the insect from his friend's hand. "Think you should let him back to his home now."

Izuku nodded, and carefully placed it down on the mud he first saw it in. "Stay safe, little beetle!"

"You're so dorky, you know that?" Katsuki teased, running his hand through Izuku's hair.

The freckled man held his hand out, and a small maya bird landed on his pointer finger. Izuku brought it closer to his face, smiling as it chirped happily.

He turned to his hiking partner with a smile and spoke, "But at least birds like me."

"It probably thought you were a tree, green hair and all that shit." Katsuki chuckled, pointing at his face. 

Izuku furrowed his brows and was about to retort something in retaliation, but as he was about to say something, he caught vision of his green hair and let out a small laugh instead. "Probably."

The bird fleed from his finger to hide in an actual tree. Izuku looked back at the bird as it flew away, hoping it remains safe. A speck of water lands on Izuku's face, but as he raises his hand to wipe it off, another water droplet lands on his raised wrist.

Katsuki quickly notices this too. Oh, how he hated rain.

"It's just a little rain. Let's get to the end." The blond shrugged off, acting nonchalant about it. He walked away with the motive of finishing their hike.

"Shouldn't we go back to the car?" Izuku questioned, but it was more of a suggestion rather than a question.

Katsuki remained with his back to him, until he finally turned his head to him with a smirk on his face.

"You gonna let a little rain stop you?"

And at that, Izuku lit in a persistence and smiled widely at him.

But it also started raining heavily.

They both stared at each other, wordless.

Katsuki had an unreadable look on his face, and Izuku's eyes were widened whilst his lips were left agape.

They stared at each other with their hair being flattened from the weight of the rain showering upon them. Even with the stubborn property of Katsuki's spikes, all of that was washed away by the rain. Ruby eyes stared at emeralds as if he was mindless.

With one snicker, Izuku released his suppressed laugh. Katsuki followed through, and laughed as well. 

"You're drenched! We're drenched!" The green-haired boy blurted out, his hand, shaky from laughing, pointed at his friend.

Katsuki laughed, pointing out a few features as well. "Your hair fuckin' looks like green sea moss!"

Izuku gasped as if he was taken aback, "That's so mean!"

They continued on their trail despite the heavy rain and the slippy mud—without talking to each other as their laughter slowly died. Katsuki progressed on, and Izuku merely copied what he was doing. 

With the slippery property of the mud from the heavy rain, Izuku subconsciously found him latching on his friend's arm for support. Katsuki stopped walking, seeming like he froze in his tracks. The green-haired boy wondered what happened to make the blond stop walking. He looked at Katsuki from the side, and saw that Katsuki was just staring at the ground with clenched fists and his lips pressed into a thin line. His face looked a lot redder than usual.

The boy's head turned towards him, and ruby eyes met emeralds. 

Badump. Badump. Katsuki's heart spoke loudly. Not now, you fucking organ! Katsuki spoke in retaliation.

Holy shit! What the fuck do I do?! I can't even hear my thoughts through the fuckass rain! He internally panicked.

Let him, you know you want it. Plus it can be beneficial for him! You're his support pillar. A small guy that looked like Katsuki but with angel wings and a halo hovered beside him on his right side. 

Poof! A mini demon Katsuki appeared sitting on his left shoulder. Force him to let go. Your feelings are going to fucking ruin everything! 

Kacchan's staring at me. Oh, Kacchan's staring at me! What's going on? Izuku internally panicked.

A tiny angel appearing to be Izuku appeared before him. Don't think too much about it, Izuku. You guys are friends, this is normal!

Are you sure? Izuku asked Angelzuku, hesitant. What if he finds it weird?! And Kacchan's never liked physical touch.

Angelzuku hovered beside him in a comforting manner. It'll be fine—what's there to worry ab-

"Ah—I'm sorry, it was slippery so.." Izuku laughed awkwardly and quickly released Katsuki's drenched arm, the sleeve of the blond's brown cardigan dripping from the rain water.

Well. Angelzuku sighed.

I couldn't risk it! Izuku said as an excuse.

Katsuki raised his brows in surprise, mouth open to say something, until Izuku started tumbling backwards.

He caught him on time, but unfortunately to him, the mud he stepped foot on was slippery as well—in addition the heavy weight he carried on his back as he carried their belongings. He fell face-first upon Izuku, his drenched face on the boy's chest. He got up in a push-up like position, his face dripping with water onto Izuku's chest. They locked eyes in that position. Izuku held a smile, stifling a laugh as he stared at Katsuki's face dripping with rain water.

Still in that position, Izuku chimed in with, "I think this was a bad idea." and awkwardly grinned.

Silence.

"You think?"

Asides from being complete drenched head to toe with water, the two also had mud on their clothes—with Izuku getting the worse end of it. You would think they would go back—but they didn't.

"It's fucking steep here. Slippery too." Katsuki commented, stepping on one rock as a test. The rock, along with some other small rocks, came falling down. "Let's go."

They progressed even further into their hike, the rain still relentless as ever.

After making their way up, Izuku saw a clear space with barely any trees obstructing the way. The sky was gray, and the clouds were dark. The ground, grassy, looked dull and depressing—most probably due to the rain. He knew that this place would've been beautiful if it hadn't been for the rain. They made their way there, and stood in the middle of it. It turned out that it was a cliff.

"We're at our end place." Katsuki sighed, unable to look at the sky, because if he did, his eyes would be pricked by the rain. "It's usually a lot prettier than this." 

Izuku simply nodded. Unable to tell the time, he asked, "What's the time? Wait—Kacchan, our phones!" and panicked. 

"Chill, backpack's waterproof. And it's fucking secure." He reassured him. Izuku let out a sigh of relief.

They didn't say anything to each other for a while, still awkwardly standing in the middle of the cliffscape. It was pure silence other than the rain that raged in the background.

"So... How do we get back?" The green-haired boy asked tentatively, shielding his eyes from the rain.

Katsuki turned to look at him, and wore a mischievous smirk. "I know a shortcut."

Izuku feared that mischievous smirk.

The blond reached out and grabbed Izuku's wrist firmly, and suddenly, they were now running towards the edge! 

"Kacch—"

"We fucking jump!" 

Katsuki jumped off and Izuku was dragged along with him. He screamed and was taken aback for a moment, and his wrist slipped out of Katsuki's hold, but he enjoyed the rush of adrenaline that ran through his system. He felt... free. He'd always felt free around Katsuki.

"You're crazy, you know that?!" Izuku shouted whilst he looked at his friend who was falling beside him, whooping through the fall. He looked at the body of water they were going to drop into, and prepared to make a dive.

"Your scream was priceless, it was worth it!" Katsuki laughed as they neared their landing. He took the backpack off his back and threw it to a nearby space where rocks and land acted like an awn over it, a nature umbrella. 

They dove into the water, Izuku rising to the surface of it while spitting out some water that got into his mouth like a waterfall. Katsuki wiped his face using his hands, brushing his blond hair out of the way.

"Now our clothes are drenched!" The freckled boy lifted his arms, feeling the weight of his wet clothes. He splashed water onto his friend as a way of payback.

Katsuki splashed more water onto Izuku, unwilling to back down on a water fight. "What? Like they weren't already fuckin' drenched earlier?"

"Yeah, but they're even more drenched now!" Izuku splashed back even harder. "Gah! It's cold!" he hissed, suddenly reacting to the water's temperature. It didn't help the fact that the rain was accompanied with cool winds.

The blond swam closer to him and dunked his head underwater, snickering. Not backing down, Izuku rose back up, spat the water he inhaled onto Katsuki, and dunked him underwater as well. Of course, the blond got right back up and splashed water at him.

"You're so gross!" Katsuki looked at him with disgust in his face, and Izuku just stared back with a shit-eating grin. 

The rain slowly started to weaken, turning into a light drizzle instead. Izuku looked up at the sky, and saw that it was slowly clearing.

He looked back at the blond, and saw that the first light beam shun on him—like it was a spotlight, with the audience's attention being directed onto Katsuki. Like nothing else mattered... except him. 

Why was Katsuki always the subject of sunlight to fall upon?

The churning in his stomach worsened, and he felt lightheaded, to say the least. Being in water and feeling the slight waves did not help.

As the sky cleared, the rain stopped as well. He stared as Katsuki started to walk towards the nearest piece of land, gracefully shaking his head to remove the excess water from his hair. His red eyes caught him looking once more, and he quickly averted eye contact. 

"Are you not getting out of the water, dipshit?" Katsuki called out to him, who was still in the water. 

"Ri-Right!" he slowly swam towards the shore.

Crouching to catch his breath, he stood back up and saw that his friend was topless! It wasn't a problem, right? He's seen him naked multiple times during their highschool days, but that was when the boys were changing into their hero costumes in the locker rooms! 

The blond was squeezing the excess water out of his clothes, and Izuku couldn't help but look at how his triceps and biceps flexed when he exerted effort into squeezing the water out of his drenched clothes. He'd known Katsuki always had a good build, but he'd never seen it up close—at least without his clothes or hero costume covering it.

Katsuki looked at him from the side, and Izuku's eyes widened comically after being caught staring once more. He immediately looked down at the ground, at his feet. Fiddling with his fingers, he looked to the side and started whistling in a state of panic.

"My body look good, Izuku?" He teased with a smug look on his face, putting his clothes back on. 

Izuku looked back at him and sighed in relief, thankful to see that he'd worn his shirt back on. His brown cardigan remained wrapped around his waist. But his shirt... it sticked to his skin due to the moist texture from the rain. Almost like a compression shirt.

"I was just admiring your body work." He hissed beneath his teeth. He wasn't great with lying.

"I look fucking amazing." Katsuki praised himself arrogantly, flexing his biceps. "Fuck, my pants are drenched and they're heavy as shit."

The green-haired boy raised a brow. That couldn't have been heavy for Katsuki! "Kacchan, you used to carry those heavy gauntlets on both arms during highschool!" 

"That was different." Katsuki shrugged off, unbuckling his belt.

Wait—unbuckling his belt?!

Izuku was quick to turn the other direction, both hands on his hips, whistling. 

"Izuku we've known each other our entire lives." Katsuki reminded him, and all the freckled boy could hear were the other's pants dropping to the ground.

"What's wrong with respecting your privacy?!"

"Also, you should probably squeeze the excess water out of your clothes." 

Izuku heard water dripping, and he assumed that Katsuki was squeezing the water out of his pants. He sighed as he carefully undid the buttons on his button up, and started squeezing the water out like it was a sponge.

His skin was pretty dry already,  thanks to the sunny weather, with only some moist remaining. He turned around toward his friend's direction as he put on his button up once more, just finishing the last few buttons. He figured he didn't want to squeeze the water out of his jorts.

"Let's go. It's just a short walk to the car from here."

Izuku stared at his back as his friend walked away. He looked at his chest, seeing his hand that was clutching it. The thumping in his heart never did go away—it's been happening more recently. It's like an unfamilliar feeling his body system wants to fight away, but at the same time, he wants it to stay.

He would be lying if he said that it hasn't been happening for a long time—but it's the pure truth when he says that it was only recently he actually acknowledged the feeling. He feels a connection that's different from all of his other friends, a foreign feeling he noticed that only happens with one person.

Clutching his chest, he felt like he's lost all the strength in his body. Izuku takes a deep breath and runs after him, now walking beside him.

Izuku, at all costs, avoids Katsuki's eyes, and looks at the ground instead as they walk to the car.

He hears rummaging. The blond was probably getting something from their bag. Curious, Izuku looks at what he was trying to pull out.

"Fuuuuck, I even packed food. Shit's still good and dry, we just couldn't eat it earlier 'cause of the damn rain." Katsuki grumbled, pulling out one bento box to inspect it. The food wasn't quite what Katsuki was looking for. He puts it back in the bag.

"I can eat while you're driving!" Izuku suggests, smelling the faint scent of Katsudon, while also not wanting to waste his friend's food.

"And risk you vomiting in my car? No fucking way, Izuku."

The freckled boy sighs, pouting. Kacchan is a very clean and reserved person.

Katsuki pulls out his phone and checks the time. "It's already 11A.M."

Izuku looks in front of them. They're already at the car.

"That was actually a really short walk." He comments, recalling his hiking partner saying that the walk to the car from the shore was a really short one.

Katsuki grabs his car keys and Izuku hears the unlocking of car doors. "That was a fifteen minute walk."

His brows raise in shock, and he just nods. 

Time with Kacchan had always been funny. It operates so fast.

They both get into the car, and as Izuku slouches into the passenger seat, he exhaled in relief as he melts into the comfort of the car seat. Katsuki turns the air conditioner on.

"Cold." Izuku spoke casually.

"You're gonna have to deal with it."

"Mean Kacchan..."

Katsuki sighs, throwing the freckled boy his phone. "Use your phone or some shit."

Izuku opens his phone, having tons of notifications from groupchats with his friends and some direct messages. 11:24PM, the time laid out.

He feels the car start, and sees that they were already moving. 

"Did you..." Katsuki trailed off, hesitance and nervousness laced his tone of voice.

"Mm?" 

The blond exhaled. "Did you enjoy today?"

Closing his phone, Izuku looked towards his friend who kept his eyes on the road. He smiled, ignoring the backflips his heart was performing. "I really did."

Katsuki flicked his eyes towards him. He looked back at the road with a hint of a smile on his face. 

Izuku looked down at his scarred hands that were fiddling with his phonecase. 

"When I'm with you I feel... free."

He didn't know, but those innocent words were going to be Katsuki's source of energy for the rest of the week.

katsuki 🔒 @fuckersgofuckoff 8m ago

what the fuck?????????,?

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katsuki 🔒 @fuckersgofuckoff 

Replying to @fuckersgofuckoff okokokokokokokokokokokokok ok what the fuck

katsuki 🔒  @fuckersgofuckoff

Replyinf to @fuckersgofuckoff stop fucking with my mind i feel pathetic

katsuki 🔒  @fuckersgofuckoff

Replying to @fuckersgofuckoff exhvexhvexbjexbiswoneivfbuwxhixw

 

dezuku 🔒 @smallmightcrashinout 6m ago

I THINK IVE BEEN IN LOVE WITH MY BEST FRIEND AND I DIDNT EVEN KNOW

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dezuku 🔒  @smallmightcrashinout

Replying to @smallmightcrashinout I CANT LIKE HIM HE LIKES SOMEBODY ELSE:(

dezuku 🔒  @smallmightcrashinout 

Replying to smallmightcrashinout AND HES MY BEST FRIENDDDD eughshxj I FEEL SO DISGUSTED WITH MYSELF

dezuku 🔒  @smallmightcrashinout

Replying to @smallmightcrashinout WHAT DO I DO??????

dezuku 🔒 @smallmightcrashinout

Replying to @smallmightcrashinout BUT HES SO PERFECT HOW CAN I NOT LIKE HIM

Shoto 🔒 @shotodoroki

Replying to @smallmightcrashinout You're cooked.

 

Chapter Text

Monday, 11:30 A.M.

U.A. LUNCH PERIOD

Izuku sat by his desk inside of Classroom 1-A, grading essays of his students' favorite heroes and why. Half of his class were out for lunch, and usually his classroom would be emptied by lunch time, but half of his students remained.

There was chatter that is normal to find when dealing with a class filled with teenagers—gossip rolling off their tongues easily as if it was a second language. Their chairs were set by their friends' tables, separating the different friend groups in the classroom.

The teacher decided to not pay any mind, for even his class was like that when he was still in highschool. He just wanted to finish grading a majority of these never-ending essays before the lunch break ends.

That was until he felt a figure standing by the door, seeing as there was a faint shadowed sillhouette painted on the floorboards—his students set in a temporary silence with short gasps of surprise. 

Curious, Izuku turns his head to the side to see who stood there.

Tall with broad and muscular shoulders, a black skin-tight costume that hugged his brawny build, a turtleneck that was only seen whenever his winter costume was worn, huge gauntlets that were cuffed tightly around both of his arms, but his left hand held a lunch bag that was too cute to match his aesthetic. Dynamight, undoubtedly.

The hero seems to freeze in his tracks, seeing as there were still students in the classroom. He hadn't expected that.

Izuku rolls his eyes with a fond smile, noticing this. "You can come in, Kacchan." 

"Kacchan?" One of his students whisper to their friend. "That's such a cute nickname for Dynamight."

His face rushes hot with blood as he let the childhood name roll off his tongue like muscle memory. Thankfully, Katsuki didn't seem to notice nor care.

Katsuki rolls his mask up to his hairline, using it as an effective headband to push away the blond spikes from his face. He walks towards the teacher, who spun his office chair around to face the hero's direction.

"You forgot your lunch." The hero says, pinching Izuku's nose. He sets the light green lunch bag with a cute bunny pattern on the teacher's desk. 

"Oh! Sorry, I didn't notice. Sorry for botheri—"

"You're not bothering me for shit."

After setting the lunch box down, Katsuki walks over to the first row of seats and takes one chair to place it by Izuku's table.

"Holy crap! I'm telling Yoshida that Dynamight used his chair!" Another student whispered to their friend. "You think he'd believe you?"

While doing this, Izuku takes the bento box out of the lunch bag. 

I guess I can grade the essays later. He smiles fondly as he smells the fresh scent of Katsudon.

His students' chatters stopped, and they were just boring their eyes into them—analyzing their relationship.

Sitting down, Katsuki uncuffs both grenades that were tied tightly onto his wrists, carefully setting them just beside the chair he sat on. He breathed deeply, and exhales in relief as he immediately slouches in comfort at the chair. 

"Busy day?" Izuku giggles, poking fun at his friend.

Whilst cracking his knuckles, Katsuki shot a reply. "What do you think? Lots of robberies, stealing, and jackassery and it's barely noon..."

Izuku continued to laugh softly as he eats a piece of the tender pork of his katsudon, the burst of flavor and the crunchy breadcrumbs immediately melting in his tongue. "So good!"

"Tell me something I don't know." Katsuki looks at the pile of paper by Izuku's desk. He points and asks out of curiosity, "What're those?"

"Ah, just essays about my students' favorite heroes." The teacher responds, sipping out of the ice-cold water bottle the blond had prepared for him.

Intrigued, the hero rests his face on his hand. He wasn't quite intrigued about his students' favorite heroes, though.

"Oh? Who's yours?" Katsuki asks with a smug look on his face.

Izuku furrows his brows and sighs. "You just wanna feed your ego. Sorry, not today, Kacchan."

"Can't a man be curious?"

"You already know who."

"Do tell." The hero bites in a smirk. He takes off his mask due to its tightness, and sprins it around his finger.

"Alright then, since you wanna know so badly..." Izuku speaks and pauses to shove food in his mouth and chew, and continues with a smug look on his face. "It's All Might."

Katsuki lightly slams his free hand on the table and lifts his head from the resting position on his other hand, acting as if he was in disbelief. "The fuck? He's been retired for a decade! What about Dynamight?"

"Well, he's too arrogant for my liking." Izuku shrugged, sarcastic.

Katsuki leans back on his chair once more, both hands behind his head. "Mm. I guess Dynamight should stop cooking for you." 

"You wouldn't!"

"He's movin' out, too."

"Kacchan!" The teacher pouts, food still in his mouth.

The blond flinches in slight disgust, but he's gotten used to it. "Stop talking with food in your mouth!"

Izuku nods, chewing. Swallowing, he responds to something that was already over minutes ago. "It's a shame Dynamight won't be cooking for me anymore, and that he's moving out. I was about to tell you about how he's my favorite hero."

The hero pushes two fingers between Izuku's eyebrows, his green eyes shutting as a natural response. Izuku bites in a smile. 

"Press conference was cancelled."

"Oh? Why?" Izuku asks as he eats another piece of katsudon along with white rice.

"Long story short, there were bigger fuckin' problems. They figured mine was too small." Katsuki chortled. Izuku laughed along with him.

"I got a casual TV interview scheduled, though."

"I'll make sure to be watching that. When is it?"

"Fuuuck you, it's so embarrassing. It's on Friday, you ever heard of Akane Reiko?"

"Oh! She's one of the most popular television interviewers! She'll be interviewing you?"

Katsuki rolled his eyes, finding his own situation lame. "Duh. Only top interviewers interview top heroes." 

"Yikes, that's gonna be such a hit around the world."

Katsuki grimaced at the thought of the incoming interview, clearly not prepared for it. He didn't want to lower his rank right when he was finally locking in.

Resting his head on his hand again, he spoke. "Fuck you. Now c'mon, tell me about your day."

Smiling widely, Izuku was excited to give a report about his day. 

His ear slightly twitched, hearing the click of a shutter undeniably from a camera app. There was an unnoticeable flash of light at the very edge of his peripheral vision.

"Kota! You had the flash on!"

"Sorry!"

His stomach churned, immediately being aware of how Katsuki was looking at him. His face resting on his hand, the muscles in his face relaxed without his usual scowl.

And he hadn't looked at anything else. Other than him. Other than Izuku. Almost as if he was focused on him.

He swallowed the built up saliva at the back of his throat, flickering his eyes to anywhere he could look at beside Katsuki's. But he couldn't avoid him, not really.

"Well I—" he stuttered, feeling nervous. He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, removing the panic from his system. 

Feeling a bit more confident than before, Izuku started speaking. "Oh! Hero work has been going really well for me, especially since I've immediately jumped to number four in the hero billboard charts even though I've just re-debuted."

Katsuki chortled at his enthusiasm, but didn't say anything. He let him keep talking.

"You're doing really well too! You've been rising in the ranks, lately. Number five is amazing!"

"I'm still gonna be number one."

"Of course. Competitive as always, Kacchan?"

"That's me."

Izuku laughed as they bantered.

He'd always felt grateful that he and Katsuki were ever able to maintain their friendship, even though they'd gone through a rough start—but they were two halves of a whole.

Midoriya Izuku didn't know a life that didn't include Bakugo Katsuki.

Katsuki's done so much for him, even things that Izuku didn't know how to repay—which is crazy, because Izuku from back then wouldn't have believed a single bit of it. But Katsuki had gone through sacrifices, he'd gone through hell and back just to reignite the embers of Izuku's dream; to be a hero.

And honestly, Izuku's life had always been filled with doubts, especially since they're graduated. But Katsuki... it seemed as if Katsuku was always there to ease him, to smoothen the creases. 

"I've... well, I've yet to say thanks for everything you've done for me. The suit, practically everything, Kacchan. I know I wouldn't have been, well, here if it weren't for you." The teacher spoke, grateful. He looked at his palm littered with scars from his battles from when he was a highschooler.

The hero stayed silent for a bit, until he exhaled loudly. "Well," Katsuki spoke, directing Izuku's attention towards him. "I can't compete for shit if my rival isn't in game, can I?" he muttered, eyes looking to the side as his gloved hand covered his mouth.

Izuku nodded, simply trying to understand. 

"I've only wanted to compete with you, Izuku."

"For the rest of our lives?" Izuku smiled teasingly.

Katsuki rolled his eyes. "For the rest of our shitty lives."

The green-haired man simply laughed. "I'll be patrolling tomorrow, after classes."

"Mm. Maybe we'll cross paths." Katsuki slouched in his seat.

"Maybe."

Silence.

"There's still a desk next to mine, you know." The blond muttered. 

Without context, Izuku couldn't understand. "What?"

"In my agency."

"If somebody said they wanted to surpass me, I would've accepted them right away."

Izuku's eyes slightly widened, heart speeding. He hadn't rid himself of the guilt yet after rejecting his offer.

Though, he's been rising in the HBJ and he's been driven by the adrenaline of hero work lately—enjoying the feeling of soaring in the air, familiarizing himself once more of the feeling. From what he thought was a dead dream, had been slowly coming back into light in his life.

If there's anything he's realized,

He loves teaching—teaching, in a way, grants a rewarding feeling; nurturing students, and seeing them soar further into the sky as heroes.

But being a hero grants him a sense of belonging and familiarity that nothing else has ever given him—the rush of adrenaline, strategy, and the accomplishing feeling that somebody looks up to him as their hero. That through every battle, through every case he solves, he's saved a life.

So maybe, just maybe... he could work at Katsuki's agency.

"And you weren't just going to work at it." The hero popped his bubble.

"Huh?"

"You were gonna run it with me."

Oh.

Oh.

Katsuki shrugged. "I still stand by what I said. You should think more highly of yourself—you're missing even the most obvious things. But, if you don't want to—"

"I'll... think about it"

Katsuki paused, unslouching from the chair. "What did you say?"

"I'll think about it. Running the agency with you." Izuku answered, his voice small. 

Gaining motivation, Katsuki practically beamed in his chair; a rare sight. He put on his nonchalant act, but the smirk couldn't be hidden from his face. "Alright then."

He buckled his gauntlets back onto his arms, preparing to get back into patrol. "It was nice seeing ya', sensei. Text me when you're on the way home."

"Oh, I'm going out with Uraraka, Iida, and Todoroki later. I'll be home later than usual."

"It's fine. 'Least I won't be dealing with an idiot for the next couple hours."

"I am not an idiot!"

"Sure."

He stood up from where he was sitting and placed the chair back where it belonged. Students gawked at him. Preparing to leave, he waved at Izuku with his back turned to him. 

The teacher playfully rolled his eyes. "Oh, and Kacchan?"

The hero turned towards him, one hand adjusting the loose turtleneck that came with his costume. 

"See you later, alligator?" Izuku giggled.

Katsuki groaned, pulling up two middle fingers at him despite the students inside the classroom, "In a while, crocodile."

"Stay safe on patrol!"

As the hero left, Izuku exhaled in relief. Butterflies immediately surged to his stomach as he banged his head on his table. He buried half of his red face in the crook of his sleeved elbow, his other hand on his head as if he was trying to cave himself in. 

"Uhm... Midoriya-sensei?" One of his students piped in, hesitance lacing their words.

Izuku buried his face deeper in the crook of his elbow, his face not visible any longer.

"Are you and Dynamight a thing?"

"WHAT?!"

katsuki 🔒 @fuckersgofuckoff Just now

LETS FUCKING GO

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Kacchan 

4:51PM

izuku

>> kscchan you defeated NINE villains in an hour?? 

>> [png of hero news]

>> how ??????????

>> NINE VILLAINS in an hour

Kacchan 

>> what? like it was hard? lol

Katsuki was very inspired.

5:05 P.M.

"Izuku! You've arrived!" Ochako called him from their table, quickly inviting him in for a seat. They were inside of a booth bar, dimly litted with a yellow-orange light littering the place.

Shoto pat the vacant space beside him, a space for Izuku to sit. They were going to be there for a couple hours.

"Hey, guys!" Izuku greeted them, sitting beside the heterochromatic man. "Sorry I was a bit late." he set his suitcase, sitting just under his legs.

"It's no worries! We understand—taking the role as a teacher features a lot of struggles, some including a busy schedule!" Tenya spoke, doing his hand-chopping gesture. 

"We were just waiting for you, Midoriya. It's only been five minutes." Shoto turned to look at the man beside him, a slight smile on his face at the sight of his friend. Ochako agreed with both of her friends.

The teacher nodded, still in his uniform, hair looking slightly more tousled and unruly. "How's everyone doing?"

"All of us can share a part of our day! But first..." The brunette spoke sweetly, before her smile turned into a mischievous grin. "Waiter!" she called a nearby waiter, "Two buckets of beer, please."

"Two buckets?! That is too much!" Tenya was quick to protest, his voice loud.

Ochako pat her friend's shoulder. "Relax, it's been a while." 

The two buckets of beer arrived, and were set heavily by their table, causing a small wave of vibrations felt by all four people on that table.

"Might I remind you that we all have jobs to attend to tomorrow? Midoriya teaches at U.A.!"

Izuku laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. "I won't get drunk, really, Iida."

Ochako immediately grabbed a bottle with a cheeky grin, pouring some into her glass and immediately chugging it. "I, on the other hand, have improved my alcohol tolerance."

The navy-haired man opened his mouth in another protest, but shut it immediately as words suddenly stopped flowing. 

"We're all adults. It's fine. Our bad decisions are our fault." Shoto spoke up, voice unfazed as ever whilst scrolling through his phone.

"Oh! Have you guys seen it on the hero blog? Kacchan's dealt with nine villains in an hour!" Izuku informed them with literal sparkles in his eyes, amazed by his childhood friend's skill.

Katsuki's always been strong—Izuku had no doubt about that, but defeating nine villains in an hour is just—amazing, even for him! Almost as if something gave him a push...

His friends made murmurs of agreement. 

"It is quite endearing! It has honestly fired me up even more." Tenya spoke up, endeared as well by his feats.

Ochako nodded with enthusiasm. "And we have to take count of the time he spends finding them. That's amazing!"

"Exactly!"

"Speaking of him, have you guys seen Bakugo's post lately?" Shoto piped in, directing their focus onto something else.

Intrigued, Izuku spoke up before the rest of them. "Huh? Which one?"

"Oh! Oh! The love one?" Ochako chimed in, suddenly gaining interest in the topic. 

Izuku's eye twitched, itching for a beer. He didn't know why there was a twinge of irritance that bolted to his stomach.

Tenya spoke up. "We should not be meddling in a peer's—"

As much as Izuku agreed with Tenya, he, himself, had his own curiosities regarding the matter as well.

"Yes, the love one." Shoto cut him off, showing the two, Tenya and Ochako, the current state of the post.

"Ooooh, I feel kinda bad." The brunette winced.

"It has gained quite a lot of popularity on the platform..." The navy-haired man sucked in a breath, pushing his glasses up his nose bridge. Even Tenya saw how bad it was.

Izuku leaned on the table, craning his neck to try and see the post. Failing, he slouched back on the booth seating, crossing his arms.

"Let me see the post." Izuku muttered quietly, looking off to the side. 

Shoto handed him his phone, having heard his bitter mutters. "Here."

Dynamight. ✔ @gemgdynamight 3d ago

im in love. im so cooked

104M Likes          23.1M Shares 

Izuku's eyes widened out of surprise. He'd known that the post was spreading like wildfire, but he didn't think it would garner such attention—and in three days too! Why hadn't Katsuki taken it down yet?

"I wonder who it is." Ochako trailed in her thoughts, her index finger curled on her chin.

And what the hell was that uncomfortable feeling in his stomach? It was like something was taking up space, while simultaneously being empty. It was like something was feeding him until he felt like imploding, while also hungering him.

Before Izuku knew it, he was grabbing onto a bottle of beer, and popped the cap off.

"Who do you think Bakugo likes, Dek— Uh, Deku?!"

And he was chugging the bottle of beer, letting it sting at the back of his throat in a way that provided pleasure, the bitter taste sitting on his tongue in the wrong way, an ugly aftertaste lingered shortly after. Izuku wasn't a huge drinker, but he itched to have some alcohol in his system.

He slammed the half-empty bottle of beer on the table, startling his friends.

Wiping the corner of his mouth using the sleeve of his other hand, the lightheaded feeling immediately hit him. "I have no idea."

"Midoriya, that's very irresponsible drinking!" Tenya immediately spat out, staring at him with horror in his eyes.

"I'll manage. Go on."

Shoto stared at him from the side with an unnoticeable concern in his eyes.

"E-Eh, okay..." The brunette laughed awkwardly, pouring more beer into her empty glass before drinking it in one go once more. "Anyways, do you guys have any clues about this mysterious person?"

No, I don't have a clue. Kacchan's never even told me in the first place. Izuku muttered with gritted teeth. 

"Hmm..." Tenya placed his hand on his chin, actually putting thought into the matter. "They are probably an independent person, strong enough for Bakugo's liking. I think that is where Bakugo's interests lie."

Izuku grabs the neck of the half-empty bottle tightly.

Shoto shrugs. "Knowing Bakugo, they're probably somebody who can handle his temperament, or rather, somebody who shares similar interests and goals as him. A strong spirit."

And he finishes the bottle of beer, the stinging feeling immediately surging back into his throat. He slams the bottle once more on the table.

"Midoriya?!"

"I'll man...manage." He grimaces, trying his best to imitate a smile. He feels lightheaded now. "You guys were sayin'?"

Tenya had given up warning them at this point.

"Deku, it's fine if—"

"No, no. It's alright. Go on. I wanna hear it. I'm curious as well..."

Ochako looks at him with a concerned look on her face. "Okay..."

She coughs into her hand. "Do you guys think he'd care about looks?"

Drink. Drink. Drink. His mind urged him. Why? He doesn't know as well.

"I don't think Bakugo would mind that." The heterochromatic man disagrees, shaking his head. He grabbed himself his own bottle and poured the alcoholic beverage into his glass with courtesy.

"I agree. From what I have observed, Bakugo does not seem like the type to care about looks." Tenya agreed.

Ochako nodded, interested at her friends answers. Pouring another beer, she asked, "Do you guys think they're shorter or taller than him?"

"Shorter."

"Perhaps he would prefer somebody below his height."

Tenya and Shoto spoke at the same time.

Izuku slowly grabbed another bottle from the ice-cold bucket, popping the cap off.

"Why, though?"

"Bakug—"

Izuku cuts Shoto off, speaking in a gravelly tone of voice. He chugged the bottle like it was water, not even bothering to wipe off some that were leaking out of the corner of his mouth. "Kacchan likes it when he's in charge—dominance. Being taller than his partner will provide him a sense of dominance. If it's something Kacchan hates the most, it's feeling small; belittled."

"Wow, Deku..."

"Midoriya, is that your second bottle?"

7:19 P.M.

"Do you guys think they would be a hero?" Ochako brought up another question regarding the topic, a little too engrossed in her peer's love life, her face a little red from the beer.

All of them stayed silent at the question, thinking at their own pace. Izuku's eye twitches. He's chugged four bottles, more than enough to get him drunk.

Shoto breaks the silence, and Izuku's head immediately cranes towards his way as he hears the first breath the bicolored haired man takes before talking. "Perhaps. It should be reasonable—somebody he can relate to about hero work, and Bakugo would probably like somebody who can defend themselves." he shares, drinking another glass of beer.

Iida nods at Shoto's observation, his answer being similar. 

The brunette hums, "But wouldn't it be so cute if it turned out to be a civillian?"

Izuku's eye twitches again, clenching the neck of his fifth bottle.

"Like, somebody he could protect from villains. Right?" she continues, asking the others for their opinion.

The more they talked, the more muffled their voices get in Izuku's ears; the booth bar's music overtaking each word that comes out of their mouths, each vowel they pronounce.

He takes a generous sip out of his bottle, aching to drink more, but he felt like his vision was flickering like a broken light, blurring with white noise. He didn't quite finish the bottle, as there were still some sloshing left inside, but one more sip would finish it off. 

His friends looked at him like he was deranged, with Ochako opening her mouth but nothing came out.

"Deku... are you alright?"

Shoto pat him on the shoulder, concerned. "Midoriya, you haven't drunk this much before."

Izuku opened his mouth to speak, but his vision was blurring. Oh wow, there were two Todorokis.

"Two... what?" The bicolored hair man spoke in a tiny voice, astounded.

"Midoriya, I really think you should stop—" 

"No. W'nna hear what... who Kacchan.. who you guys think he likes." Izuku slurred in his words, laughing awkwardly but uncontrollably.

"What's so perfect about them anyways? What does she have that I don't?"

He looked down at the table and grabbed the neck of the bottle he just drank out of but... why did he grab nothing? "Huh."

"Deku what are you grabbing?" Ochako spoke in a worried tone of voice, her brows curled in pity.  

He looked up at the brunette, and then back at the table. The bottle was nowhere to be found.

Oh. It was in his other hand.

"Midoriya, you live with Bakugo right? I think you should rest." Shoto pat him on the shoulder again. "Who can call Bakugo?"

Tenya shook his head. "I don't have Bakugo's phone number saved." 

Izuku was confused. And drunk. "Why're y'guys calling Kaaacchan?" 

"Hold on, I think I have Bakugo's phone number saved." Ochako rambled, fishing her pockets for her phone.

With her phone nowhere to be found in both pockets, she searched her brown shoulder bag. She opened it in a hurry, and started looking in all the compartments for her phone. "Hold on, guys." After not being able to find her phone in her brown shoulder bag, she pat herself down to find the familiar rectangular shape of her phone.

She slouched in her seat, exhaling in distress. "I think I left it in the agency. I'll just return for it tomorrow..."

Shoto sighed, tired. "I'll call Bakugo."

He fished for his phone in his pockets, and in one swoop, found it. He entered his passcode and scrolled through his contacts to find the blond's contact saved.

He and Katsuki rarely talk, but then again, Shoto didn't really chat anybody all that much so he didn't have to scroll too far. He pressed Katsuki's contact and pressed audio call.

Bringing the phone up to his ear, his friends stared at him, expectant. The phone made a repetitive ringing noise for about a minute.

"Who's Todoroki callin'?" Izuku asked, curious. His friends just looked at him with worry laced in their eyes.

The ringing stops, and Shoto brings the phone down from his ear to look at it. Surely enough, Katsuki answered. He brought the phone back to his ear.

"Hello, Bakugo."

"S'that Kacchan?"

"What." Katsuki spoke in a low tone of voice, sounding more annoyed than angered.

Shoto exhaled, deciding to be straightforward. "Midoriya's drunk."

Silence.

Izuku lightly punched Shoto's side, but his fist more of dragged down due to lack of force. He giggled drunkenly. "Not drunk." 

Shoto heard Katsuki sigh from the other end of the line.

"Where are you guys?" The blond asked tiredly along with the sound of keys clinking onto one another.

Katsuki arrived to the scene in some random trousers and a wrinkled black shirt. His hair was sticking out in random places, disheleved. His eye twitched as they landed on the familiar head of green hair.

Izuku's head rose from the table, other hand still holding an empty bottle of beer. He slowly craned his neck to see whoever was standing beside him. He rubbed his eyes. 

"Ka...cchan?" He called with his words slurring in his mouth. 

Katsuki was staring down at him with his arms crossed, clearly unfazed. 

Izuku giggled uncontrollably. And drunkenly. Again. "Why're there two of you?" 

The blond latched his eyes on the people Izuku were with. Shoto wore an emotionless expression, Tenya plainly looked concerned as his lips were pressed into a tight line, and Ochako looked a little terrified.

"Mind tellin' me why this nuthead's drunk?" Katsuki spoke in a gravelly voice, pointing at Izuku using his thumb in a thumb's down gesture. 

"Well—"

"Don't wanna hear it." The clearly tired man cut off Ochako, walking closer to Izuku. He ruffled his hair softly, "C'mon freckles. Let's go home. Can you stand?"

Izuku slowly stood up, spots appearing in his vision as he did so. As he stood up sturdily (sort of) whilst looking at the floor, he waited the spots in his vision to fade away. He looked up at Katsuki, who was just staring back at him with a slight tinge of worry behind his face of disappointment. 

"I stood." Izuku blurted out, a wobbly smile appearing on his face. 

Katsuki examined his face silently. "I can see that."

Suddenly, all of the strength left Izuku's legs. His heavy body fell on Katsuki.

Katsuki grunted as he slightly lifted him up, slinging Izuku's arm on his broad shoulders. He glared at the three once more, before turning away with Izuku practically being a sack of potatos by his side.

...

"Is it just me or was Bakugo really careful with Deku?"

...

"You're right."

8:03 P.M. — playlist

The elevator to their apartment was going through maintenance after its lights shattered. 

He doesn't know how they got to this point, but he was carrying Izuku on his back, the man's arms slung over his shoulders for support as he carried his legs from behind. Izuku's head laid heavilly on the crook of Katsuki's neck, feeling every bit of his warm, slow and tiny breaths against the area of his skin. The aroma of alcohol lingered through every breath. With a squeezing heart, he carried him up the stairs.

Katsuki lets out a short breath, freezing up as he feels the tiniest bit of motion from Izuku on his neck. And suddenly, he was now hyper-aware of every bit of touch and movement. Every strand of hair that touched his skin, the weight of Izuku's arms draped over him for support, the rhythm of every shaky breath he takes, everything.

Izuku lets out a tiny groan, airy while also breathless.

He stops climbing the stairs mid-step. 

Viridian eyes slowly flutter open. They catch a glimpse of blond hair. 

Katsuki's heart threatened to leap out of his chest and implode. He kind of wished that was the case.

"Kacchan's carrying me," Izuku mumbled. He closed his eyes once more and smiled against the crook of the blond's neck, inhaling the scent of burnt caramel. "just like how he carried me back when we were kids." he continued. "M'head hurts..."

He stood his ground and stayed silent. Going up the stairs and getting back to their shared apartment was his priority at the moment. He only had one more set of stairs to go.

Then he felt something wet come in contact with the crook of his neck, travelling all the way to some extent of the neckline of his black shirt.

Wet tears left viridian eyes, some getting caught in the hooks of his lashes. Katsuki hears sniffling. He continues going up the stairs, but he would be lying if he said his heart never squeezed at every sniffle, at every double breath he took.

The boy surely gets emotional when he's come in contact with alcohol.

Izuku speaks, muffled against Katsuki's skin. "I'm sorry, Kacchan." 

Katsuki doesn't respond. He just lets him talk.

"You've w-went through so much trouble for me." he continues, tightening his arms around the man, pulling him closer. "Every time."

He feels Izuku's shaky breaths. He feels its warmth as it forms a sort of moisture on his skin.

It was probably the alcohol. He knew that Izuku gets emotional when he's drunk.

"But I'm selfish and possessive." Izuku says whilst softly laughing through muffled sniffling, his breath heavy, his throat tight. "I always want what I know I can't take."

They're in front of their door now, the hall to their apartment dark without lights. Katsuki pulls out the keys from his pockets, the pieces of metal clinking every time they come in contact with one another.

"Why aren't you sayin' anything, Kacchan?" his words slur in his mouth, a result of being drunk, or a result of crying. Maybe both.

The door creaks open, unlocked. Light floods the apartment. Izuku squints his eyes from the sudden change in lighting. From behind, Katsuki kicks the door closed and locks it. He puts the keys on top of a drawer just near the entrance.

They head to Izuku's room, and Katsuki gently seats Izuku on the edge of his bed. He sighs, sounding exhausted. "Don't fall asleep, I'm gonna come back." 

The drunk man slowly nods, red-rimmed eyes laid on the floor. 

Katsuki walks away and leaves the room without closing the door. 

Izuku's heart is throbbing in a bad way. He clenches his chest, trying his best to claw his way into stopping the ache—wanting to stop the weird and uncontrollable feeling he's been dealing with for the past few years, but only actually recognized just recently. Recognizing it, the feeling, honestly just made it worse on his end.

Before he knew it, tears streamed down his freckled and scarred face. A calm stream.

He feels like a burden, again.

Izuku knows that Katsuki must've had a long day, and that he usually gets ready to sleep by that time in the night—but there he was, cleaning up after Izuku's messes once more. Like he always does.

He hears his door creak just a little, and he turns his head towards the sound. Surely enough, Katsuki was walking towards him with a glass of ice cold water. He hands him the glass.

"Drink. It'll help with your hangover for tomorrow." Katsuki advises him, staring down at him with his arms crossed.

Izuku simply nods and drinks the tall glass water with shaky hands, finishing it gracefully in just a minute. 

"Are you seriously still in your uniform?" The blond clicks his tongue. "Can you change out of your clothes?"

The drunk man settles the now empty glass on his nightstand. "Too tired, Kacchan." he speaks whilst flopping onto his bed, still on the edge of his bed. "Change my clothes for me?"

Katsuki's spine stiffens, coldness travelling through every bit of his body from his feet to his head. His heart stops momentarily. A bead of sweat travels from his temple to his cheek. 

He lets out a shaky exhale, mustering up all the temper he has in store to avoid embarrassing himself. "Fucking fine, but only your top."

Izuku slowly sits up straight again.

Katsuki was crouched just before Izuku, and like he said, he was changing his clothes for him.

His eye twitched. Heat travelled all the way from his neck to his face, and even to his hands as he undid every button from Izuku's white button-up. Sweat travelled from his hairline to his forehead. He swallowed the built up saliva from the back of his throat.

Through every button he undoes, more of his bare skin gets exposed. It felt a bit too intimate for his liking.

And the worst part was; Izuku was just staring at him as he did so. Expressionless. Reactionless.

He stared at him as if he wanted to get a reaction out of him, like it was just some sick joke to him.

He undid the last button, and Izuku's torso was now exposed through the opened piece of fabric. 

"Are you nervous, Kacchan?"

Katsuki looked back up at Izuku again. His eye twitched, seeing that Izuku was just looking at him with some expression in his face that he can't tell. 

"No."

He spoke with gritted teeth and stood back up.

Izuku raised a brow. "Are you sure? You're sweating—"

"Lift your arms." Katsuki cut him off, choosing to ignore him. Save him the embarrassment.

The drunk man huffed a sigh, obeying. He lifted both of his arms as Katsuki unhooked the now undone button-up from his shoulders and carefully slid the sleeves off his arms. 

"I'm sorry you always have to clean up my mess."

...

"I don't do shit I don't wanna do. You already know that."

The entire top part of his body was exposed at that point. His torso, his arms.

Katsuki couldn't help but realize how exposed his body was to him—the inconsistent rise and fall of his chest through every breath he takes, every muscle that flexed through every movement. Izuku had always had a nice build, a result from vigorous training and working out at the gym. But seeing it for himself, it was... an experience.

Though it wasn't his body that caught his eye. He stared at the scars that littered his body—scars that were a result of every battle he faced, every triumph he achieved, every life he saved. A reminder of the heroic acts he's done through the course of his life. That he's still there, standing brighter than he ever has.

His hand slowly rose up, his fingers hesitant. 

They slowly made their way towards the area of Izuku's bare skin. He made contact with his chest, a dark and jagged scar that stood out from all the others. Izuku slightly flinched from the touch, and Katsuki retracted the contact, but returned once Izuku had relaxed. 

He traced through his scars, caressing them with a kind of softness that was out of his character. He traced through every rough and jagged scar from his chest to his abdomen.

Izuku just watched as he did so.

A gesture of trust between the two of them.

But he couldn't help but think, Does he do this with anybody else?

The room was silent, but the electrifying touch and contact between both of them were speaking louder than anything verbal can convey.

Realizing what he's doing, Katsuki immediately retracted his hand. "Sorry."

Izuku laughed softly. "S'okay."

After Katsuki assisted him on putting his shirt on with a printed text that simply said T-shirt, it was silent once more. A sort of tension grew that only happens between the two of them. A connection between the two of them that only they could understand—something only they can apprehend.

And perhaps that means more than anything they've ever said verbally.

A lingering feeling that speaks louder than words. 

But Izuku couldn't ignore the uncomfortable feeling that resided underneath his heartstrings, tugging on them in a way that provided discomfort.

Katsuki looks at him in a soft and endearing way.

And he nearly thinks it's enough. 

But it isn't. It used to be. 

He doesn't know when he started to want a little more than just this, but maybe he'll learn to accept that this is all that he'll ever get. So for now, he'll make the most of the times Katsuki looks at him.

There was one thing Izuku wanted to know.

So he breaks the silence. "Hey, Kacchan." 

Katsuki continues staring at him, a non-verbal way of telling him to continue. 

Izuku's heart tightened in discomfort.

"Who is it that you like?" 

He noticed the way Katsuki's eyes widened in a nearly unnoticeable manner, but Izuku's been mesmerized by every detail of his face that he can tell every shift, every change.

"Is it a civilian? A hero? Is it someone I know?"

Katsuki never did tell him anything. Not even her name. 

"I can't tell you." Katsuki eventually breathed out a response.

Silence. Uncomfortable silence.

Despite this, Izuku pushed. "Why not?"

It was definitely the alcohol speaking.

Katsuki sighed, exhausted. He walked until he reached Izuku's doorway. With his back turned towards Izuku, he replied, "Cause I can't, Izuku."

"Why?" The drunk man, still sitting on the edge of his bed, turned his head towards his friend.

"Maybe you'll know, maybe you'll never know." The blond spoke, shrugging. His heart tightened the further the conversation went on. His hand hovered over the light switch to turn it off.

The bedsheets wrinkled and creased below Izuku's grasp, who was currently clenching them. Warm tears blurred his vision, but never really fell.

"Kacchan, am I important to you?" he blurted out, not really meaning to say it out loud.

The blond froze in his tracks, and remained with his back turned to him. "You're the most important person in my life, Izuku. You know that."

"Then make me feel like I fucking am! Communicate! This isn't the first time you've..."

Katsuki turned towards the man, immediately catching sight of red-rimmed viridian eyes. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing ever really came out. His throat twisted in a way that rendered his ability to speak useless—disbelief, shock.

Izuku's breathing hitched, unable to catch his breath. "If I'm so important to you, then stay the night."

"Izuku—"

"Stay, just for tonight."

Silence.

He hopes, silently. That Katsuki would stay. 

The blond's breath cuts short. Red eyes flicker to his. "Why?"

"Love me for tonight." Izuku's voice breaks.

There were a lot of things that Izuku wanted to say, and that, most definitely, wasn't one of them. Tears flow down his face in an inconsistent stream, but never ending—as if it was a leak that should be fixed, but couldn't be patched.

He noticed the way the creases in Katsuki's face reduced. He noticed the way his eyes slightly widened in surprise. He noticed the way his lips slightly parted in disbelief. He noticed the change in his breathing pattern. He noticed his hands quiver. He always sees these things before anybody else. He notices everything that was unnoticeable to anybody else. 

So who the fuck else could see these things, if not him?

Who else could really see him?

Katsuki spoke once more, voice tiny as if he was begging. "Why?" 

"Cause I love you."

He said it. 

Everything he's been feeling, summed into three simple words. But what makes it weird, is that those three words somehow don't amount to what his feelings really are. 

And it feels right.

Even though he couldn't help but notice how his heart shatters a little every time he does something simple as so to speak, it feels right.

Even though he knew how impossible it is for his feelings to be requited, it feels right.

Even though Katsuki chose to love, and even if it may not be him, it feels right.

Loving shouldn't hurt.

But it was all that was right to Izuku.

His vision blurs and darkens. He passes out.

...

"I wish you were sober." 

Katsuki turned the lights off and shut the door.

"Uuugh, my head hurts." Izuku groans, holding onto his head. He went straight to the refrigerator to get some water. "And I have classes to teach for today!"

Katsuki ruffled his green hair. "That's why you shouldn't drink on a weekday, dumbass."

Izuku never remembered what happened the night before.

Chapter Text

🌊 Kota @izumik0ta 1d ago

So... I might have clues on who Dynamight likes. And I'm not gatekeeping.

Dynamight barged into our classroom to chat with our teacher, Midoriya-sensei, who is also Number 4 hero Deku. Also, it wasn't just formal hero talk. They looked like they did this every single day. Deku even has a cute nickname for him, which you may have already heard when Deku accidentally blurts it out in an interview instead of Dynamight's hero name, "Kacchan".

And Dynamight just kept staring at him in a way. I don't think I've ever seen Dynamight pay attention to somebody this much. I took a photo, which is also inserted in this post.

So. Yeah. Dynadeku is real you guys. I've seen their pining ever since I was still 6 years old and they were highschoolers.  

#DYNAMIGHT #DEKU #dynamightbealoverboy #dynadekuisreal #cooked

842.8K Likes      95.7K Shares

Comments

salmon fish @dynadekuinvestigator

Replying to @izumik0ta LOOOOLLLLLL! I LOVE THIS.

banshee! :0  @dekuenthusiast

Replying to @izumik0ta DYNADEKU IS REAL!!1!1!1!1!1! support!!!!

Chargebolt!!! ✔  @zapdochargebolt

Replying to @izumik0ta Ok, ok, now make one of me and Earphone Jack

🎧 Earphone Jack. ✔  @earph0nejack

Replying to @zapdochargebolt ???

#dynadekuisreal

3724 Results

salmon fish @dynadekuinvestigator 23h ago

kota's post on dynadeku is givin me HOPES RN. here are more dynadeku pics i captured of them fighting tgt! #dynadekuisreal

[7 images attached]

31.1K Likes     592 Shares

meimei @5thmonthoftheyear 23h ago

guys there have been so much posts of theories on who dynamight could possibly like but i think the ones of deku wins for me. its right there!!! i SWEAR if they become official, i'm gonna jump in a bucket of icewater for my next livestream. #dynadekuisreal

17k Likes     1.2k Shares

Kairo @cakerollsrgreat 23h ago

#dynadekuisreal I swear I'm not delusional anymore they are so secret couple coded! If it actually turns out to be Deku that Dynamight likes I will be so happy. Stay tuned for my next video, it has something to do with climbing.

16.3k Likes     984 Shares

5:34 P.M.

Classes to teach were done that day.

Izuku hovered over the streets of Hosu, flying across buildings looking for villains, any sort of quirk misconduct, or people who were causing a ruckus.

He sighed, bored. He'd been cycling across the city for over an hour and he'd still found none. It wasn't like he wasn't glad that the criminal rate had dropped ever since the defeat of All For One—he just wanted to get into some action.

Spotting an old lady sprawled onto the side of the road, Izuku quickly analyzed the situation to help. He quickly took notice of something seeming like a walking stick splayed across the ground near her. Figuring that it was probably hers, he made a quiet and safe landing just beside her. He walks towards the walking stick and crouches to carefully grab it. 

The old lady huffs, unable to find the walking stick. Izuku walks towards her, walking stick in hand. He taps her on the shoulder and she slightly flinches at the touch.

Izuku understood why she flinched, and decided to just reassure her. "Hero Deku, ma'am. I'm just trying to help. Can you stand up?" 

Sure enough, the old lady stood up with wobbly legs. She held onto Izuku for support, unable to see due to her visual impairment. 

The hero grabbed her hand and uncurled her fingers, placing the walking stick in her grasp. "This is what you are looking for, right?"

The old lady nods, a wrinkly smile appearing on her face. "Thank you, young man."

"Are you perhaps crossing the road?" Izuku asked, attempting to help as much as he could.

The old lady nods again. Izuku smiles and helps her cross the road safely, seeing as there were no audio cues for the visually impaired to cross the road safely.

They get to the other side of the road. "Thank you again, young man. You are a good man." The old lady thanks him, another smile on her face.

Izuku simply nods. "It's my duty."

They part ways as the old lady simply walks away. Why did nobody think to help her? Izuku left in his thoughts, now casually walking through the city.

His ear twitches as he hears a crash just around a corner, more specifically, glass shattering, and immediately gets to the bottom of the situation. Countless shrieks of terror alert him, and the hero tries to arrive at the scene as quickly as possible.

A villain, most likely a D-Lister, had jewelry sticking to his skin. He shouted with a maniacal laugh, "I'm gonna get fucking rich!"

He'd been waiting for this.

Most people probably would be avoiding moments like this, but this is it! A moment where he finally gets to fight!

"I won't let you." Izuku spoke in a cold tone, standing in the middle of the street as he eyed the villain.

The villain's quirk was most likely the ability to make metals stick to his body—so Izuku most probably wouldn't have a problem with him. But his biggest hindrance was the fact that his suit is made out of metal. He couldn't lay his hands on him—but what he could do, was land a long-range attack that he's pretty sure he knew the exact battle move for.

The D-Lister pulls out a gun.

Because of course the villain has a gun.

"Catch me if you can, hero!"

He runs mindlessly with countless amounts of jewelry dangling from his skin, making high-pitched clinking sounds. Izuku springs toward him using float and Blackwhip, aiming for the villain. "You won't get rich over stolen items!"

The gun's trigger was pulled, immediately avoided by the hero. 

Boom! Something sounded in the background. He quickly flicked his eyes at whatever could've caused that noise.

A gun with bullets that explode on impact. 

"Pretty great support items you got there, buddy!" Izuku quickly hovers up in the sky, and aims for his target. "But mine's better. Delaware smash 45%, Air force!"

The villain immediately gets hit, and lays unconscious on the ground. It was a pretty quick battle, but it felt pretty great.

Izuku makes a safe landing. People roar in his victory. 

He exhales in exhilaration, heart still pumping fast from the adrenaline. "The cops are probably on the way." he speaks to himself, smiling at the crowd before preparing to make a jump and float away from the scene.

"Hero Deku!"

Float disappeared mid-jump. He fell on his face. 

"Hero Deku!"

He hears one more time, but this time, louder.

"Hero Deku!"

It gets even louder. Standing up and turning around, his eyes comically widen seeing the amount of reporters and cameramen surrounding him!

"I-I-I-" The pro hero stutters, eyes flickering at the amount of people with microphones crowding him.

What could he have possibly done now that these people are leaving him practically no space to breathe?! They've circled him!

For some reason, he raises both of his his hands as if he's done a crime. "I haven't done anything!"

"Hero Deku, are you aware of your sudden uproar on social media?!" A reporter with blonde hair and thick mascara shoved a microphone to his face.

Sudden uproar in social media?

Izuku's eyes widen, waving his hands in a panic. "N-No! What?!" he quickly says. He turned towards other reporters, unsure of what was happening. "What's going on?!"

Tons of cameras take pictures of him. Blue spots appear in his vision from all the flashes that threaten to burn his cornea off.

A brunette man, more calmly this time, places a microphone to his face. Izuku awkwardly pushes it away using his index finger. 

"Hero Deku, you are suspected to be Dynamight's love interest! What is your reaction to these allegations?!"

The voice rings in his head.

Izuku's eyes flicker towards the reporter in disbelief, brows furrowed in irritation. "Reaction to—what? Love interest?" 

Love interest?

"Do you even hear yourselves right now?" He spoke angrily, fists clenching. He doesn't care about how much cameras are practically livestreaming every word that does something simple as so to leave his mouth. "Love interest? You guys are treating Ka- Dynamight like he's some character in a drama!"

They were playing around with the situation as much as they can. Izuku knew that it was part of their job to earn money from trending news—but milking them and pressing on other people just to get the information they need for an "entertaining" report? Not to mention the fact that they have never treated Katsuki like a person through all of this. They pass his name around as if he isn't an actual living person that's just trying his best out there!

"Hero Deku—"

"I'm speaking!" Izuku cuts a reporter off. "Dynamight has a life of his own—he's a person as well! And his life deserves to have privacy that is respected."

He knows that lashing out so suddenly at the press, especially with all the cameras, would be written in newspapers and blogs. But that wasn't what he was worried about at the moment—he was doing was he thought was right. Defending Dynamight. Defending his friend.

And there. From afar, he catches a glimpse of a familiar silhouette, sitting dangerously by the ledge of a building—just staring down at him as he gets swarmed by obnoxious reporters who have no sense of privacy in life. Although extremely far away, it seemed as if he could zoom into the image of the person. He could recognize that smirk in a room filled with a thousand people.

Kacchan.

"Do you have any clue about—"

"Goodbye!" The hero disregards their questions, floating away from the scene. He uses Blackwhip for faster travelling, and cameras immediately film him as he flees away from the scene. He doesn't care, though. 

The press didn't even hear anything he was saying! They just kept spouting things and asking things that they could use to earn for money! Well... that's kind of their job—but still! They barely had any respect for Katsuki, and Izuku wasn't going to stand for that. He knew that Katsuki wouldn't like it.

Making his way towards his friend, he plops down and sits beside him with a loud groan, frustratedly running his hands through his hair. "Some reporters are so obnoxious!"

Katsuki elbows him and pushes his mask up to his hairline, still in his hero costume. "Why'd you leave? I was enjoying the show." he teased with a mocking grin on his face. "What were they swarmin' you for?"

"You!" Izuku exclaimed.

The other hero's brow quirks in confusion. "Me? The fuck do I have to do with thi—"

"Nothing!" He cuts off his friend. Katsuki's mouth immediately clams shut, both brows now risen in shock.

Izuku sighed, "Sorry. It's... nothing." he looks off to the side, seeing the crowd he just escaped take numerous pictures of them. "They're taking pictures of us. We should get home."

Katsuki opened his mouth to say something, but he chose to remain silent and shut his trap. He nods.

They enter their shared apartment with Izuku groaning loudly. Only Katsuki was out of his hero costume, having left it at his agency. Izuku was still in his mech suit.

Katsuki lightly smacks the side of his head using the back of his head as he walks past him. "The fuck is that attitude for?" 

"I'm just tired. What time is it?" Izuku asks, taking the mech-suit off as it automatically transforms into a suitcase, creating a loud clap as it shuts close. Only his yellow scarf remained of his costume, which he carefully folded and kept in his hands. He still had his teacher uniform underneath the chunks of metal.

"Taking your costume off is so fucking fast and convenient." The blond pulls his phone out of his pocket. "It's 6 P.M."

Izuku softly laughs at his previous comment about his hero costume and nods, immediately making his way towards his bedroom to change. Katsuki does the same, his bedroom door only parallel to Izuku's.

After changing clothes, Izuku left his room with a blanket, planning to bring it to the living room. He makes his way towards the couch, scrolling through the hero blog before going on the television.

"Shoto finished a mission about drug trafficking..." Izuku muttered to himself, thumb between his teeth with his legs curled up to his chest.

He hears a door creak open and turns his head towards the sound, and sure enough, Katsuki leaves his bedroom with a pair of basketball shorts and the same black shirt with a skull print from way back in highschool but in a size bigger to fit his build. 

The blond walks over to the couch, and pulls on Izuku's blanket to fully cover him in it with a snicker.

Izuku shuts his phone and pulls the blanket off his head, leaving it on his body shoulders and below. "What was that for?"

Katsuki shrugs with a shit-eating smirk. He smacks the back of Izuku's head lightly. "Just annoying you, dweeb."

Green eyes roll in an act of annoyance, masking the fondness behind them. "Whatever."

Floorboards slightly creak as Katsuki walks past him, but before he could get far,

"Movie night?"

It was something they do every now and then, on their living room couch. But frankly, Izuku didn't even know why he suddenly brought up the idea. He just blurted it out.

Viridian eyes stared expectingly at the back of the other man.

Katsuki slowly turned towards him and replied, "If I make ramen, do you promise not to get broth all over our couch?"

Izuku's eyes crinkle with a smile. "I promise!"

"How do I know you're not breaking it?"

A closed fist rises from the depths of the green-haired man's blanket, and a slightly crooked pinky curls out. Izuku looks up at him with a cheeky smile. "By pinky promising?"

Katsuki walks over to him just behind the couch and huffs a tired sigh, suppressing even the slightest of a smile. "God, Izuku. You're such a dork."

Pinkies cross each other in an x-shape, and curl into each other. "I, Midoriya Izuku, pinky promises that I won't spill even a drop of broth on the beloved couch of the Bakugo-Midoriya apartment."

"You're such a nerd, you know that?"

"Yeah, but you did it anyway."

Katsuki tightens the lock on both of their pinkies, before releasing their hold. "Better promise that then, nerd." he walks away, "Cause I'm gonna make the best fucking ramen the entire world's ever seen!" and immediately goes to the kitchen. 

Izuku giggles at the assertion, replying to his arrogant statement with a fond smile on his face. "Sure you will."

He wasn't being arrogant anyway, he has made the best ramen Izuku has ever gotten the pleasure to taste. Was it being arrogant if he was speaking the truth?

The pinky finger, where he and Katsuki had created a promise, still held a hint of warmth from Katsuki's touch. He placed it over the loud fervor of his heart in hopes to reduce the speed of his heart beat. 

Izuku left out a shaky exhale, seeing as his heart only started beating at a quickened pace, warming up even more.

It was insane! It barely counted as some sort of physical touch, it was their pinkies that intertwined, for goodness sake! It wasn't like their fingers interlaced, it wasn't like he inhaled the vague aroma of burnt caramel as their bodies interconnect in a warm hug, it wasn't like their liiiippppssss... What the hell.

What were these thoughts?! 

Okay, pull it together. Izuku's thoughts muttered nervously, emulating an entire crash-out in his head whilst looking perfectly fine (at least he hoped he did) on the outside.

Objectively, Katsuki is very attractive. Izuku knows that and acknowledges it. Many people from around the world have taken a liking to his appearance and handsome qualities, with him even taking countless photoshoots that were printed in magazines and billboards. 

Yeah, that's all that it is. He must be thinking of these things because he knows that Katsuki is objectively very attractive. That's all it is to it. Many people love Dynamight, he's no different.

But the thing is, it isn't Dynamight he sees... it's Katsuki! His best friend! Not the hero that kicks ass while serving face card at the same time—again, his best friend! The stupid jerk that pulls Izuku's blanket over his head just to be intentionally mean!

People are attracted to Dynamight because of his public standing, when he solves cases in matters of minutes, when he's dressed up for TV shows and interviews, when he's outside, kicking ass in his hero costume, his brash personality, his photoshoots, oh, his photoshoots!

But Izuku sees Katsuki when he quietly reads his manga and novels like a dork with his glasses, when he's cooking in the kitchen with disheleved hair, cooking for him even though Izuku knows how tired he must've been after a whole day of hero work.

That's the person he sees. Not the one who makes kids cry for a living, but the teasing jerk that isn't afraid to show the cracks in his perfect image inside their apartment.

And that's the one that Izuku...

He pulls on his green hair and lets out an accidental scream, blurring the lines between his internal crash-out between reality. 

Of course, Katsuki becomes concerned and shouts from all the way across the kitchen. "What the fuck, Izuku?! You good in there?"

"Yeah! Sorry, it was... a bug?" Izuku laughs awkwardly, wanting to exterminate himself to rid himself of the embarrassment! What the actual hell?!

"Thought he liked bugs." he could hear Katsuki mutter from the kitchen. And the thing is, he did like bugs!

His eye twitches in embarrassment and he groans out loud, loud enough to be vocal, but quiet enough for Katsuki not to hear. He slaps his hands on his eyes and drags it through his skin, pulling on his bottom lid.

"Hero Deku, are you aware of your sudden uproar on social media?!"

A voice appears in his head, tracing from an unwanted memory. His sudden uproar on social media, huh?

Checking that out was probably right, who knows what happened in there. 

With the warmth of his phone still clasped loose in his other hand, he quickly turned it on and sorted through his apps, deciding to start off the search in Twitter.

Which, he will later find out, was a bad idea.

He typed in the words Hero Deku in the search bar, and oh boy.

Search: Hero Deku

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Deku!  @ofaherodeku

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🌊 Kota @izumik0ta 1d ago

So... I might have clues on who Dynamight likes. And I'm not gatekeeping.

Dynamight barged into our classroom to chat with our teacher, Midoriya-sensei, who is also Number 4 hero Deku. Also, it wasn't just formal hero talk. They looked like they did this every single day. Deku even has a cute nickname for him, which you may have already heard when Deku accidentally blurts it out in an interview instead of Dynamight's hero name, "Kacchan".

And Dynamight just kept staring at Deku in a way. I don't think I've ever seen Dynamight pay attention to somebody this much. I took a photo, which is also inserted in this post.

So. Yeah. Dynadeku is real you guys. I've seen their pining ever since I was still 6 years old and they were highschoolers.

#DYNAMIGHT #DEKU #dynamightbealoverboy #dynadekuisreal #cooked

1.1M Likes      103.7K Shares

Seeing one post was enough. What the hell?! This was his sudden uproar on social media?!

Trying to distract himself using his phone was a bad idea. He wants to throw his phone at the wall and bury himself alive under their couch.

But at the same time... being curious wasn't bad right?

Angelzuku made a reappearance, sitting on his left shoulder. "Curiosity kills the cat, Izuku." Angelzuku proceeded to tell him, completely against what he wants.

That's true... Some people let their curiosity get the best of them and they end up in bad situations... But it wasn't like he was uncovering a murder case, so why not?

For the first time in the twenty-six years Izuku has lived, Demonzuku appeared. He hovered in front of him with a demon tail and shaggy black clothing with tiny horns. 

"You'll never know if you don't try. What if it's actually good that you know?" Demonzuku said with a mischievous glint in his eyes, playing with his tiny trident. 

As much as Izuku tried to be the good person he is, he agreed with Demonzuku.

So, being the good person that he is,

"Yes, Izuku, know your principles." Angelzuku spoke.

he clicked the #dynadekuisreal tag.

#dynadekuisreal

4218 Results

Right off the bat, there were already a lot of results despite the tag being made in just a day. 

Suddenly remembering the fact that Izuku doesn't have a Public-Relations Manager, he could respond to all these in ways he wanted. He didn't have a brand to maintain anyway, neither did he want to focus on maintaining a public image. 

It wasn't like he wanted to respond to any of these, anyway... 

Fumiko @takahashifumiko0723

#dynadekuisreal #dynamight #deku #dynamightbealoverboy Okay guys, to all the people out there who keep sayin' that our beloved Dynadeku doesn't make sense, here's a big flip you to your faces!

1. Dynamight had once mentioned in an interview that there was only one person worthy of his rivalry. Everybody simply thought it was Lemillion or Shoto—because Lemillion is currently sitting at #1 and Shoto is currently striving for #1, but isn't it funny how Dynamight, who used to sit at #15, suddenly rose to #5 just below Deku (#4), who had only recently re-debuted as a pro hero? He had all that time to chase the rankings, but once Deku steps in the field, he suddenly skyrockets.

2. You can always see Dynamight blasting his way to UA. UA High is where Deku works as a teacher. No other pro hero, other than pro hero staff, visits UA nearly every day. Dynamight is not UA staff. And from Kota's post, a UA student, we can safely say that Dynamight goes to UA to have chats with Deku.

3. C'mon, they always escape crowds or situations together. They fight together. If Deku is there, you can always see Dynamight in the background, far away or even next to him. 

4. The confirmed nickname that is Kacchan. Why would Dynamight let somebody call him by a really cute nickname so out of character of him if the person isn't special to him?

So, to all the toxic people out there, stop degrading us for what we think. We obviously have a solid basis as to why we think that !!!

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Replying to @takahashifumiko0723

>> nice observation:) 

Post your reply?

"What'cha doing?" Katsuki popped up from behind him, both hands full with two bowls of ramen behind the couch. 

His hand fumbles and his phone jumps, barely being able to catch it in time. He catches it and immediately hides the phone from him. "Wah-cchan!"

Katsuki chuckled and walked to the side of the couch. With this amount of time, Izuku could just...

Replying to @takahashifumiko0723

>> | Write your reply... 

Post your reply?

Erase the written reply. What was he thinking anyway?!

He hears a light thud on the wooden table in front of their couch, where Katsuki placed the two ramen bowls. The scent of chicken broth flooded the room—and suddenly, Izuku felt the hunger he didn't even know he was feeling earlier, and immediately grabbed his bowl and inhaled the delicious, mouth watering aroma. He didn't quite eat yet, he waited for Katsuki.

Katsuki turned the television on using the remote control and walked away from the living room to turn the lights off. The only light source that remained was from the television.

Walking back, the blond grabbed his bowl. With only one hand holding his bowl of ramen, he lifted the blanket that covered Izuku's body from his abdomen and below, diving into its warmth with him.

Izuku felt shuffling beside him, where Katsuki made himself comfortable inside his blanket.

He felt his face heat up. It was probably from the steam of the freshly cooked ramen.

"We're sharing blankets now?" The freckled, awkward man asked. Well, more of clarified. He realized he said it in a meaner tone of voice than he meant to.

He saw Katsuki lift the blanket off him using his free hand and Izuku immediately stopped him. "No, no! It's alright. You can stay."

Katsuki raised a brow in suspicion, and shrugged it off anyway. He dropped the blanket. 

Izuku's legs remained curled towards his chest, but his other leg, the one that faced Katsuki, flopped mindlessly to its side. It laid straight onto what he could assume was Katsuki's thigh. He flinched at the touch and briefly lifted his leg, flicking his vision towards the expression on the red-eyed man's face. Katsuki only looked back at him, squinting in confusion as if he was trying to uncover something about Izuku's demeanor.

Suddenly, the room didn't smell all that much like chicken broth anymore. The room consisted of aromas like burnt caramel because of the annoyingly strong aroma of the cologne Katsuki wears.

Izuku liked it.

"What are you trying to do?" Katsuki narrowed his eyes at him.

They were sitting very close.

Izuku laughed uncomfortably, wanting to pull on the roots of his green hair at full strength. "Nothing."

His leg flopped mindlessly once more on top of Katsuki's thigh. None of them budged.

... Except Izuku. Katsuki had an unexplainable expression on his face.

He sipped on the ramen's broth, feeling a burst of flavor soften the stiffness in his mouth. Twirling a piece of the noodles in between his chopsticks, Izuku silently ate as Katsuki scrolled through movies on a streaming app. 

"Can I pick?" Izuku asks, eating a piece of meat sandwiched between his chopsticks. His cheeks nearly hurt from how good the food is!

Katsuki held the remote further from him. "No way in hell. You're gonna pick another All Might movie." 

Izuku pouted, muttering "No I won't."

Yes he will.

He looks up at the TV screen and sees Katsuki briefly pause at one particular anime series, the adaptation of a manga he'd been reading. His face remained completely unfazed, but Izuku knew that Katsuki wanted to watch it.

"Kimi ni Todoke," Izuku read the title out loud, "do you wanna watch it, Kacchan?"

Katsuki looked at him with bigger eyes than usual, the sharp and jagged blood-red eyes filled with a mesmerizing glint that Izuku didn't know how to explain, but wanted to memorize.

He looked away with a red hue at the tip of his ears, a little embarrassed. "It's a series, though. And it has a lot of episodes." Katsuki said, despite wanting to watch it really badly.

Izuku giggled at his demeanor, softening up after seeing the glint in Katsuki's eyes from earlier. "We can always continue it for other nights. Now press play, Kacchan."

He watched as Katsuki pressed play, a slight smile plastered on the blond's face.

Watching as Katsuki watched the show with a soft glint of amazement in his eyes, Izuku wanted to memorize every single bit of his features. From how his smile slightly increased during the scenes with Kuronuma and Kazehaya, from how he bites in his soft laughters during the comedic scenes, and how he looked like he was the most perfect thing to Izuku in a world filled with imperfectness at that moment.

Izuku looked down at his ramen bowl, half empty. Katsuki's bowl was already done and set by the table in front of them.

His stomach churned in a comforting way that felt right. His heart beat in a way that wanted to be synchronized with the vibrations of Katsuki's own heartbeats, in a way that wanted to be one with his. 

He pressed his lips in a thin line, nervous. Swallowing the excess saliva from the back of his throat, he inched his way closer to the man. Their shoulders bumped, and through every touch and piece of contact, Izuku felt like his skin was burning.

Katsuki slightly shuddered from the touch, seeming a little confused and even hesitant. But he leaned into it.

He leaned into it.

Letting go of the breath he didn't know he'd been holding, Izuku had now gotten the assurance that Katsuki liked the physical contact.

He silently slurped his noodles, looking back at the television. Kazehaya and Kuronuma stumble across a stray puppy in a box—a wholesome scene that Katsuki actually really appreciated in the manga.

Looking back at the blond, his eyes were filled once more with a wholesome glint as he continued to watch the scene, a faint blush dusted his cheeks and part of his nose.

Unknowingly, a smile grows on Izuku's face. Not because of the wholesome scene going on in the anime, but because of the mesmerizing look on Katsuki's face—a rare, fleeting moment where all the muscles in his face relax and all that's left is an adoring look visible from his eyes.

He looks back at the television again, still smiling. 

His head effortlessly drops by the taller boy's shoulder, a comfortable resting place. His heart clenched, wondering if it was the right move. He felt comfortable, but also tense.

Katsuki seemed to freeze at the sudden contact as well. Izuku felt the faint movement from when the blond swallowed built up saliva.

But nonetheless, Katsuki relaxed into the touch anyway, even leaning a little bit into it for Izuku's comfort.

"Is this okay?" Katsuki asked him without the gravel in his voice, after the really long time of silence in the room other than the show playing on the television.

Izuku stayed silent for a bit, adjusting for a little more comfort for the both of them. He smiled and replied, "Yeah."

They continued to episode three, the time only being eight in the evening. Izuku rose his head from his current position to finish off his ramen, and placed it just beside Katsuki's bowl once he was done.

He looked back at Katsuki, and for a fleeting moment, Katsuki was looking back at him, before his eyes flicked back towards the television and he clicked his tongue.

Izuku laughed, placing his head back right where he did just earlier. He buried himself deeper in their blanket, pulling it up to his shoulders. 

"I hate you." Katsuki muttered without meaning a word he said. 

None of them were focusing on the episode at that point.

Izuku grinned and simply responded with a cocky intonation in his voice. "No you don't."

They continued to watch in silence.

Until Izuku felt the temple of the taller boy, resting on top of his head, the intoxicating yet sweet aroma of nitroglycerin filling his sense of smell, aching in his mind.

He hated how Katsuki never actually had to use cologne. He hated it because Katsuki always came to mind when smelling sweet treats. He hated how much he didn't actually hate it.

Izuku's head shifted for more comfort. Katsuki didn't budge.

He couldn't really focus on the show by that time. His senses were filled with the inconsistent rise and low of Katsuki's chest through every breath, the warmth he felt through every part of his body that touched Katsuki's, and the fact that Katsuki never did pull away from their touch.

They laid in that position for a while.

Izuku shut his eyes and felt content with where he was.

Needless to say, none of them slept in their rooms that night.

Izuku - 1 Point

The person Kacchan likes - 0 points

katsuki 🔒 @fuckersgofuckoff 13m ago

holy FUCK i woke up with izuku on top of me.

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Comments

DENKSKSK 🔒 @chargephone111

Replying to @fuckersgofuckoff What the FUXK happened

katsuki 🔒  @fuckersgofuckoff

Replying to @chargephone111 we fell asleep on the damn couch nothing happened

DENKSKSK 🔒 @chargephone111

Replying to @fuckersgofuckoff No are ypu guys togethdr

katsuki 🔒  @fuckersgofuckoff

Replying to @chargephone111 no

DENKSKSK 🔒  @chargephone111

Replying to @fuckersgofuckoff ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME

Chapter Text

Friday — U.A. Staff Room, 4:13 P.M.

Izuku not-so-neatly placed his necessities inside his briefcase, preparing to go home. 

Usually, he goes home a tad bit later—around five in the afternoon, but he never goes home at dark unless he has extra responsibilities to tend to.

Katsuki wasn't home, though—he was in Tokyo.

"You're leaving early." A man with black hair and a dreadful expression pointed out, who was also his former homeroom teacher from when he was a highschooler, now colleague: Aizawa Shota.

Izuku laughed awkwardly, trying to shut his overpacked briefcase. Whilst struggling, he meekly responded, "Well, you know how it is..."

The scent of coffee lingered the room from Shota's freshly brewed cup. "Isn't it Bakugo's interview today? Five in the afternoon?" He made clarifications with a deep tone of voice, gravelly as ever.

The green-haired man finally clammed the briefcase shut, wiping sweat off his forehead right after and his face dropped in exhaustion. "You know too well, Sensei..."

"It's Aizawa. I'm your colleague, Midoriya."

"I don't know, it's pretty hard to get used to."

Shota narrowed his eyes at the other teacher. He clicked his tongue and closed his eyes, silently sipping from his cup of coffee. Izuku looked back at him with jitters. His eyes were truly terrifying, even after all this time. "... Kidding, kidding!"

"You should go now if you want to catch that interview."

"Okay, see you, Sensei!" Izuku smiled at his former homeroom teacher, waving enthusiastically as he hurriedly left through the door.

The sleep-deprived man's eye twitched, sighing in exasperation.

"You're getting really old, Shota!"

"Shut up, Hizashi."

Izuku returned to their empty apartment with an uncomfortable churn in his stomach, feeling nervous. He folded his uniform's black sleeve up, getting a better view of the time.

4:24 P.M, his wristwatch read. He was home a tad bit earlier than usual.

Letting out a shaky exhale, he made his way towards his bedroom to change clothes and neatly arrange the papers he was gonna grade for later, making use of the twenty-six minutes he had. 

After doing so, he went to the kitchen to brew some coffee, before sitting alone on the couch.

He couldn't help but flick his eyes towards their All Might wall-clock every now and then. 

4:25 P.M.

4:26 P.M.

4:26 P.M.

4:26 P.M.

For every time Izuku looks back at their wall-clock, almost no time has passed despite it feeling like an eternity. 

Frankly, he doesn't even know why he's so paranoid about the entire interview thing. Usually for hero interviews like this, he would take his precious time at work and just watch a recorded video of the livestream later on whenever he could find the time.

As a child, he'd always been enthusiastic about heroes—always eager to watch any sort of video that had something to do with pro heroes or just heroic acts in general. 

That detail about him, even at twenty-six years old, never changed. But as he grew up, working a full-time job as a teacher and a hero part-time was something that caused him to be quite busy—therefore fitting his hero-fanboying in his schedule gets pretty difficult. He still does so whenever he has free time, seeing as his interest in heroes never went away, but it's put to a limit due to how busy his life is.

And Izuku's seen the papers he needed to grade, grades to be done within the week. The papers were tall enough to rival even the tallest mountains.

So, why is it that he finds himself sitting uncomfortably on their couch, scrolling through channels mindlessly even though he wasn't paying attention to any of the shows that were playing?

He absent-mindedly browsed through channels until he finally found the right one. A huge, vibrant, and very noticeable countdown was settled in the middle of the screen, waiting to broadcast the entire interview that starred Hero Dynamight live.

3:09, the countdown read.

With a racing heart, he watched the countdown carefully as its timer slowly dropped. He impatiently tapped his foot on the floorboards.

3:08

The countdown dropped by a second,

3:07

and dropped,

3:06

and dropped,

3:05

and dropped...

Izuku loudly groaned, closing his eyes shut as he ran his scarred hands through his hair, pulling on the green strands whilst he slouched on the couch. He peeked at the screen using his other eye, hoping that the time's went by quite significantly.

2:58

"This is taking so long." Izuku muttered with gritted teeth impatiently, practically holding the remote control hostage under his hands.

He wonders what's changed. He doesn't get like this with Katsuki's other interviews, usually just opting to wait for him to come back home and that's where he grabs the opportunity to ask about how the interview went. 

But this... He'd left work earlier than he usually does, put a halt to his important grading, and stopped doing other things that had a significant importance, even freed a quarter of his schedule just to watch how the interview goes. Freeing his schedule was the difficult part, but he still did so. So why?

There was an uncomfortable feeling that resided, just floating subconsciously somewhere between his mind and his heart, causing a tingling sensation throughout every vein of his body which led to a bit of a discomforting feeling. But there was a knocking at the back of his head that just urged him to watch the damn interview.

He felt as if his body ran colder than usual. Why was he nervous?

And he was unable to text his other friends due to them busying themselves with hero work, but he does have a friend that takes the night patrols...

Shoto.

Todoroki Shoto

4:57PM

Midoriya Izuku

>> hey

Todoroki Shoto

>> Yes?

>> I am brewing tea.

Midoriya Izuku

>> kacchan's interview is today

Todoroki Shoto

>> Oh

>> Ok

Okay, Shoto was a little awkward to talk to. But he's also one of his best friends. He looked back at the countdown,

1:58

It was working! The way for him to pass time is working!

Todoroki Shoto

>> Haven't you established that you love him

Izuku's heart skipped a beat, nearly even halting.

Is that what this was all about? Clearing part of his schedule, doing things that he usually never did, just to make way for this one thing?

He loves Katsuki. He knows that. Katsuki's been in his life for nearly all his life, keeping him in check, making sure that he isn't living a life he didn't want to live. Katsuki's bent his world, ready to break parts of him and sacrifice everything just to reignite a lost dream that Izuku wasn't even sure he'd be able to grasp ever again.

He's went through hell and back, making the impossible become possible. 

Izuku was ready to make multiple sacrifices just to stand next to him, to reach him. To be there beside him, conquering the world with him.

But that love was never anything else. 

At the same time; he yearned to shoulder every weight that laid heavily upon his shoulders, to cradle his heart and soul within his arms with everything that he has. He wanted to be a place where he could go home to whenever everything gets too heavy for him to carry on his own.

Because in Katsuki's presence, everything seemed possible, not because of grand gestures or promises, but because the way Izuku accepts him makes the impossible feel as if it was reachable. Because whenever he's there with him, the boundaries of reality blurs, and the unreachable becomes tangible.

But that love was never anything else. 

Had it ever been more than that?

Had he wanted anything more than just that?

The way the world slowed down and reduced to only the two of them in the room, the way his heart selfishly craved for something more that they didn't have, and couldn't have.

Was it always more than that?

Everything Izuku holds in him, was it always reduced to the one word that he'd been avoiding for so long?

Midoriya Izuku

>> i guess i have

>> i do love him

>> its pretty hard not to

The countdown was reduced to three seconds left, slowly ticking down. 

00:03

00:02

00:01

00:00

The timer went down, and the show's started.

"Good day to everyone! It's your favorite host, Akane Reiko!"

The magenta-haired woman spoke, the camera directed to her. She wore her hair down, straightened with her bangs brushed to one side of her face. Her lips were painted with a dark and heavy red, paired with shiny gloss that complimented her navy blue eyes. Her eyeshadow consisted of two colors that were a dark brown and gold, eyelashes brushed with light mascara, an unnoticeable wing of eyeliner laid painted close to the base of her long lashes. A black blazer hugged her physique. A short, ironed magenta skirt layed flat on her thighs as she wore black see-through tights with red high-heels.

At the moment, the camera was only focused on her, leaving a somewhat suspenseful watch as to who she'll be interviewing—leaving the audience interested, and finally left shocked at the final reveal.

She sat down before speaking once more. "For this Akane Afternoon talk show, we have once again another hero guest! Will they be blessed to be in this interview, or shall it be a curse for them?" Reiko spoke in her microphone, making gestures that correlated with what she was saying using her other hand. The audience laughed after she spoke.

Izuku sat tensely on their couch, a faint blush of awe appearing on his face as he watched the show. Even after all this time, he's still the same hero geek.

"Will they be from the top twenty? Top ten? Or maybe they'll be the number five hero, Dynamight!"

Clapping quickly rose loudly from the audience as the camera directed to Dynamight, who informally laid back on the couch with his legs crossed. He wore the winter version of his hero costume.

Izuku's heart, embarrassingly enough, skipped a beat as he caught sight of him through the television screen, despite seeing the man for every single day of his life since the last five years.

The camera zoomed to half his body, in which the hero looked straight into it with a smirk that showed his teeth. He rose one of his hands, emitting tiny crackling explosions that gave a small yet interesting moment of a spark-show.

The butterflies surging to his stomach was probably just hunger.

It wasn't like he was just over-the-top, hopelessly, and deeply in love.

He sipped on the coffee from his porcelain cup, letting the warmth of the freshly brewed beverage travel through his throat to his system, letting the caffeine melt in his body for the surge of energy.

The camera zoomed out, now capturing both the interviewer and the hero full-view. They were both sitting on one-person sofas parallel to each other, but the seats were turned towards the audience by a third.

"So, Dynamight," Reiko spoke, directing her focus towards Dynamight, who flicked his sharp eyes towards her. He positioned his arm by the sofa's armrest, resting his temple by his palm as his other hand laid on his lap.

"Being Japan's current number five hero, how does it feel to be known in the country? Even throughout the entire world?" she started the show with her first question, starting off simple by asking surface-level questions.

Izuku watched carefully, tracing his eyes towards the hero on screen.

Dynamight unslouched from his seating, lifting his head from the rest it had on his hand. He winded his hand in a circular motion, gesturing that he was thinking of his answer.

"Well, damn." 

The audience laughed at his reaction, a smirk painted on his face.

A soft laugh exitted Izuku as he watched his best friend on live television.

The hero laid back on the sofa once more, his jands free to make gestures as he spoke. "I guess I just got kind of used to it. Being a hero, you get fame and all that crap."

Reiko nodded with a hum, letting him talk.

"You get famous. People recognize you. It's amazing and all that, for your actions to be recognized by other people. And it feels nice—to be recognized as someone who can do something.

But people out there always think that you can save just about everybody. It can get pretty fu-hlipping tiring and stressful. To go on my job knowing that I can't fail because people's lives depend on everything that I do out there.

Don't worry though, Dynamight doesn't fricken' fail." 

The interviewer and the audience laughs at the joke that was snuck in.

But Izuku continued watching carefully, understanding every word that left his mouth that formed his response. 

Katsuki coughed on his hand, signalling that he was gonna continue speaking. 

"Heroes will always do what they can to save as much as they can. We go beyond our limits because you matter.

He continued watching, his heart squeezing through every sentence, every word. There was something about his words that seemed to draw him in.

But there are times where something is unavoidable and out of our reach. And we fail. Because we're people too. We're just people who have the weight of the world on our shoulders because we chose this. Bit that doesn't mean we take it lightly. We grief. We feel regret. Because the situation was out of our reach."

Until the words that left Katsuki's mouth seemed less a response to the interviewer's question and more a carefully spoken message for someone else entirely.

It played as if every word he carefully weighed and pronounced under his tongue were directed toward a specific listener, one who he knew pretty well would be watching. Each syllable that bounced off his choice of words were laced with intention, every pause a deliberate choice, as if he was trying to communicate a message that was only meant for one person to understand.

Something that he knew was needed to be heard by the person he was conveying the message to on television.

A message that was conveyed live for the world's eyes, but was only meant to be seen by one.

Every word etched in Izuku's heart, causing a slight twinging pain that was also the same pathway that led to comfort.

"We fail. But that doesn't mean we never tried."

Katsuki finally looked directly at the camera, but with an unexplainable expression on his face. He wasn't scowling, he just... wanted to convey his message.

The studio lights reflected off Katsuki's eyes, illuminating a depth of emotion that seemed to hold a thousand unspoken words.

For a slight second, Izuku's breath hitched as he caught the intensity of the hero's gaze. It was as if Katsuki stod not in a television studio but eye-to-eye with Izuku, trying to reach the one person who mattered.

Izuku, sitting in the middle of their living room, felt the weight of every syllable. The words pierced him like shards of memory, each one a reminder of the choices made, the paths taken, and the burdens carried. He closed his eyes, the pain and comfort intertwining like familiar threads.

"And sometimes, the toughest fights aren't thrown with punches, it's the what-if's that hang around longer than any amount of physical damage."

In that moment, it felt as if the world reduced to just the two of them, bound by similar struggles and unspoken understandings. The world might've been watching, but Katsuki's message was for Izuku alone—a promise, a plea, a reminder that even throughout everything, it was still them against everything.

Izuku wiped the tears off viridian eyes whilst laughing quietly to himself, a fond, longing feeling blossoming within him. 

"You knew I'd be watching, huh, Kacchan?"

It was silent for a while after the blond spoke, until the crowd roared for his response with a loud applause.

Of course Izuku loved him. He was stupid to think that he didn't.

There was nobody else he'd imagine falling in love with instead.

He was it for him, huh?

"That was a really inspiring speech, Dynamight." Reiko spoke as she clapped her hands as well, smiling. "You truly have a way with words. I can't say I'm not impressed—I'm pretty surprised myself. Through every person I've interviewed on television, you truly do stand out." She added with pure and genuine admiration, remaining honest with her words.

Dynamight nodded with a cocky grin on his face, still as full of himself as ever. 

"Shall we move on to the next few questions?"

Nodding whilst adjusting the turtleneck part of his costume, the hero responded with a competitive fire in his eyes. "Throw them at me."

Reiko laughed elegantly, the smooth tone of her voice chirping throughout the studio. "You're certainly an explosive one, Dynamight."

Katsuki laughed.

He laughed. And it was probably pathetic for Izuku to nearly think that his laugh could be his favorite song.

"Well, my hero name is Dynamight."

The audience laughed, with Izuku letting a chuckle out as well whilst he sipped on his coffee.

"There's something that I actually want to know..." The interviewer trailed off, placing her fingers on her chin, playing as if she was thinking whether to ask the question.

Dragging it out, she spoke before unveiling the question to bring out some suspense. "There have been quite a lot of speculations about this, about your hero rank."

"Go on."

"You were number fifteen on the HBJ, and you rose to number five in less than two months." she added, leaning back on her seat. Finally dropping the bomb, she unveiled the question. "People have noticed that this random surge in the rankings took place right when Hero Deku re-debuted. Why is that?"

Izuku froze in his seat as he heard his name being mentioned. He hadn't exactly expected that.

And he already knew what Katsuki was going to answer anyway, it was just a coincidence. It couldn't have been anything more than that—

"I guess," the hero spoke, cutting off Izuku's line of thoughts and effectively shut his thinking. "me and Deku are simply rivals first."

He rose a brow, having genuine interest in what Katsuki was about to say next. There was something invisie that drew him in; through every word that leaves his mouth, they build towards an answer to a question that he never knew he had.

Reiko hummed whilst nodding, taking full focus on his answers. "Elaborate?"

Dynamight unslouched from his seating, leaning forward on his feat whilst he rested his forearms on his thighs. "People think it's Shouto that gets me in my fire. Seriously, that's such a joke. That nonchalant half-and-half numbskull can't do anything to me. But Deku pushes me towards my limits like nobody else does. He gets me competitive."

He feels stupid for feeling special, but honestly, he kind of already is, huh?

Both stupid and special.

But he still wore a cocky and accomplished grin on his face.

"So, Deku," Katsuki turns to look at the camera with a straight (or gay?) face, the lens zooming at him. Izuku's head quickly turns toward the television screen wiith the mention of his name, caught offguard. 

"Race you to number one."

The hero smirked with his thumb down. The audience roared with applause for their beloved hero, endeared by his confidence and competitiveness.

"I'll get there first, Kacchan." Izuku responded with a quiet laugh, responding to him as if he was in an actual conversation with the man, despite him being alone in their living room and the other in a recording studio. 

The camera zoomed out, now back to capturing both the hero and the interviewer.

"That nerd probably said something like 'I'll get there first'." Dynamight turned to look at the interviewer, mocking Izuku by speaking two octaves higher and making weirdly expressive hand gestures.

Flabberghasted and insulted, Izuku retaliated, "I do not sound like that!"

"Oh, and Deku, yes you do sound like that."

The audience erupts in loud laughters, with even a giggle exitting from the interviewer's mouth.

He opens his mouth to retort something, but he closes it once more and crosses his arms, pouting as he found it useless to say something back; seeing as they weren't actually having a conversation anyway.

"You and Hero Deku must be really close, huh? Considering you practically memorized his responses."

To be honest, Izuku was half-expecting him to completely deny it. For him to say that they weren't even friends, to be arrogant and say 'that dork would be lucky to be my friend' with a laugh. But he was slightly hoping that Katsuki would do even so to say that they were.

Katsuki laughed, and it wasn't because the idea of them being friends was funny, he laughed... fondly?

"I guess you could say that. Seriously, a world without that muttering weirdo would be uncanny. I can't stand it when he spouts useless shi-stuff, but I'd probably go insane if he was completely removed out of the picture." 

Or, in other words; A world without him would feel wrong.

And that was more than what he asked for.

Not "Deku isn't my friend.", not "We're not that close.", and not a "Hell no".

Ooh-ing, awh-ing, sounds of awe were heard from the audience. 

He answered completely out of his comfort zone, Izuku knew that. But those words flowed so precisely off his tongue, without even a tad bit of hesitance lacing every word; not even a stutter. Except for the part where he accidentally almost lets out a cuss word.

Izuku's heart beat loudly in his ears, feeling the now familiar heat rise up to his face as it crawled up from his neck. His bottom lip trembled, struggling to even say anything. He raised his arms to his face, completely covering it as he suddenly felt shy at that moment. A couch pillow was spotted sitting mindlessly beside him, which he then grabbed to hug tightly. His legs folded up to his chest as he tried to close in on himself.

"Why are you so easy to fall in love with?" The freckled man groaned out loud, dragging down his bottom eyelids. He pointed accusingly at the blond in the television screen. "Curse you!"

He was being dumb. He quickly retracted his hand and sighed in defeat, a little embarrassed of himself. Somebody his age out there is doing something productive while he was sitting in the middle of their living room acting like a girl with a highschool crush.

It was around half an hour into the talk show now, with Katsuki being able to answer every question without hiccups.

Izuku was entertained—not because it was about the guy he liked (okay, it was half that) but because his fire of enthusiasm for heroes lit up brighter than other days. It was fun to play analytical, observing every answer that was given by interviewee, sometimes even trying to predict what he would say next.

But that point in the talkshow immediately arrived, and Izuku's flame of joy was immediately put out by a fire extinguisher.

Reiko coughed in her hand, clearing her throat before starting to speak once more. "So, I'm sure everybody's been waiting for this exact moment," 

Fingernails were brittle as Izuku bit on them, anxiously waiting for the first question. His other hand held the remote, in which he fought the urge to just shut the TV and quit watching because there was nothing else he would earn out of this and he had a lot of work to do.

But he didn't.

And he was dying of curiosity. To see what Katsuki's answers were.

What type of person did he like? What's their social standing? Would they be quiet? Loud? 

Why does he like them?

What about them made him like them?

Questions that will probably be answered to an extent, and all of the answers lie in this interview.

So he doesn't shut the television and decides to continue watching even with the horrid, heavy, and uncomfortable pit in his stomach telling him it was a bad idea.

"To ask about the Twitter post." The interviewer continued, the pit in Izuku's stomach worsening. 

He was looking at the expression on Katsuki's face, and the man didn't even flinch. It was like he knew what he was signing up for.

"Now, Dynamight, are you comfortable with me asking you questions in regards of this topic?"

Katsuki wouldn't say yes to anything he was uncomfortable with.

Say no. Izuku hissed with gritted teeth, tightening the hold he has on the poor couch pillow as he hugged it tight to his chest.

"Sure. I won't answer anything I don't want to anyway."

What the frick?!

Izuku wants to bury himself under their couch. Again.

Because why is he choosing to be so—open about this topic? Katsuki, at most, is a reserved and private person. What about this person changed that about him? For him to be giving this sort of information so freely? Almost as if he's changing for somebody else. 

And that's funny, because Izuku used to be at that place in his life. There was nothing that person had that Izuku didn't. There was nothing that person did with Katsuki that Izuku never did with him before.

Why's he getting so competitive all of a sudden?

"That's great!" The interviewer clasped her hands together with a smile, making a loud clap. 

"That's great." Izuku repeated her words, muttering them as he crossed his arms and pouted on their couch.

Reiko adjusted herself in her seat, bringing a sort of paper to her face, seeming to be a paper of questions she could ask. Looking back at the hero who laid comfortably on the one-person sofa, she started questionning him. "So, to start things off simply; What's your type?" 

Katsuki scrunched his face at the question, shuffling to sit up straight. He laid his elbow on the sofa's armrest and rested the side of his face on his palm.

"I haven't given it much thought, to be honest." 

The interviewer hummed, throwing in questions that would be easier for him to answer. "What about physical qualities?"

Physical qualities.

Izuku hated how he couldn't predict Katsuki's answers for these questions.

A distasteful feeling lied on his tongue as he thought of the taller man hooking his arms in somebody's slim waist.

Quickly shaking the images off his mind, he continued watching the show, bitter about everything that was entering his mind.

"Just somebody who can take care of their body." 

He couldn't stop his eyes from flickering at his arms filled with scars, each being a reminder of the times he went beyond his limits and broke himself more and more. 

Nodding at his response, the woman moved onto the next question. "What about personality? 

The hero stayed silent for a moment about the question, thinking about what the right thing to say was.

"... Modest, maybe? I don't exactly put much thoughts into these."

A few questions have passed, without much hints that developed up to who the mystery person actually was. 

Izuku would be lying if he said his heart didn't shatter through every reply, through every answer.

"So, tell us about this secret love. Would you share some more about them?"

He couldn't help but notice how Katsuki flinched at the question, how he's showing signs of nervousness that Izuku himself has barely even seen. How a light red hue brushes by his face, finding more difficulty in remaining in his composure.

And he hated it.

Dynamight coughed in his hand, clearing his throat. "There's really not much I can say."

Reiko chuckled, allowing him to feel more comfortable around her. "C'mon, at least one piece of information?"

A vague line formed in Izuku's heart, and with one tap, it would come apart and break in half.

"They believed in me when nobody else did."

Katsuki said with the fondest smile Izuku's ever seen him in. He couldn't even make him smile like that, even on his best days.

Crack. A gap appeared just between the line in his heart, feeling a sort of break that Izuku wasn't sure how to fix.

It was always them against the world, wasn't it? Dynamight and Deku, Kacchan and Izuku. And they've been with each other for practically their entire lives, haven't they? Where Katsuki goes, Izuku's there, and vice versa. 

But what if that person had everything Izuku lacked? Katsuki always complains about how he lacks the simplicity of self-preservation to be even left alone, and Katsuki's always been there to clean up after him. To remind him of the things that he should've reminded himself of. What if that person didn't need any of that? Somebody that wasn't dependent, somebody that can take care of themself.

So who is this person that suddenly appeared in the picture?

Izuku could take care of himself. He just has to prove it.

But if he took care of himself, would that still change a thing?

How could he even take care of himself if his heart does something so immature as to break a little more through every question?

The crack deepened.

"How much people have you loved before that person?"

Whatever the answer is,

"None." short and simple, came the reply of the hero.

it was going to hurt.

"Would you have chosen to love anybody else?"

And Izuku, once again, would be lying if he said he didn't hope Katsuki would say 'yes',

"No."

even though it was foolish of him to.

The faint line in the middle of his heart deepened, splitting his heart into two.

Izuku knows and established that he'd give everything to Katsuki. And he knew that Katsuki would too.

But he couldn't have everything. Least of all his love.

"... Fuck." he unknowingly utters out a curse word, heart racing in a sudden realization.

Katsuki was his best friend, the person he valued more than life itself. He couldn't let his feelings get in the way of their friendship and let all of their development go to waste. Through each other's lowest and highest points, the other was always there—Izuku couldn't imagine going through life without him. Besides, Katsuki seems happy at where he is, and at what they have. Risking everything just because Izuku wanted more, was selfish.

He told himself that it was enough—having a friendship and a strong connection with the other man was enough. Because there was nothing he could ever ask for, right? They're better than ever before, they live together, hell, Katsuki even admits that they're friends. Him being there will always be the reassurance he needs. That will forever be more than enough.

Yet a lingering doubt was still present, knocking at the back of his head with no motive of ever stopping.

The fact that Katsuki was there, remaining with a steady position in his life, was enough. 

Watching him from afar, even with the painful swell of affection that Izuku tries so hardly to ignore, was enough.

It was better to hold what there is, instead of holding the fragments of what used to be.

But Izuku couldn't stop missing him.

Missing him whenever he comes home late from work, missing him whenever he doesn't drop by U.A. simply because he wants to talk to him, missing him whenever he wasn't there with him. Missing him whenever he wasn't by his side.

Hell, he even misses him right now, and it's driving him crazy.

Because he craves love. He craves warmth. He craves reassurance. 

And none of that was anything the blond could give.

Perhaps putting some distance between them was the right move. Surely, if he's far enough, his heart will eventually forget.

Once his heart forgets, everything can go back to normal.

He doesn't know how long he's been staring blankly at the television screen, until his phone's screen lights up, vibrating with a notification. The show was long over by now, with different shows he isn't familiar with playing on autoplay as it ended.

Bzz. His phone buzzes again, so he grabs it and immediately takes notice of his wallpaper.

It was a funny picture of Katsuki sitting outside the classroom Izuku supervises, sleeping with drool exitting from a corner of his mouth. The hero's shift ended early and decided to wait for Izuku's to end. Whilst on his last reminders for his class, Izuku's gut told him that there was something outside the door, so he momentarily left the classroom for a short period of time to make sure that there wasn't. Surely enough, he saw Katsuki sleeping soundly just beside the door. He took a picture, and set it as his wallpaper because he thought it looked funny.

He looked at the picture, feeling hollow.

It was already seven in the evening.

Then he quickly entered his passcode to check out the notification.

It was in his messages.

Uravity Ochako :D

7:02PM

Uravity Ochako :D

>> hey deku, I hope this isn't too short notice

>> but do you wanna come over? I have this cupcake recipe and we can make it tgt, I have the ingredients :P

He stares at the message, wondering what he should do.

Staying at Ochako's place was going to get his mind off things, wasn't it? It was probably going to be better for him if he went. He'd be able to forget what happened momentarily.

So he sighed, texting out his reply.

Deku :PP

>> can i stay the night?

Hero Daily @dailyheronews 1h ago

#DYNAMIGHT: A rise in rankings!

Previously #5 Hero Dynamight has now risen to #3 after the past few days, garnering popularity surrounding the previously made Twitter Post—with the hero's interview starring Akane Reiko as the interviewer, the public has made a lot more discoveries about this 'secret love' and has come to love the hero more. Could the interview be the key to finding out who this mystery person is?

#HeroDaily #GEMGDynamight #AkaneReiko

13.1K Likes     1.4K Shares

Comments

sakura 🌸 @cherryblossomsrgreat7

Replying to @dailyheronews "the interview is screaming hero deku!" i scream as they drag me to the white padded room

Chapter Text

"Ah, Deku!" 

It was nearing eight in the evening.

"Excuse me for intruding." The green-haired man laughed awkwardly as the door shut behind him, placing his hand at the nape of his neck.

Ochako looked at him, curious and confused. She giggled softly, responding to him with her bubbly attitude, a smile on her face. "You're not, I promise."

Izuku smiled back and walked forward, taking off his shoes neatly before turning around, crouching down to position them facing the door. After getting back up, he looked at the shorter female who was already looking back at him with a homely smile. "Are you sure it's okay if I stay the night? I don't wanna trouble you."

"Pssh," a gust of air left the brunette's lips as she looked off to the side, smacking the air. She looked back at him with a reassuring look on her eyes, continuing. "you really aren't. Plus, it's fine with me. You're my best friend. Let's call it a sleep-over!"

Izuku looked at her, a little unsure and even hesitant. But he quickly let go of these feelings, a smile growing on his face. "Yeah!"

"Now let's head to the kitchen. I have all the ingredients laid out on the counter!"

Ochako softly but firmly grabbed his wrist, directing him to her kitchen, even though Izuku already knew the layout of her apartment, having been there quite a few times with friends. Her pinky was lifted in muscle memory, allowing her to not accidentally use her quirk on the man. 

He couldn't help but keep looking at his wrist that was in the other person's grasp as they kept walking. The hold on his wrist was soft and careful. Steady. The opposite of rough.

Warm.

Izuku felt warmth travel to his face as he kept staring at the hold that had the both of them connected, with his locked in the other's secure grasp. Butterflies surged to his stomach, curling into him with such intensity that he felt like his legs were going weak; his strength leaving his body. 

His heart was pounding, feeling every ounce of touch that were from the other.

He looked up.

Crimson eyes stared right back at him.

Staring as if it was trying to piece every part of him together like a puzzle. Curiosity lingered behind red eyes, a soft glint reflected from the ceiling's light.

Blond hair stuck out in every place, tousled as it remained untamed like always.

Every muscle in his face remained relaxed, showing a type of fondness that was visible not from a smile or his facial expressions, but from the innocence and adoration that were found behind his eyes.

Izuku's heart pounded louder than ever before. It thumped against his chest in a way that he didn't know how to control.

"Izu—"

"—ku?"

The deep, rough voice that he was always familiar with, transitioned to something softer, pitches higher. 

He looked back at round, brown eyes.

And the pounding in his heart stopped.

Ochako stared back at him, the same way he imagined Katsuki did.

Hold on. Did he just imagine Katsuki?!

His free hand instinctively rose to cover the visible fluster on his face, attempting to hide the redness that lingered in his cheeks and the tip of his nose, even though it brought even more attention towards himself than he intended. They stood in the middle of the kitchen.

Hazel brown eyes looked back at him in curiosity, seeing the visible redness in his face despite his poor attempts in covering it. She noticed that he was only using one hand to cover his face instead of two. With even more curiosity, her eyes trailed down his other arm, towards his unused hand.

Her hand gripped mindlessly on his wrist, without her even noticing. 

She quickly let go of the man's wrist, pulling it towards her as if she was burnt. Redness painted her cheeks as heat travelled from her neck all the way to her face. 

Ochako looked at the palm of the hand that basically held his, any sound entering her ears coming off as muffled, with every heart beat becoming louder than the last. Warmth from his skin still lingered. She wondered if her hands were cold to the touch.

Looking back up, Izuku wasn't covering his face now. A faint blush dusted his face as he looked off to the side.

"S-Sorry, I didn't notice!" the brunette said in a panic, her heart still pounding.

Izuku remained silent, still looking to the side. A scarred hand rose to rest at the back of his neck, which still remained with some heat in them. He muttered, soft and quiet. "It's alright."

Besides, it would've been normal for the both of them if he just hadn't imagined his childhood-friend-turned-to-bully-to-rival-to-best-friend in that moment, wouldn't it?

Hazel brown eyes continued staring at him with hesitance, butterflies still in her stomach. 

Despite the pounding in her chest, she smiled. "Let's bake, then!"

Ochako forgot to mention that they were making caramel cupcakes.

Izuku stirred the sticks of butter into the melted into the melted honey-brown sugar, a look of comfort laid on his face. Ochako stood beside him, whilst she was in charge of making the batter. After mixing the butter, whilst stirring, he added a cup of heavy cream to bring the sauce together. He inhaled the homely scent of caramel, finding comfort and serenity in its fragrance; feeling safe, warm. A teaspoon of salt falls into it, mixed in throroughly as it distributes itself evenly through the sauce.

Caramel had always been a comfort ingredient in sweets and desserts for him. He enjoyed the sweet taste that melted on his tongue, with a tinge of saltiness to contrast the sweetness, a sort of balance he'd always appreciated.

Kacchan sure does smell like caramel. The words remained in his mind, chuckling to himself at the thought.

His heart felt funny.

Izuku mixed the sauce slowly. His hands moved with deliberate care as a sense of dizziness overcame his body, his heart rate accelerating against his will, the thudding in his chest growing more insistent. Knots formed in his stomach, twisting tighter with each recurring thought. His knuckles grew white as the metal whisk was gripped with an intensity, as if the extra grip strength might help him push aside what he'd tried desparately to shake off.

Because everything continued to remind him of the man, and the thumping in his heart was always there, no matter how hard he wanted to try and forget. A lingering feeling that he couldn't brush off, even with his hardest attempts in running away.

Looking off to the side, Izuku decided to check up on his friend that was handling the batter.

But viridian eyes immediately met honey-brown eyes, as Ochako was already looking at him, still mixing the batter as if it were just muscle memory to her.

Izuku's eyes widen and he opens his mouth to say something, but Ochako's eyes flick into a state of panic, a soft red painting her face as she turned back towards the bowl of batter she'd been mixing, now mixing with a more vigorous speed. She let her short brown hair fall by her side to hide more of her face.

A laugh exits his mouth, soft and steady, a sound that the brunette could catch in a crowd of people. A piece of him she wants to keep to herself.

"What's so funny?" Ochako muttered softly, embarrassed and flustered.

He continues to laugh as he turns the stove off. "Am I that ugly that you look away when I look back at you?"

In a state of panic, the brown-eyed female stops whisking the batter, immediately locking eyes with the man. A faint trace of redness from the events earlier were still present on her face. 

"You're not!" she shouts out loud, almost a little too loud for her liking. Izuku looked back at her with a look of surprise on his face, a little caught off guard. Ochako immediately shuts her mouth after seeing the look on his face. Redness floods her cheeks one more, feeling a little too warm for her liking. 

Letting go of the whisk she held, she turned her body to face him fully. Before Izuku could speak, she spoke before him. "Wait!" she exclaimed, rising her hands in a gesture that told him to stop, and that she was going to explain. She brought her hands down, fiddling with her fingers whilst avoiding eye contact. "It... It's not like that." 

Izuku tilted his head in confusion, a small sound exitting from his closed mouth.

Ochako bit her lip, looking to the side as she avoided eye contact, as if she was hesitant about saying what she was going to say. 

She rose her head and looked him in the eye, opening her mouth to say something. "I think you're amazing. You're nice, you're charming, and you're... you're handsome if I say so myself, and... uuugh..." Ochako groaned, slapping her eyes onto her face, covering it.

Silence was the only thing coming out of the other, and it was killing her.

That was until she heard something from him. She moved her fingers away from her eyes, wanting to capture the look the man had at the moment.

"I really appreciate that, Uraraka. Thank you!" Izuku said with a genuine smile, something that Ochako wanted to look at all day.

He was endeared by the compliments he'd been showered with by the other, but he was drawn to notice how he felt... nothing, other than just that.

Asides from endearment, there was nothing.

And he couldn't help but try to search for the feeling, the butterflies, the comfortable ache in his heart, the strength leaving his legs after a simple interaction.

But there was nothing.

Because he'd only ever felt that with one person.

Ochako looked at him with awe, admiration, and love in her eyes. The way that Izuku had always wanted Katsuki to look at him.

She slowly removed the hands from her face, wearing an infectious, genuine grin. "I'm glad."

Now it was one in the morning, and Izuku and Ochako sat beside each other on Ochako's couch with all the lights turned off; the only light source being from the television screen in front of them. They've been whilst watching television dramas, and Izuku's phone was set on silent to be respectful. It's been a while since he and Ochako actually got to spend time with each other one-on-one, anyway.

At that point, cupcake wrappers were crumpled messily on the table in front of the brunette's couch, planned to be thrown away later on before they go to bed. 

Ochako had been scooching her way to sit closer to the man, a little hesitant and shy. Izuku, on the other hand, didn't seem to quite notice her efforts in lessening the space between them, more focused on the show they were watching instead. He was completely unaware of her failed attempts in trying to slide closer towards him the past night, until he felt heat press onto his shoulder. Izuku looked towards the shorter female, who was now sitting so closely beside him that their shoulders were touching. Ochako held her breath, unable to think straight with the dizzying feeling that flooded her mind with the blush that spread across her face. She brunette meekly avoided eye contact, choosing to keep her eyes on the television screen, even though she was conscious of what the other might think or feel.

Izuku sat silently, not moving a muscle in his body. 

Even though he couldn't help but compare situations again. Ochako was right there, sitting so closely beside him that he can smell the shampoo she uses. Sitting so closely he could inhale the faint scent of her perfume. Sitting so closely that he felt her body warmth from where the sides of their bodies touched.

A girl who he once held feelings for, but no matter how close she sat next to him, he couldn't find the the same warmth in his heart that occured in the exact same situation, only it was with a different person.

He wondered if it would've felt different if it was with Katsuki.

His face lit with a warm glow at the thought. Ochako looked towards him, noticing this. She bit her lip, as if she were to be contemplating whether she should say something or not.

Ring! Ochako's phone rung loudly from the table in front of them, which startled the both of them and caused the brunette to push herself away from him. She looked towards the man, realizing that she rudely pushed herself away, opening her mouth to apologize whilst she rose one hand.

Ring! Her phone chimed angrily once more. Izuku laughed and paused the show, saying "It's alright. Go answer your phone."

Ochako paused, retracting her hand, closing it. She looked at the phone and grabbed it, feeling a little shaky.

Bakugo Katsuki is calling you...

The text lit lightly across her phone's screen, along with a green answer button and a red decline button. Honey-brown eyes slightly widened, wondering what the blond was calling her for; seeing as they don't usually interact. They don't even have nicknames for each other in their phone contacts.

With shaky hands from the events that happened right until then, she answered the call and brung it right to her ear.

"Bakugo?" Ochako questioned, a little confused why he was calling her in the middle of the night. 

Izuku's eyes widen in a state of panic. 

Kacchan's calling her?! He thinks, heart racing in an uncomfortable, panicky way. 

"I'll be coming home right after the interview. I don't see any point in staying longer, besides, I don't think you can last more than a day without me." Katsuki told the other who was already in his uniform, fixing up his own hero costume.

Izuku, just behind him, rolled his eyes as he picked up his briefcase. "I can handle myself just fine without you."

The hero narrowed his eyes at him. "Can you, though?" his gloved hand ruffled the other's hair, messying it before his job.

"Hey! that was uncalled for." Izuku shoved his hands off, fixing his hair which he just got done tidying up!

"Just sit tight and wait for me, 'kay? Don't do anything stupid and get yourself killed. Might just kill you myself."

"Okay, Dynamight!"

He'd completely forgotten that Katsuki said he was coming home the same day of the interview! He just hopes that he isn't too angry for staying up late...

Hold on.

Did he even tell him that he was going to Ochako's place?

Shoot!

"Have you seen Izuku?" Katsuki spoke with a voice that sounded tired and angry for some reason Ochako couldn't lay her finger on. 

"Uhm..." Ochako mumbled on the phone, making eye contact with Izuku, who was just in front of her. She handed the phone to him, assuming that the call was for him.

Izuku's heart dropped as he grabbed hold of the phone, skipping a beat as he read the kanji of Katsuki's name clearly. Hesitant and a little terrified, he slowly brought the phone up to his ear. The fact that the entire room was pitch black asides from the light emitting from the television wasn't helping very much.

"Ka...cchan?" He spoke with shaky breaths, feeling genuinely nervous.

The phone made a small sound,

that indicated that the call was over.

Because Katsuki hung up.

Izuku brought the phone down from his ear, taking a look at its screen clearly.

Call with Bakugo Katsuki lasted 00:16

"Kacchan hung up." 

He didn't know if he was relieved that the other hung up, or if he should be scared.

Grabbing his phone, he checked the messages he couldn't see because of do-not-disturb. 

4 missed calls from Kacchan

31 missed messages from Kacchan

Taking a deep breath, Izuku shoved his phone in his pocket, decided to be resilient, and portray calmness through his actions. He returned the phone to the brunette, getting up from where he was seated to clean the mess they've made before leaving. Whilst picking up the crumpled pieces of cupcake wrappers, Ochako asked, "You're cleaning up?" and helped him as well.

"I have to go home." Izuku turned to look at her, holding many pieces of cupcake wrappers in his hands. Ochako looked back at him with her own share of wrappers in her hands, a slight tinge of hurt visible from her eyes. Nonetheless, she nodded and didn't utter any more words.

They walked towards the kitchen bin to throw the wrappers out, with silence in the room other than the loud sounds of the crinkling plastic of the trash bin as pieces of paper were thrown into it. They both washed their hands before Izuku started walking away at a speedened pace. Ochako sat still in the kitchen, watching as he went. 

Izuku stopped walking, looking back at her. "I'm sorry I had to leave so early."

Discomfort lied in her stomach, and her heart was squeezing in her chest. But despite these feelings, she smiled and looked at the man. "It's alright."

The freckled man took one last look at her, analyzing her expression. A look of guilt spread across his face, feeling bad about the unexpected leave. Nonetheless, he nodded and turned away to walk.

Ochako's heart squeezed painfully as she watched him leave, a feeling of longing spreading through each and every of her systems. The silence that followed his departure felt deafening, a harsh reminder of the distance between them. A distance that felt miles long, but that distance was something she desparately wanted to close. In that moment, the depth of her feelings became painfully clear, and she couldn't help but wonder what her place was in his life. 

Because Izuku left so easily.

And she was hurt about it, because there was nothing she could do.

But she could at least make the most out of their time.

She clenched her fists, her bottom lip trembling. Finally, she opened her mouth to say something.

"Deku!" Ochako shouted his name. As the man grabbed his coat from the coat rack, he paused and turned his head to look at her from across the entrance of her apartment. Her eyes widened, suddenly losing any ideas of what she could say. Izuku continued to look back at her, waiting for what she was going to tell him.

She furiously blushed, suddenly looking down at her floorboards. Taking one step at a time, before she started walking at a quickened pace. Before she knew it, she rose her head and she was already in front of the taller man. She'd just noticed their height difference then.

Meekly avoiding eye contact, she looked to the side and spoke with a tiny, trembling voice. "I-I can walk you to your apartment."

Izuku's eyes widened, raising his hands to shake them side-by-side quickly and dismissively. "No, no! It's late at night, and the walk back to your apartment could be dangeous. It's alright, I swear."

Ochako's eyes widen as well at what he said, not because of shock, but because of admiration; how he looks after her for her safety. Her heart beats at a quickened pace, and her bottom lip was trembling by that point.

Nonetheless, she still made an argument. "Just until the outside of my apartment building?"

Izuku looked off to the side, contemplating whether he should accept or not. Sighing, he finally spoke, "Alright." and put his coat on, as well as grabbing his belongings.

The walk down the apartment's stairs was quiet, with them only hearing the slow and inconsistent breaths from the other. 

It wasn't like there wasn't anything to talk to—they were friends, and they've known each other for quite some time. They're comfortable with each other, and it wasn't like it was awkward. But Ochako's heart was racing.

And so was Izuku's.

But the reason why both of their hearts were racing was different.

For one, Ochako's heart was racing because of the overwhelming feelings she'd felt that brought her to that moment. She felt pushy for forcing him to let her walk him, even if it was just until they were outside her apartment building. And this is the guy that she's liked since highschool. Of course she'd feel nervous, because she's alone, walking with him in silence. There was nobody else running about in the building, it was an hour and a half into midnight. 

But Izuku's heart was racing because he feels like he'd done something wrong. Which he probably did. Because Katsuki probably wouldn't hang up like that if he didn't wanna face the person. Plus the fact that it looked like he was completely ignoring his texts and his calls, which he'll probably have to clear up later. Thinking about it was already nauseating! He didn't wanna go home at the moment if he was being honest...

Ochako turned to look at him, pausing from walking down the stairs. Izuku went down a few steps before noticing that Ochako stopped. He turned to look up at her, confused as to why she paused. 

Biting her lip, her heart squeezed before opening her mouth to say something. "Is there something bothering you?" 

The freckled man continued looking up at her with an unexplainable look on his face, before laughing quietly. Ochako stared at him him, confused.

"It's nothing, Uraraka. Thanks for being worried, though." 

Her heart skipped a beat, choosing to ignore it as she walked down to be on the same footing as Izuku on the stairs. With a racing heart, she muttered. "Why wouldn't I be worried?"

Izuku continued walking down the stairs, as Ochako was left two steps behind. They continued walking, but they weren't walking side-by-side. And all Ochako could do was stare at his back as he continued to not notice every racing thought, every doubt.

But Ochako wanted to change that.

She wanted to be on the same footing as he was. She wanted him to notice every subtle change, every move, every attempt she's done in trying to lessen the distance between them. She wants to walk beside him, instead of staring at his back everytime he leaves. She wants to have a place in his life. She wants to be seen.

It was fine with her even if she'll never be as important as him, as long as Izuku looks at her, then maybe her world will finally start spinning again.

As they got to the end of the set of stairs, they walked outside the building. Ochako stopped walking as they left through the gates.

Izuku stopped walking, turning to look at her. He smiled whilst saying, "I guess this is it."

Ochako couldn't return the smile he was giving. She looked at her feet, her hands holding each other at her front. "I guess it is."

"I'll see you." 

He walked away, but Ochako kept staring as he went further and further off into the distance.

But she didn't want him to go. Not yet.

"Wait." she said a little too quiet, and he was already far away. 

He's already walking away, and he couldn't hear her. So what was the point?

...

It wouldn't hurt to try.

"Wait!" she screamed after him, her voice slightly cracking.

So she walked, until walking turned into jogging, and until jogging turned into running. She ran towards him, as if her life depended on it.

She didn't want him to get too far, not yet. Because there were still some things she wanted to clear up. And she doesn't know when the next opportunity would come around, taking the risk was better than imagining what could've been. Because after this, everything will finally feel lighter.

And maybe, just maybe, something will change.

She bumps into him, which causes him to stumble a little. Backing away, she breathed whilst her eyes trembled. 

"U-Uraraka?" Izuku spoke out of surprise, caught off guard. "Come on, I can walk you back to your apartment building, you can't go alone. Villain activity is more frequent during this time of—"

"Just... wait."

It was them, alone on the sidewalk during the night, the occassional passes of cars disrupting the silence they had between them. Trees rustled with the soft night breeze, crickets chirping loudly, but not loud enough to overcome the colume of Ochako's heartbeat.

A gust of air blew across them, letting Ochako's brown hair get carried away by the wind. 

Badump. Badump.

She doesn't know how much she can handle of Izuku looking at her like that.

Letting go of the breath she hadn't known she'd been holding, she looked him in the eye.

"Me and Bakugo... we're pretty different, aren't we?"

Kacchan?

Izuku stayed silent, allowing her to speak.

"Your... your smiles are genuine when it's around me, but never as big compared to when it's with him." Ochako breathed with slight imperfections in her voice, holding her emotions back as if it was dangerous to set free. Doubts circled through her mind, wondering if she should keep going on or just put it to a stop.

The night sky reflected on her eyes as she clutched her chest, specks of light scattered across her pupils with a trembling shine. "You can look at me like I'm the stars, but you look at him like he's the entire universe and beyond."

"And I know that I'll never stand in the same place as Bakugo, I know that, Deku!"

Her breath hitched, holding back the flow of emotions she'd tried so desparately to build a dam over; but the dam was finally coming apart, and so was everything with it. 

She was saying it.

"And I can't keep competing when it's already clear who the winner is. Because every time... every time I try to inch my way closer to you, and no matter how close I get, I feel as if there's always this wall between us." Her voice trembled, barely above a whisper, as she forced out the painful truth.

"But when it's with Bakugo, it's like... there's none between you both at all. It's always so easy with him. He just has to be there, and it's already settled—while I... I have to keep trying, and even though I do try, it seems like nothing changes."

She paused, her teeth sinking gently into her trembling lip as she felt the weight of the emotions she'd tried her hardest to push away, feeling vulnerability and longing like she's never before. Everything she's ever felt, every whispered promise, every stolen glance, every dream of what could be if she'd just spoken about it, condensed into the simple, yet profound confession that had been silently screaming to be set free.

"I like you. Maybe I even love you. But you'll never look at me the same way you look at him."

The wind stopped blowing, and all that was left was a dead silence.

And she was done.

Izuku stared at her, his heart pounding against his chest from the confession. 

But he returning her feelings was something he knew he couldn't do. She's an important person in his life, hurting her with unrequited love wasn't something she deserved.

He couldn't bring himself to lie to her.

There was somebody else in his heart, and nobody else could ever fill the void like how he did.

"Uraraka... I'm, I'm flattered, but—"

"I know! I know that there's somebody else for you. Everybody knows at this point, don't they?" Ochako cut him off, tears welled up at the waterline of her eyes.

His face flushed with a deep red, feeling a little embarrassed. "E-Everybody..?"

"Yeah. I guess I was a little stupid to even doubt it. It's always been so clear, you look at him like he hung the stars!" The brunette laughed loudly, her voice cracking. She closed her eyes whilst laughing, which ended up making her tears fall. Opening her eyes, she saw that Izuku was looking at her with concern and care in his.

She touched her face, finding that it felt wet. "Oh. I'm crying... that's... weird."

He walked closer towards her, wiping the tears off her face for her. Ochako looked at him as he did so, her eyes trembling. 

"I'm really sorry."

It was only then that he'd seen how pretty her eyes were.

"Rubies can't beat dirt, huh?" Ochako laughed, sniffling.

Izuku blushed slightly. "It's not dirt. They look like hazels." he caressed the bottom of her eyes with his thumb, her skin cold to his touch.

She couldn't help but smile.

"Did my confession... at least make your heart race?"

Viridian eyes slightly widen, before chuckling softly. "Yeah. I'm flattered someone like you could like me. You're amazing."

Her heart skips a beat for a second, before smiling with him. "How could I not? Everybody adores you, Izuku." she laughed quietly, looking down with awe written all over her face.

But she makes a request, the one thing she's always wanted, but was too shy to ask to. 

"Can you call me by my first name?"

...

"Ochako." Izuku hesitantly pronounced. And even though its vowels didn't run so smoothly and easily off his tongue, it was enough.

She smiled genuinely, her heart filled with joy. Because after years of the empty feeling of longing, it was finally enough.

"I'm glad."

They talked a little more that night, and Izuku was alright with giving her his time—no matter how long it took. 

So when Izuku arrived at their shared apartment, it was two in the morning.

He tensely stood just in front of their door, hands shaking just beside him. He huffed out a shaky exhale, trying to keep the loud beats of anxiety inside of his heart in check. A lot had already happened, with Ochako's confession, and now he was probably about to face the last day of his life.

A scarred, shaky hand dug into the right pocket of his jeans until he felt the familiar coldness of the piece of metal in his fingers. Pinching the key between his fingers with a force, he rose his hand towards the door knob and contemplated whether he should actually open the door.

The key was inserted in the keyhole. Taking a deep breath, Izuku turned the key and heard the familiar click of the door, signalling that it was open. 

Once the door was open, Izuku found that there was no light slipping through the tiny crack of space between the door and the doorframe. Opening the door even more, their apartment was completely dark. Not even one light was turned on.

He entered the shared apartment with a decreased amount of fear; it was still there, but sheer enough for him to have confidence. He quietly closed the door behind him and locked it, leaning with his back onto it as he closed his eyes and let our a sigh of relief.

“Kacchan’s probably asleep right now.” he muttered quietly to himself, clenching his fist in victory.

Izuku felt relieved.

That was until his eyes flinched from the sudden change of lighting in the environment, his eyes squinting from the brightness. From an apartment that bathed quietly in darkness, to an apartment that was lit brightly by a lightbulb that occupied the entrance hall, now with a silence that was louder than words.

Saliva built at the back of his throat as he tensely swallowed it, his heart beating loudly against his ears.

There Katsuki was, standing in front of him with his fingers still on the light switch. Ruby eyes locked onto him with a murderous intent, as if Izuku was the prey he’d been hunting. His blond hair was left messy and disheleved, as if he didn’t care enough to even fix anything of himself. His bottom lip trembled, trying to keep himself from saying anything out of anger. Katsuki’s hand was shaking just beside him, not because he was nervous, but because he was furious. His other hand threatened to peel the light switch off the wall from the force his fingers were digging into it.

Izuku’s heart beat like crazy, feeling every vibration from his chest as he froze in his position, feeling as if he couldn’t move at all. He’d never seen the taller man behave like this before.

Katsuki’s anger is vocal, loud. He’s expressive about it, often resulting in an explosion or two. But this… he just stood there, quiet; acting unlike himself. Izuku couldn’t even read whatever was going inside Katsuki’s mind, and it was driving him insane, nervous, and scared.

A shaky exhale of frustration left Katsuki’s mouth.

“What the fuck were you doing, Izuku.” 

Izuku’s eyes shot wide open, a bead of sweat travelling down from his forehead to his temple. Every part of his body felt like it was about to implode through every loud vibration that left his heart. He opened his mouth to speak, lower lip trembling, but his words remained held at the tip of his tongue.

He nervously spoke as if he was a child explaining himself to his angry mother, afraid of the consequences that would be the result of the end of their conversation. “I-I was with Ochako-”

Katsuki's eyes slightly widened for a fleeting moment. "Ochako?" he repeats under his breath, sounding a little hurt and in disbelief.

Izuku opened his mouth to speak, but refrained himself from doing so once the blond continued speaking.

“Doesn't matter anyway.” Katsuki cut the uncertainty in his voice, with venom being spat out through every word.

The furious blond walked closer towards Izuku, with every step heavier than the last. 

“Do you know how fucking worried I was?” 

Unable to take any steps back due to him being pressed up against the door, Izuku remained stiff by his position. Laughing awkwardly, he watched as the taller man continued to reduce the distance between them.

“I came home expecting to see your shitty face, but all I got was dead fucking silence, you being nowhere to be seen, because YOU FUCKING LEFT WITHOUT SAYING A WORD!"

Katsuki angrily grabbed at Izuku’s collar as he shouted, his knuckles turning white from how tightly he grabbed the man. Izuku felt the the warm breaths that left the man’s mouth against his face due to the close proximity between them, with only an inch or two of space laid between them stopping their faces from connecting.

"You weren't answering my texts, weren't reading any of them, and you weren't even reacting to any of my fucking calls! Did it never fucking cross your mind that would make me feel worried?!"

He remained silent, unable to say anything at the moment, heart hammering against his chest with how close they were, hyper-aware of the little distance between them. That if one of them moved their head even for just an inch, their mouth would crash into the other's.

Nevertheless, he clenched his fists, frustrated as he spoke, voice tiny. “I’m my own person, Kacchan. I’m an adult. I can do what I want, and whatever consequences there are, are for me to own up to.”

But clearly, that was the worst thing he could say at that moment. Because Katsuki was now booming with an anger higher than he’s seen before. His rough fingers clenched tighter at his collar, lessening the space between them as Izuku was squeezed between him and the door.

“So you think you’re better now, huh?” Katsuki hissed, the gravel in his voice present.

“That’s not—”

“You think you’re so fucking good to the point that you can’t even tell me where the fuck you’re going in the middle of the night? Did you not understand how fucking worried you’d make me? Do you think this is funny? There’s a lot of shit people out there, Izuku! I can’t fucking lose you!”

Tears shakily flowed down Katsuki’s face as his voice slowly broke, cracking. His hold on Izuku’s collar loosened as he found his physical strength weakening under vulnerability.

“Kacchan—”

His grip on Izuku’s collar tightened once more as he got a grip of his anger once more, unable to back down until he wasn’t finished with everything he wanted to say just yet.

“You couldn’t even find it in you to tell me you were at some bitch’s place! You probably had the best fucking night of your life, while I was in here, threatening to rip through everything just to find some reassurance that you were okay.”

Izuku’s fists clenched at his sides, voice raising. Ochako found the strength to be emotionally vulnerable to him that night, she didn't deserve ro be labelled as something as vulgar as that. “She’s not just some bitch, Kacchan! Ochako's my fr—”

“Yeah, because clearly she’s something more than just that if you’re spending the fucking night with her.” Katsuki’s bottom lip trembled as he spoke with pain behind his words.

There was something about how he looked at that moment.

“Hold on, why do you care about who I spend my nights with?”

Katsuki’s eyes widened for a fleeting moment, before narrowing once more at the shorter man as he released his grip on his collar. 

“I don’t.”

His footsteps left a heavy sound against Izuku’s ears as he slowly walked away, turning to his room. The door slammed shut between him, creating a loud sound that led to a flinch on Izuku's end.

Izuku’s back slid against the door, until he was fully sitting against it with his legs tucked towards his chin. Tears welled in his eyes without really falling. He was feeling a lot of things, frustrated, worried, a little angry, but out of everything he was feeling, he felt bothered the most.

"I don’t." Those two words repeated in his mind.

Because Katsuki almost seemed like he was lying.

Katsuki flopped onto his bed like a sack of unprocessed feelings. His spine cracked in at least three places and he welcomed it, because maybe if he snapped in half, he wouldn’t have to feel the leftover emotional tension radiating off his skin like static electricity. The mattress groaned beneath him, as if also exhausted by the sheer weight of his unresolved issues.

God, that argument. That conversation. Whatever the hell it was. He’d opened his mouth with good intentions for once, and ended up letting his temper drive the car off a cliff. Again. He wasn’t even sure if it was Izuku’s fault or his own, but he was definitely leaning toward blaming Izuku, because it was easier than admitting he’d been a ticking emotional bomb with a five-second fuse.

The worst part? He wasn’t even mad anymore! Not really. Just… annoyed. At everything. At himself. At how Izuku had looked at him—wide-eyed and hurt—like he hadn’t meant to set Katsuki off, which somehow made him feel worse. He wanted to scream into a pillow, punch a wall, or run a half-marathon barefoot just to burn the frustration out of his system.

Instead, he screamed internally. Silently. Because he knew the moment he made a sound, Izuku would come knocking, all worried and soft-voiced and say, “Kacchan, are you okay?” as if nothing happened—acting as if Katsuki didn't even hurt him, which he knows he did.

No. He was not okay. He was a rage-filled bottle of sparkling water that had been shaken violently and then sealed shut.

He glared at the ceiling for a full five seconds before yanking his phone out of his pocket and unlocking it with aggressive thumb energy. Twitter. He needed Twitter. Twitter was where other people made fools of themselves and he could forget for five minutes that he just did the same thing—but louder.

He opened the app, thumb twitching like a gunslinger ready to duel. Scrolling, scrolling, scrolling—oh great, some random villain in Hokkaido got defeated by a kid with an origami Quirk. Cool. Maybe he should’ve just folded himself into a paper swan and flown away during that fight with Izuku.

He groaned into his pillow, checking his contacts for some odd reason.

izuku  — Active Now

Izuku was active and on his phone instead of sleeping like the insomniac he's always been. 

This was fine. Everything was fine. He was totally not lying on his bed, emotionally disheveled, halfway between texting “I’m sorry” and throwing his phone across the room. Totally not.

He let out a muffled yell into the pillow, fists clenched at his sides like he was preparing to go twelve rounds with his own conscience.

God. He hated feelings. They were inefficient. Messy. Dangerous. Worse than any villain he's fought, honestly.

With a huff, Katsuki turned onto his side, going back to scrolling aimlessly. Maybe he'd watch a video of someone making street ramen in complete silence. That usually worked. Or some pet raccoon content. Raccoons were chaotic. He respected that.

At least they didn’t talk back during arguments.

He sighed again, quietly this time.

A post lit up, seeming brighter and more important than the other shit-posts he'd scrolled through for the past few monutes.

Hero Daily @dailyheronews 5h ago

#DYNAMIGHT: A rise in rankings!

Previously #5 Hero Dynamight has now risen to #3 after the past few days, garnering popularity surrounding the previously made Twitter Post—with the hero's interview starring Akane Reiko as the interviewer, the public has made a lot more discoveries about this 'secret love' and has come to love the hero more. Could the interview be the key to finding out who this mystery person is?

#HeroDaily #GEMGDynamight #AkaneReiko

39K Likes     2.3K Shares

I guess that's kind of nice. Katsuki thought to himself, reading the post. He pressed the comments, wanting to see what people were saying about it.

Comments

sakura 🌸 @cherryblossomsrgreat7

Replying to @dailyheronews "the interview is screaming hero deku!" i scream as they drag me to the white padded room

His heart skipped a beat. And he hated it, because he'd just got out of an argument he started with Izuku! He couldn't be a lovesick dumbass while being mad at the same time, what the fuck.

And was he really that obvious?

He clicked the replies to the comment.

sakura 🌸 @cherryblossomsrgreat7

Replying to @dailyheronews "the interview is screaming hero deku!" i scream as they drag me to the white padded room

hirooo  @skibidihiro

Replying to @cherryblossomsrgreat7 FR bruh before the actual questions he was literally answering the ones about Deku so passionately

Miyoko Artz @miyodoesarts

Replying to @cherryblossomsrgreat7 ITS SO HERO DEKU!!!!!!! I swear if its actually him I'mma bust

Hina Chono @whynotmetaiki

Replying to @cherryblossomsrgreat7 It's legit so obvious already... and Dynadeku is literally trending rn???

sumiko || num1 yearner @chatdoeshemissme11

Replying to @cherryblossomsrgreat7 I LOVE THEM SM IM COMBUSTING

Katsuki read the replies, a faint blush dusting his face. His heart pounded, accelarating. They've already figured him out, who knows how long it'll take for Izuku? Considering how out of control his emotions were just earlier, and how he nearly outed himself, it's only a matter of time.

But so far, a lot of people were rooting for them.

Which he didn't know how to feel about.

polar bear :3 @bearexpert0123

Replying to @cherryblossomsrgreat7 Dynamight is literally the number 1 yearner cause I'm pretty sure I saw Deku earlier wiping Uravity's tears😭😭😭 they looked like a couple

Oh.

Bzz. Izuku's phone vibrated with a text message in his pocket. Reaching in to grab it, he checked out what it was. 

Uravity Ochako :D

2:31AM

Uravity Ochako :D

>> sorting my feelings out felt better than I thought it would be:) it feels a lot lighter now. and deku, I want to thank you for being honest. for not leading me on, because I know I would've done anything in a heartbeat.

>> you should probably sort your situation out too. The public loves you guys, and it'll probably end out better than you thought it would be. rejected or not.

Chapter Text

The next morning was a morning that Izuku really didn't wanna wake up to. With the morning light seeping through the blinds of his room, he squinted at the bright environment that met his eyes. 

His eyes felt swollen and hard to open, whilst his head felt like it was on the verge of imploding through the massive head ache he woke up to.

And Katsuki—since they live together, it would be natural that he'd see him right after he leaves the door of his room. The blond always woke up earlier than him, with a natural body clock of around seven in the morning on weekends, even earlier if he sets a timer so he can go for a jog. Izuku wishes that he's out for his jog, but even if he was, he'd probably be back by the time his eyes fluttered open.

He turned in his bed, flopping with his stomach facing the mattress. His face dug on the pillow as he shut his eyes tightly, attempting to go back to sleep. But no matter how far he buried his head in its fabric, it looked like sleeping again wasn't an option for him.

So he shuffled towards his nightstand, grabbing his phone and unplugging it from its charger.

The first thing he saw was his wallpaper, which he hadn't changed, and really, he doesn't even know if he can bring himself to change it; a picture of Katsuki, sleeping outside the class that Izuku supervises with drool seeping from a corner of his mouth. He stared at it blankly, without even a smile tugging at his lips. His eyes flicked towards the time that was set in the middle of the blond's spikes, reading it in his mind.

Oh, it's eleven in the morning. Thought Izuku, blankly. 

The time stared right back at him, silent.

Izuku's eyes bulged in realization of the time, immediately sitting up from where he was laying on his side on his bed. 

It's eleven in the morning?!

He's never waken up this late before, especially when it's almost lunch time! He's missed breakfast! And usually, Katsuki would wake him up whenever it's time for breakfast and he's still sleeping, so why—

Oh. 

Sheets rustled as Izuku flopped back into bed, his back hitting the mattress. He buried his hands in his eyes in dread, losing all of the bits of motivation he'd tried to garner the moment he woke up and saw the time. Because of course Katsuki's still mad at him! Izuku barely even tried to explain, well, he was barely letting him explain... 

Perhaps today was the time he could finally explain himself? And everything could be cleared up! Yeah, that was everything he needed to do.

So he had motivation again.

Until fear punched him in the stomach, reducing his health to only thirty. But he had to keep pushing through. 

And with all the stiffness in his body from the dread and the fear of the conversation he'll be having, he still rose out of bed. But wow, does his bed look messy this morning. So he fixes his bed up—fluffing his pillow, folding his blanket. He notices his bedsheets look wrinkled. He flattens them. A small wrinkle lied on top of his pillows. He flattens them too.

By that point, his bed looked near perfect and... Izuku was procrastinating their talk, wasn't he?

He took a deep breath. And another deep breath. And before Izuku knew it, he was breathing heavily and faster than he wanted. So he takes another deep breath, and evens his following breaths out. 

I need to face this. Izuku thought to himself with a determined look on his face, turning his head to face the door. 

Walking towards the door, he immediately felt the cold metal of the door knob sting the warmth of his fingers and his palms. But he couldn't be a coward, he couldn't be scared anymore. 

So he turned the handle, and his door made a displeasant noise as it creaked open. He peeked through the small crack between the door and the door frame, trying to get a view of the kitchen. But all he saw was a fraction of it, so he eventually sighed and gave up, fully opening the door.

Once he left his room, he closed the door from behind him and started walking cautiously towards the dining area just in front of their kitchen, a little confused whether he wants to see Katsuki there or not. 

But the moment he got there, it was completely empty. Katsuki wasn't cooking or eating.

A look of horror spread across Izuku's face.

Kacchan didn't move out, did he?!

He notices a yellow piece of paper by the dinner table, and a bowl that had a cover over it. Walking over to it, surely it had an explanation?

Prioritizing the piece of paper, he carefully picked it up. Katsuki's neat handwriting was seen, written delicately in ink. His writing was very clean.

Hey, Izuku. I had to leave early for a mission so you won't be seeing me in the morning if that's what you're worried about. 

Izuku rose a brow, reading the first part of the written message. "Am not." he muttered quietly to himself, slightly embarrassed because Katsuki's got him all figured out!

Anyway, he continued reading.

I think I'll be home by 5 in the afternoon, so i'll be able to catch dinner. 

P.S: I know you can't cook for shit, so I have katsudon right there in the bowl. If it's already cold just microwave it.

Well he couldn't deny that, even if it was rude and uncalled for. He was grateful for his cooking, though.

His head turned towards the porcelain bowl, taking off the cover. The homely scent of his favorite food flooded the room, a comfortable warmth blossoming under the unrestricted veins of his chest, finding its way to his heart. 

Call him a sap, but he didn't want to microwave the food even if it already ran cold because he wanted to dive into the feeling of Katsuki's cooking immediately, even though he was aware that Katsuki wouldn't be gone for a long time and would likely cook more for the both of them in the future. So he pulled the wooden chair out, and grabbed the chopsticks that were already laid out for him.

Katsuki's a thoughtful person, even though Izuku knows that the man himself won't admit it. Perhaps he doesn't even believe it. But Izuku sees him—the way he takes care of things that Izuku can't on his own, the way that he tells people "he doesn't like that" when Izuku can't find the courage to, and so much more other things that the blond doesn't even see for himself—but there's always care and thought through every action. Izuku knows that, because he's observed him—not in a creepy way, but in a way that he picks up a new thing to learn about him.

And so he ate in silence, a smile blossoming on his face as he picked up a piece of the pork, a burst of flavor that he couldn't seem to get enough of.

There was one noticeable difference, though. There was less spice.

Eating was a way to replenish energy, a way to start off the day with liveliness.

But why did Izuku feel so worn out and alone? 

Maybe it was because he was eating alone. Whenever Katsuki was on missions, it was usually when Izuku was teaching at the school, but it was a weekend—and so Izuku, frankly, doesn't know what to do with his time.

I could grade papers? He thought to himself as he shoved rice in his mouth, his phone just beside his bowl.

Oh, his phone.

He opened his phone to at least entertain himself while he was eating. Going through hero blogs, hero articles, hero posts, hero... all of those were hero related, wasn't it?

Well, he's been a hero geek practically his entire life anyway.

Oh, Hagakure rose in the rankings. Too bad it was for the wrong reasons, though... people are so creepy nowadays. Izuku's inner voice spoke as he wandered through blogs, catching up on the hero news. He drank from his glass of water before returning to the screen of his phone.

Notification: (2) messages from Uravity Ochako :D

Two new messages from Ochako, that's probably something he should go should check out.

Uravity Ochako :D

2:46AM

Deku :PP

>> i'm sure someone out there will love you as much as you love. i'm glad that i played a role in helping you discover what love is, i'm truly honored:)

>> i wish i could have your courage hahaha

Uravity Ochako :D

>> it's not easy, but it'll all be worth it.

Deku :PP reacted 💚 to Uravity Ochako :D's message .

11:39AM

Uravity Ochako :D

>> hey deku, I know its kind of awkward rn but you're still my best friend first so yipee

>> I'm so BORED. I donr have hero work for the next two days cause im on break so I have nothing to do. literallyyyy.

Izuku couldn't say that he didn't relate. He was feeling lonely and there was nobody to accompany him for the next few hours, and it felt too silent inside their apartment... 

Typing in a reply with one hand, he used the other to grab food using his chopsticks to eat.

Deku :PP

>> same:'( plus the fact that I'm completely alone in my apartment... its so lonely

Uravity Ochako :D

>> wait nothing bad happened between you and Bakugo, right??? why are u alone 

He scrunched his nose whilst he shoved more food in his mouth.

Something did happen, but he wasn't sure whether that was something he wanted to talk about yet.

Deku :PP

>> no, nothing happened. He's off to a mission and he wont be back for a couple hours

Finally on the last bits of his lunch, Izuku placed his phone on the table to grab his bowl and sweep the remaining bits of pork and rice into his mouth using the chopsticks. Only crumbs remained, and he drank from the tall glass of water. He placed the chopsticks and the empty glass inside the bowl and stood up, holding it with one hand as his other held his phone. 

Now in front of the kitchen sink, he placed the dishes carefully as to not break something, his phone remaining open by the counter with Ochako's conversation lit up on its screen. Whilst running the water to rinse the dishes, his mind, as well, ran.

He scrubbed the porcelain bowl carefully with a soap-filled sponge, thinking back to the message he sent earlier.

Kacchan won't be home for a while... and I'm bored, and Ochako's also bored... his mind drifted as he scrubbed his glass and chopsticks.

After cleansing the dishes with soap, Izuku ran the water once more to rinse all the bubbles off. He ran his soapy hands through the water and dried them off using a clean towel.

The dishes were neatly placed where they belonged, and Izuku returned to his phone which he didn't know he left open. 

Uravity Ochako :D

>> oh thats nice C:

>> what are u doing rn?

>> hello???

Deku :PP

>> sorry, i left my phone on !!!

>> i just got done washing the dishes

Uravity Ochako :D

>> it's alright!! dw

Izuku walked towards his room with his phone in hand, focused on his chats with Ochako. It made him feel less lonely.

Deku :PP

>> i'm gonna be grading papers, and its gonna take a while. plus its so boring !!!!!!

Wait... If Kacchan won't be home for a while, and Ochako has practically nothing to do... 

It would be alright, wouldn't it?

Uravity Ochako :D

>> oof, its giving doing paperworks as a hero hahaha

Deku :PP

>> do you wanna come over? it'll be boring without company 

That was awkward. Izuku didn't even have a plan as to what they'll be doing. He didn't even think it through! Maybe they can chat while Izuku grades his students' works? They're friends anyway, so wouldn't they just click immediately?

Uravity Ochako :D

>> yup, sure!! my apartment's near yours anyway, be there in ten minutes

Well, it was settled then. Ochako's coming over, and all Izuku has to do is to wait.

Oh, Kacchan. I have to tell him somebody's coming over. 

He reacted a heart to Ochako's message, before redirecting to Katsuki's contact—a nervous flutter developing in his stomach. Izuku pressed on the Type in your message... and stared at his phone's keyboard, nearly memorizing its layout of the hiragana.

How should he even type it in? Short and simple? Or should he elaborate?

Why is he even so worried about this? He was just gonna tell him that somebody else was coming over.

Whatever.

Kacchan  - last active 7h ago

>> What the fuck??

>> where are you

Missed call from Kacchan — 00:21

Kacchan

>> if this is a prank you're playing im not having it

Missed called from Kacchan — 00:18

Kacchan

>> your voice mail pisses me off. answer the pgone

Izuku winced at the messages from last night, refraining from the thought of back-reading. He continued analyzing the screen, procrastinating on texting.

Kacchan - last active 7h ago

Wait, if Kacchan was last active several hours ago, then his mission was at five in the morning... I made him lose sleep!

And now he felt really guilty. Sleep is important for missions, so that heroes can think straight! He'll have to apologize for that later... but for now, he'll just tell him that Ochako's coming over at their place.

12:03PM

izuku

>> hey kacchan, ochako's gonna be over at ours. it feels lonely and i just want company while i grade papers

He exhaled in relief after pressing the send button, shutting his phone off as he held its warmth against his chest. That wasn't so hard. He thought, feeling relaxed.

The doorbell rings, and Izuku quickly leaves his room to get it. Opening the door, he was quickly met by his friend. "Ochako! Hi!"

"Hi, Deku!" Ochako rose her hand for a high-five, staring at him with a cheeky smile as she waited for him to return it.

He lightly slams his hand against hers, making a clap! sound. He feels lighter after seeing her, both mentally and physically because Izuku's feet was now off the ground, levitating.

"How many times have you done this to me?" Izuku glares at her, unfazed.

The other snickers. "I don't know, but it's still funny."

It was four o' clock in the afternoon.

Katsuki was headed home early with absolutely no sleep, and a broken arm wrapped tightly in a cast because of his lack of rest and his carelessness. He'll be on break for a while until his arm fully heals, or until a doctor fuckin' fixes it anyway.

He sat on the passenger seat, petty and bitter that his friend wouldn't let him drive because he was out of energy, plus the fact that he had a broken arm. Katsuki stared out the window, whilst Eijiro drove his car. 

There was a lot running through Katsuki's mind at the moment—his mission, what he could've done better, how he could've avoided the fuckin' fracture in his arm resulting in him being the driver of his own car instead of it being his fuck-ass friend, and why he wasted so much time last night fussing instead of sleeping when he knew he had a mission. And now, he has a broken arm because of his self negligence which led to him not being able to do hero work for the next couple days due to the lack of availability of doctors in the area with healing quirks. Until a doctor comes around and fixes the fuckin' fracture, there was nothing much he could do. 

He was hit with the realization that wow, he was particularly unlucky that day.

But even with all of these things running through his mind, there was one thing that he placed his focus primarily on.

Believe it or not, but guilt was seeping through Katsuki's stomach—even if he wouldn't say so himself. To an extent, he felt a little embarrassed for himself and a little bad for Izuku because he immediately lashed his anger out on him instead of talking it through like actual adults. He acted immature, like a teenager with mood swings in the middle of puberty. 

“Hold on, why do you care about who I spend my nights with?”

Katsuki bore his eyes through the window as he recalled the events of the night before, breathing in a nauseating feeling as the voice rung aimlessly like an echo in his head. His face remained reactionless, mindlessly staring at the line of trees that blurred as they passed by, driving through the highway with speed.

I don't know, figure that out yourself.

He furrowed his brows, feeling slightly upset.

"Love me for tonight."

"Why?" 

"Cause I love you."

A bitter feeling rose to his throat, strangling it tight as if it were trying to suffocate him, even though he could breathe properly.

What the fuck do you even mean? You don't know that.

His heart speedened in an upsetting, ugly way.

You probably didn't even know what you were even saying—you were drunk. Don't say shit you don't mean, jackass. Katsuki bitterly thought, narrowing his eyes.

...

How come it was so easy for her to be let in your heart?

Eijiro didn't have to look at him to tell that something was wrong. "Yo, dude. Is something bothering you?"

"No." The blond scoffed, replying suspiciously fast.

Maybe it was because she's a girl?

Despite being quick to deny the question, the red-head didn't hold his tongue. "Don't play like that, Bakugo. You can talk to me about it."

Would it have been different if I was a girl?

Katsuki remained silent, choosing to ignore his friend despite Eijiro's attempts in trying to push the words out of him. He continued peering through the window as he left it fully rolled down, letting the breeze hit his face as his blond hair let itself be carried away by the wind. Watching his surroundings as he got carried away by the speed of his car was nice too. Maybe not being the driver for once was quite nice.

Suddenly, being in the passenger seat felt a lot nicer than he initially thought. Because he could let his mind steer him.

"Bakugo." Eijiro called his name, patient. 

He didn't react—not even a twitch from the repetition of his name.

His friend sighed. "Is it about the mission?"

"I don't care about that." Katsuki spoke up, remaining with his head turned towards the open window. 

There wasn't even an ounce of irritation. 

"You didn't say nothing was wrong though," great, Eijiro was being a philosopher. "So something is bothering you."

Silence. All they could hear was the sound of the car gliding through the nearly empty road.

"Alright. If you don't wanna talk abou—"

"It's about Izuku." 

The words rolled off his tongue so easily, slipping without an intention to let them off so quickly. 

"And Uraraka." Katsuki felt the need to add.

There was silence once more, with Eijiro not choosing to respond. Until a small snort came from him, chuckling as he drove. "If you're saying her actual name, then it must be pretty serious, bro." the red-head tried to humor him.

The blond rolled his eyes. He didn't feel humored.

His throat itched with a question he wanted to ask. He rid himself of the nuisance of curiosity and decided to just ask anyway. "How do you and raccoon eyes act?"

Eijiro's ear twitched at the mention of his partner, his eyes still on the road. "Me and Ashido?"

The other made a small sound indicating that he was correct, still gazing outside the passenger seat's window.

"I guess..." Eijiro trailed off, butterflies trailed to his stomach before he knew it—even though he and Mina had already established a relationship. He huffed a laugh, a small smile growing on his face. "We spend a lot of time one-on-one. We're still pretty new... and I'm still kinda scared, but I just wanna protect her, you know?" his friend spoke, a slight blush of embarrassment on his face. "

Katsuki remained silent, choosing to not speak—even with the ugly feeling rising in his throat like bile, something he couldn't swallow even if he tried.

"Is this about Midoriya and Uraraka?"

Childishly enough, his heart skipped a beat from the mention of their names. Maybe it was about them.

He continued to give silence, not wanting to spout out things he doesn't want to say. This entire thing was destroying him by the minute, even if he doesn't want to admit it.

"You know, Bakugo, you'll have to face your feelings soon."

...

"Yeah well, looks like round-face already got there first."

Katsuki used the elevator to get to their apartment floor.

He was now in front of his door, feeling sweat bead in his free hand. He quickly wiped it off his jeans and fiddled with his jean's pocket for the house key.

Inserting the piece of metal in the keyhole, he made sure that the lock clicked as silently as possible before entering through the door quietly. The door made a quiet click as he shut it behind him, locking it. 

He breathed deeply, before exhaling in exhaustion. 

Gotta talk to Izuku.

And so he walked towards Izuku's bedroom, standing in front of his door as his free hand hovered over the handle whilst hesitating. His head turned to read the All Might name plate, which simply had Izuku's first name. 

Izuku. He felt the need to read in his mind as he bored his eyes through the nameplate that dangled mindlessly on a singular nail.

His hand latched on the handle, before quickly taking it back with a realization as if the metal burnt his skin.

Oh shit, right. I have to knock.

He took a deep breath.

Knock, knock, knock. His knuckles sounded against the piece of wood.

"Izuku." Katsuki called him, in hopes that he'd answer. "Can we talk?"

Sure enough, he hears the squeaky noise his chair makes after getting up from it. "Uh, wait just a second!"

Why the fuck did Katsuki hear giggling from the other side of the door?

The door opened, and he was quickly met by the man just three inches shorter than him. "You're home early!"

His eyes quickly catch vision of brown hair.

There Ochako was, sitting on Izuku's bed as she scrolled on her phone. She shut it off before looking at both of them, even waving at Katsuki.

"I guess... we spend a lot of time one-on-one." Eijiro's words from earlier repeated themself in Katsuki's mind like a song he didn't want to hear.

"You and round-face. Alone in your bedroom." Katsuki clarified. Well, more of stated. His eyes narrowed suspiciously at the shorter man in front of him.

"Kacc—hold on, why do you have an arm cast?" Izuku cut his greeting short, pointing out the obvious as his eyes trailed towards the thick wrapping on Katsuki's left arm. 

For some reason, his lack of sleep, exhaustion from the mission, and his broken arm all hit him at the exact same time at that exact moment. His legs feel weak and he falls into Izuku, who quickly catches him. "Woah!"

Izuku hooks his arms beneath Katsuki's, supporting him in a hug-like position. 

"I texted you earlier that she was coming over, I'm guessing you didn't see it..?" He felt the need to say, though they were in an awkward position.

"Why am I not surprised that you still use the same All Might shampoo?" Katsuki's muffled voice spoke in the crook of Izuku's neck, ignoring the statement before.

The green-haired man laughed awkwardly, perhaps he was embarrassed. "Okay, Kacchan—let's get you to your room." he turns his head towards Ochako, "Ochako, I'll be back in a bit. I just need to fix this big guy up."

Ochako smiled, pulling her thumb out as she spoke in English with a Japanese accent. "Okay!"

"The fuck? Big gu—"

"Let's get you to your room." Izuku repeats with the same sweet voice, cutting him off. Katsuki clicks his tongue as Izuku shuts the door behind him.

Katsuki sat on the edge of his bed, looking off to the side. Izuku stood in front of him, crouching to get to his face's level.

"Why won't you look at me?" Izuku asked, confused and maybe a little frustrated.

Katsuki scoffed, still looking off to the side. "I don't want to."

"I wanna see your face." 

His words flowed through Katsuki's ears so flawlessly, immediately making him turn towards Izuku with a furious blush. Izuku grabs him by his jaw, which catches him off guard. 

"I wanna see your face." the voice repeated in Katsuki's mind, pumping in more heat in his face. 

He remains silent with wide eyes as Izuku takes a closer look into him, one of his eyes squinted.

A frown appeared on his lips, guilty. He let go of his hold on Katsuki's jaw, but he remained close to Katsuki's face—not that close, but still closer than usual. "You have eye bags. Is it because of me?"

Katsuki looked off to the side, gathering all of the irritance into his voice so he wouldn't say anything he would regret. He chooses to ignore the initial question. "Why'd you ditch round-face?"

"I'm sure Ochako understands."

His eye twitches at the use of her first name. "I can take care of myself."

Izuku places his hand under the front pieces of Katsuki's blond hair, sweeping it away from his face before placing his other hand on his forehead. "Are you sure you don't have a fever? Your temperature's pretty high."

"No." Katsuki denied defensively quick.

He didn't have a fever, he was just gay. That wasn't a reasonable explanation, though.

Taking it off, Izuku spoke again. "You always take care of me. Let me take care of you."

Katsuki stood silent, taken aback. He was at a loss for words.

"Hold on, let me get water." Izuku spoke, raising his hand as a way to say 'wait'. He walked away and left the room, headed to the kitchen.

Only then was Katsuki able to let his heart pound as loud as he wanted.

"Here." Izuku hands him the glass of water, which Katsuki grabs to chug as quickly as he could, his adam's apple bobbing through every gulp.

Izuku's eyes widened at his speed in drinking, immediately reprimanding him. "Hey! Not so fast, you'll choke."

Why was Izuku acting like a wife?

Probably wouldn't be so bad, to be honest.

Wait, what the fuck?! He has a girlfriend!

Now Katsuki was left with an empty glass, which Izuku grabbed and set by his nightstand. "Well I didn't. Stop babying me. I was just thirsty."

A shuffle and shift of weight happened by the blond's side, where Izuku sat down next to him.

Katsuki laid on his back, still on the edge of the bed with his feet still touching the floor. Izuku giggled and laid next to him, keeping his eyes on the man.

"Mission was exhausting, huh?"

Red eyes bored into the ceiling above as he didn't find the need to respond, choosing to be petty and not speak. But Izuku was right there, and he was laying just beside him. So why was it so hard to talk to him, even though he's so close that he can smell the aroma of the perfume he uses? Even though he can smell the nostalgic scent of the same shampoo he's used ever since they were children? 

But they were adults now, that's how far they've gotten—they're not just children who play in the same sandbox at the park, they're adults who still keep each other as a valuable aspect in each other's lives. They're adults, lying next to each other like back then when they were kids; simply because they kept choosing each other.

And one thing that Katsuki knows, is that adults talk.

So he takes a deep, shallow breath before speaking. 

"I'm sorry." 

Izuku made a small sound beside him, confused as to what he was saying sorry for.

"About last night. I was being too much and I was disrespecting you."

"Kacc—"

"Let me say this first." Katsuki interrupts him, which leaves the man quiet but listening. Izuku lays on his side to face him, even though the other remains with his eyes on the ceiling. 

"I was being a jackass. And I was underestimating you. I know you can defend yourself, and you don't need a guard dog trying to protect you from things you can defend yourself from." he continued, his voice steady and sincere. 

A frown appeared on Izuku's face.

"You're not a guard dog."

Katsuki stays silent.

"You're my friend. And friends get worried for each other. It was late at night and disappearing without a word was on me. I'm sorry."

A snort exits the other man's mouth. "I don't think friends get like that, Izuku."

Green eyes continued peering at him, confused at what point he was trying to make.

"Of course friends do. I would."

The other huffs a laugh, the corners of his mouth slightly uplifted as if it were a smile. "I don't think you understand."

Izuku pouted, petty.

"Then make me."

...

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"I don't wanna disrupt anything."

"What exactly are you disrupting?"

"Okay, can you shut up—I feel like I'm dying I don't think I want your voice to be the last thing I hear." Katsuki spoke with humor, snickering.

"No. That's rude. Also, please don't say you're dying."

Katsuki kicked the side of Izuku's leg.

...

"Okay, I'll shut up."

Silence occupied the room after their banter, with only the loudness of the tension between them that desparately wants to be resolved, but can't be so easily. There were a lot of questions that remained between them, both having their fair share, but those can be answered later on. Because in that moment, the silence that lingered between them was enough—and that they felt closer to each other than before.

Because both of them finally let their guard down, and let their vulnerability be transparent—uncovering a little more about each other with every day that passes.

"Kacchan?"

"So, you and Uraraka?" Katsuki brings up the same time Izuku calls his name.

"I like you. Maybe I even love you. But you'll never look at me the way you look at him."

A violent blush spread across Izuku's face, leaving him to be nothing but a stuttering mess whilst he tried to explain himself. "Well—some things, uh, so-some things happened, but we're really n—"

"Oh, I understand." a small, teasing smile appears on Katsuki's face, though pained. He cut him off because he doesn't think he wants to hear more of that.

That was the last thing he spoke before his eyes fluttered, and his gaze became hazy in exhaustion. Everything on his mind, his fatigue from lack of sleep, and the mission tired him. Soon enough, his mind swirled and all that was left was a desparation for rest. He falls asleep, and he's probably going to be for a long time.

Izuku tries his best to swallow the nervous yet euphoric feeling in his stomach, but he couldn't help the growing smile on his face. He sits up and runs his hand through the softness of Katsuki's hair, brushing stray pieces of blond away from his face. 

Carresing the side of the sleeping man's cheek using the back of his hand, he mumbled, embarrassed. "I'm glad you do, because it's really not like that, Kacchan." Izuku softly laughs without any humor into it, admiring the other's resting face.

People say I look at you like you're my universe. Maybe it's true, maybe you really are my universe. He smiles to himself, keeping that locked in his thoughts for now.

"I guess I'll just have to order take-out for dinner."

He gets up and returns to his own room.

"Hey, Ochako—sorry I took long, Kacchan's pretty beat from his mission." Izuku shortly explained and apologized with an awkward laugh, returning to his desk where he still had a few papers to finish.

Ochako hummed from his bed, "It's alright." she shut her phone, turning to look at him from the other side of Izuku's bedroom. 

"Hey, this student's essay title is "How Uravity taught me I could be a hero"." The man spun in his chair, facing the brunette as he held a printed essay in one hand.

"Really? Read it aloud for me!" 

"Quirks: Quirks are the basic foundation of the hero society, but what separates quirks from what they call villainous and justice? For all my life, my quirk has been..."

Weeks pass by sluggishly. 

Now it's U.A.'s finals week—which means that there are loads of final projects for students to do dilligently, and for teachers to finalize grading and scoring. 

Izuku's been handling a lot of papers from all of the first years he handles—and by papers, he means nearly a hundred essays and research papers. Plus projects that he's been having a hard time to grade all on his own. There were students that pass late too, and he wasn't exactly too strict about those seeing as he was a student back then as well, but the late outputs were really messing him up. Izuku was having a hard time organizing all of his work-related things.

During these times, he'd usually appreciate some company or somebody to chat with while he finishes the dozens of works of his students submit. But, of course, he couldn't always get what he wanted. 

He and Ochako had been closer, sure, but her quirk-counselling is something that takes up most of her time. And Izuku understands that—he wants her to prioritize quirk counselling as well, even though he couldn't help but feel quite lonesome staying overtime at the school to finish up a portion of grading.

"—so keep these reminders in mind, alright? And that wraps it up. Any clarifications?" Izuku clasps his hands together, looking around his classroom to find any risen hands. 

All of his students looked fatigued and tired, some with heads nodding because of exhaustion. He sighed, choosing to understand them instead because he'd been at their place before.

But there was this particular student who kept gazing at him, a glint of curiosity and question in her eyes. She shuffled uncomfortably in her chair as the teacher met her eyes, looking down at her desk, feeling shy.

"Yes, Fujiwara?"

The girl looked up at Izuku, pink dusting her face in embarrassment.

"U-Uhm..." she pushed her chair backwards, standing up. Looking down, she started fiddling with her hands. "I was just wondering..."

"You don't have to feel shy." Izuku reassured her with a comforting tone of voice that makes just about anybody feel safe.

Fujiwara locks eyes with him, finding it rude to avoid eye contact whilst talking to somebody.

"Why hasn't Dynamight been visiting lately..?"

If Ochako was busy—then what about Katsuki, you may ask?

A flicker of surprise crossed the teacher's eyes, leaving him without a word. The entire class seemed as if they woke up, but they didn't speak either. It was a deafening silence.

Why hasn't been Kacchan visiting lately? A question he'd been asking himself for every time he noticed that the hero never stopped by during lunch, or during the time Izuku's shift ends.

He cleared his throat, looking back at the student with a comforting smile. Though comforting, it never reached his eyes. 

"Dynamight's just busy." He spoke in a quiet voice, the fingers that touched his desk twitching. 

The student briefly opened her mouth to say something, an apology maybe, but she decided to remain silent. She nodded, sitting back down. Students' eyes flicked towards her.

With a heart too heavy for his liking, he dismissed the class. "That'll be it for today, you can all return to your homes or dormitories."

The class shuffled silently as they stood up from their chairs, taking all of their necessities with them. One by one, the students left.

But Fujiwara stayed behind, being the last one to leave the classroom. She stood by the doorway, sparing a glance at her teacher. With a tiny voice, she apologized. "So-sorry, Midoriya-sensei. It was completely out of the topic and disrespectful—"

"It's alright, I don't mind." The teacher assured her, greeting her with a smile on his face. He looked down on his desk whilst he was stood up, his face slightly dropping. "I ask myself that, too."

The student didn't seem to catch what he said, which was probably for the best. It was pathetic. 

"Okay, bye, Midoriya-sensei." She waved, leaving through the big door of class 1-A.

Izuku was left alone in his classroom, with thoughts circling his mind.

He arrives home late due to the extra school-related work and hero work, with his bag slung over his shoulder.

There was a lot that Izuku had to do—computing, writing and printing documents, scoring and grading, along with hero duties he'd been slacking on lately. 

It was seven in the evening, and he feels extra tired. All he wants is to eat dinner and go to sleep—which he can't even do because there's still other things he needs to finalize. It wasn't helping with the fact that he'd been losing sleep lately, and with that sleep being lost, so was his motivation.

Izuku fumbles for the apartment's key in his pocket, hooking his finger in its key ring. He picked out the right key to unlock the door, but it slips off his fingers and hits the ground with the agitating sound of clinking metal.

That was really testing his patience. He groans out loud, pulling on the roots of his green hair as he refrained himself from kicking the door and suppressed his frustration. He'd already been through a long day. 

Despite this, he kept pushing on and reluctantly grabbed the key from the ground anyway and unlocked the door, with the miracle of the piece of metal not snapping in half as he turned it in the keyhole. 

The door opens with a force, with Izuku closing it gently behind him.

"I'm home." Izuku calls out to his roommate, practically shoving the bag off his shoulder.

He makes his way towards the kitchen, still in his uniform. Katsuki sat by the dining table on his phone, paying no mind to Izuku.

That was usually what Izuku came home to nowadays. At first, he decides to brush it off because maybe the other man's just tired—but for this to be happening every single day?

He comes home after a long day of work, and Katsuki doesn't even spare him a glance. It always ends in Katsuki leaving the dining table the second Izuku sits down, and he eats dinner all alone. They barely even chat anymore unless it's important. That's what life has been for every single day the past week, maybe two. He's lost count.

Katsuki, at least back then, would've commented on his attitude or at least asked about his day. He would've noticed that Izuku was still in his uniform, and would've told him to change out of his clothes. But he doesn't even look at him anymore.

So when Izuku cools down and sits down in front of the covered food, he'd looked at Katsuki and analyzed his body language, trying to predict what he'll do next.

He isn't leaving? Izuku wonders, curious as he grabbed his chopsticks.

He doesn't know how long he's been staring, until red eyes started glaring back at him—an unexplainable expression on his face that Izuku couldn't quite piece together.

Katsuki looked back at his phone. "What are you staring at?"

Izuku looks back down at his food, his stomach twisting. That fleeting glance was enough to make him feel full for one day. 

"Nothing."

He eats with cold hands, placing the piece of ham in between his chopsticks as he paired it with rice. 

What was bothering him was the amount of times he'd stolen a glance from the man sitting in front of him, trying to analyze the emotion on his face, his body language, an answer. But that wasn't what bothered him the most, it was the fact that for the first time in a while, he didn't even know what was going inside Katsuki's head.

Katsuki sat in front of him, closer than they've ever been in a while, yet he felt like he was further away from him than ever. 

Was it something he did? Was it because of that night? It couldn't have been—they've already cleared up the events that happened during that. They talked. So what was going on? What the hell was running in Katsuki's mind? Why didn't Izuku know?

"Why hasn't Dynamight been visiting lately..?"

Why does he feel so far away from him now? As if everything they've ever worked on was reduced to nothing because they were just going back to the way things used to be. 

Izuku tried to hold his tongue. He really tried, because maybe he was reading into it too much.

But it was really bothering him. It was bothering him that Katsuki was just right there, but he's acting as if Izuku isn't! Like he's invisible.

He bit his bottom lip, contemplating whether they should even talk about it. Contemplating, when he shouldn't even be contemplating about this in the first place!

"Kacchan?" 

The syllables of the childhood nickname rolled so easily off his tongue, as if it was a separate language he'd found comfort in—even if his situation was the polar opposite of comfort.

Katsuki shuffled in his chair, standing up as he turned his phone off. "I'm sleeping early. Goodnight, Izuku." 

He left so easily, as if it was nothing.

Izuku felt like an idiot. He felt sad, confused, angry, and he felt like he was being left in the dark. 

He banged his head on the table, running his hands through his hair.

Katsuki was building a wall between them, and he wants to know why. 

Chapter Text

salmon fish  @dynadekuinvestigator

guys im so sorry i havent been able to post dynadeku pics😭😭😭 i havent seen them tgt in public for a while. if i do, ill immediately report in this account!! thx

#dynadeku

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Comments

Kaiiiii @kaisenut

Replying to @dynadekuinvestigator OMG SAME.. it feels like there's less and less reports of them each day. ya guys think something happened?

Ruby-chan  @haiiiiiiii11

Replying to @kaisenut Let's not meddle in their personal life, yeah? But omg I do miss them

senzaicosplays  @defn0tsenzai

Replying to @dynadekuinvestigator i haven't been seeing them together lately as well... i thought it was just meeee 😭😭

Days pass by slowly. The last time Katsuki visited Izuku's classroom was about three weeks ago, and the last time they held up a conversation longer than five minutes was around two weeks before.

Finals week in U.A. was about to end in just two days, which meant that students were about to head onto their spring break, teachers as well. It was a break that Izuku very much needed, seeing as he's been taking up both the jobs of being a teacher and a hero all at the same time. He really needed to catch up on that rest that he's missed over the past week.

The examinations for the subject Izuku holds, history, was arranged for that day. While some students seemed troubled, some remained fine whilst they answered the history exams—their dilligent studying and discipline paying off all in the end. The exams were finished in no time, and the teacher was left with more papers he had to review and grade.

Izuku was now walking off U.A. grounds, making his way towards the train station home. He holds his briefcase to his chest as his other hand holds his phone, scrolling on the hero blog and social media. All that was on his mind as of the current was to finish checking his students' exam papers.

His stomach grumbles in hunger, wanting to get home as soon as possible so he could eat something after the long day he's had. 

A convenience store from across the street catches his eye.

Ah, I think the fridge's running empty anyway. He spoke in his mind, walking towards the convenience store as he shoved his phone in his pocket. He hooks his fingers in the fabric handle of his briefcase, letting it hang by his side, swinging slightly whilst he walks towards the tiny building.

The ringing of bells were heard as Izuku gently opened the push-pull door, letting the cashier know that a customer had entered the building. A sense of coldness immediately hit his skin from the air conditioning, giving just the right humidity to evaporate the slight layer of sweat from his forehead. There wasn't a lot of people there at the time.

"Welcome." A young woman, seeming to be the only cashier from the counter speaks in a dismotivated voice, tapping a pen on the counter as she remained seated. Her blue eyes look slowly at him, from tired to surprised as they slowly widened at who entered the store. She coughed in her hand. "H-Hero Deku sir!" she stumbles, straightening her posture. "Gah, two heroes and not one was greeted properly..." the cashier mumbles, her face red from embarrassment.

Izuku laughs in his hand. "I'm not working as a hero right now, so it's Midoriya." he tells her, adjusting his hold on his briefcase. He walks towards the counter. "By any chance, did you say two heroes? Who's the other?" the teacher asks in curiosity with an enthusiastic smile, unable to keep his hero geeking to himself. 

The cashier points her thumb towards a shelf in the convenience store.

He turns his head to look towards the direction her thumb was pointing at, holding his things closer to himself. 

There Katsuki was, no longer in his hero costume, looking at the shelf that was fully decked in ramen. He was probably headed home after this.

The man's heart flutters in nervousness and maybe a little ounce of excitement, like a teenage girl stumbling across her crush in the school hallways. He was embarrassed to even say that his tire and exhaustion immediately went away at the image of the other, his hands trembling slightly over something he couldn't lay his finger on. It seems as if he had the same idea of re-stocking their fridge as well. 

Letting go of the breath he'd been holding, he turned towards the cashier. "Dynamight?" 

She simply nods without saying anything, with a glint of suspicion in her eyes which he didn't know as to why was there. Izuku looks back at him. He's still looking for ramen. 

The last time they actually talked for longer than five minutes was two weeks ago; reality hit him like a punch in the stomach.

A conversation! Maybe I could start a conversation? The idea appeared in his bright mind, swallowing a portion of saliva that built at the back of his throat. He looks at the cashier once more, uttering a quick "thanks" before he started walking towards the hero.

Izuku didn't quite know why he was walking towards him—his legs were just doing it for him without consulting his brain first, as per usual. But he let it drive him.

And so he walked towards him with a sense of nervousness flooding every vein of his body, feeling a little lightweight as if he was floating. He held the briefcase to his chest again. Why was he nervous? Hell, he didn't even know either. And what the heck was up with his heart?!

Okay. Deep breaths. He took a deep breath. Even though his heart was beating so fast he could feel it all the way up to his ears.

Before he knew it, they were now standing just a few feet apart with the faint, muffled pop music of the convenience store playing not too loudly, but not too quietly either. The fluorescent lights flickered slightly.

Katsuki looked to his side with one pack of ramen in his other hand, finally seeing him. His brows slightly shoot up in surprise.

"Uh... hi?" Izuku greeted the taller man awkwardly, a shaky smile on his face. He felt like he was being judged, with Katsuki eyeing him from top to bottom. Choosing to ignore that, he laughed awkwardly. "I was gonna buy stuff for our fridge, but I guess you already beat me to it." 

The hero's nose scrunched, a frown visible in the corners of his lips in a way that was unreadable. Disgust? Concern? Confusion? Izuku didn't even know anymore.

"Why do you look like that?"

He blinked. "What?"

Izuku's mouth opens in disbelief, brows furrowing as his hands fell to his side from being crossed at his chest. "You see me and you immediately insult me?"

The sounds of plastic crinkling was heard after Katsuki dropped the pack of ramen in the basket he held. "Your hands are shaking," Katsuki said, his voice flat and straight forward. His eyes lingered a moment longer than they needed to. "And your face is all red. You look like a damn strawberry or something."

A strawberry? His thoughts repeat, feeling insulted as he looked at the floor whilst he bit his lower lip.

What could he even say? What was there to talk about? Izuku hadn't exactly entered the conversation with a topic in mind. Maybe they could go home together? They seemed to both be headed in that direction anyway, so why not?

Nonetheless, he coughs on his hand, trying to start an actual conversation with the man. "So..." he looked up to look him in the eye, following basic conversation etiquette. Just eye contact. One step at a time. Maybe a sentence or two.

But Katsuki wasn't in front of him anymore.

Izuku looks left, nothing. Right, nothing. It was an empty aisle, and there was nothing. Almost as if he'd disappeared.

For a second, Izuku just stood there, heart sinking, throat tightening—unable to muster any words, cracks forming in his heart. The world around him continued to carry on like nothing had happened—the buzz of the refrigerators, the distant hum of pop songs playing from the ceiling speakers, the constant sound the air conditioner makes. But all he heard was the confusion and hurt that lingered in his mind; why?

Light footsteps in a quickened pace were heard from behind him, so he turned around to look. Katsuki was already placing groceries by the counter, ready to pay as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world—as if he didn't leave Izuku there, pushing him away like these past few weeks as if it's routine. 

A flicker of hurt crosses his eyes, his heart squeezing. His chest ached—feeling a kind of hurt that lingered between the silence. He feels stupid for having expectations—to have a real conversation, maybe even a shared ride home—but this?

The beeping of the scanner filled his ears, but he just kept analyzing him for at least something. Something that maybe had a motive. But there wasn't an answer, not even a small hint. No matter how long he looked, there was nothing.

This felt like avoidance. A confirmation.

Katsuki stood silently by the counter, waiting for the total of the items he bought.

"24,500 yen, Dynamight sir."

The blond brings out money to pay, which the cashier immediately takes to sorts out the change from the cash register. Paper bills and coins were laid out at the counter, which the hero takes and shoves in his pocket. 

He watched him—not out of pure habit, but out of a ridiculous prayer.

Somewhere between his gazing at the hero, was a wish that their eyes would connect at least once—a wish that he would look back at him, even for just a little bit. Izuku hated how much he wanted the attention. 

But nothing ever happened. Katsuki left the store and didn't even look back, not even for the slightest moment. Not even a fleeting glance from the corner of scarlet eyes. Izuku stared at the floor's cheap tiles as if it were the most interesting thing in the world, feeling disappointed that he even thought of the idea of him looking back.

"See you at home, I guess." he mumbled, voice barely audible as his face dropped.

A silent grumble escapes his stomach from where the butterflies were once where. Right, I need to get food. 

Well, Katsuki already had that handled, so all Izuku had to do was to get a quick snack to at least put his hunger to a halt.

He walks towards the chocolate shelf, feeling bitter. What was happening between them? Why was Kacchan pushing him away? Why was Kacchan pushing himself away? Did he do something wrong? The same questions ran through his mind like a displeasing song playing on repeat with no way to end it, but no matter how much times he tried looking back at it, to see what he could've done wrong, he couldn't see it. Like he was left in the dark, forced to tolerate a situation he shouldn't need to put up with in the first place.

One bar of chocolate was picked off of the shelf, something he could eat on the train home. It was cookies and cream, a flavor that he'd taken a liking to over the past few years.

Izuku walks over to the counter, laying out the chocolate to pay for. 

The scanner beeps twice, and the cashier looks at him with an empathetic look in her eyes—a kind of gentleness that Izuku couldn't quite lay his finger on. "That's 400 yen, sir."

"400 yen for one chocolate bar?" Izuku grumbles as he pulls his wallet out, pulling out paper bills. He pulls out a 1000 yen bill, laying it out on the counter.

The cashier looks at him, her concern soft yet clear. "Uh, these are two chocolate bars, sir. Do you want to remove one from your checkout?"

He looks back at her, confused, before then looking at the items he bought.

Two chocolate bars. One cookies and cream, one spicy.

Did he subconsciously buy one for Katsuki?

Nervous butterflies replace the hunger in his stomach, fluttering again inside him in a discomforting feeling that was simultaneously homely and comforting.

"No need. I'll still take both." He laughs awkwardly, heart thumping in his chest.

The cashier nods, opening the cash register to calculate and neatly arrange the change. Money was laid out by the counter, which Izuku grabs and places in his wallet. He takes the two bars of chocolate.

"Uhm, Deku?" The cashier hesitated as she looked up at him, calling him by his hero name. "Are you by any chance..." she blushes, feeling too embarrassed to continue her question.

"Yes? What is it?" Izuku speaks in a comforting tone of voice.

She locked eyes with him, feeling nervous with rosy pink cheeks. She laughed uncomfortably before saying, "Forgive me if this is too personal, but by any chance is there anything you're... longing for?"

His mouth opens, but nothing ever really came out at first.

Was there?

Longing was an echo—quiet yet persistent, of desire that remains hidden inside the restricted veins of the heart—the ache that comes with the question of what could be, the sting in what might never be, and perhaps the bittersweet feeling that came—clinging onto a maybe, onto a someday. It is the pain that comes with absence, the throb in his heart that comes with distance and separation, and the yearning for something; a finally.

Longing is sitting by the dinner table, sitting closely just across somebody—physically near, but felt impossibly far away. Longing is sitting inside a classroom, waiting for that one person to come in and immediately lift all of the worries from his tired mind, just with the use of their presence. Longing is watching a person walk away, wishing, against all reason, that those eyes would look back at him at least one more time.

Maybe Izuku did feel longing. Not for something or an abstract dream—but perhaps for somebody.

He meets the cashier's gaze, the corners of his mouth tugged in a tired smile. "I guess there is."

The cashier looks up at him with the same empathetic look from earlier—almost as if she was piecing him together. She looks off to the side with a hesitant look like her thoughts were flicking back and forth between "should I?" or "should I not?", biting her tongue. 

"Sorry if I'm touching restricted areas, but my quirk has been reacting like crazy." She laughs uncomfortably, placing herself inside in what felt like the most awkward situation universally—where it looks like she's treating a hero like he's one of her colleagues.

"Your quirk?" 

The woman sighs, twirling her fingers in a circular motion. She looks back at him once more. "I'm a college student, sir—majoring in psychology, actually. I'm planning to be a therapist. My quirk has something to do with peoples' emotions, convenient, right?" she laughs softly, beginning to tell him more details about herself and some about her quirk. Izuku listens with fascination and interest, always so interested about the quirks of other people.

"My quirk's called Empathy." she explained, her feet tapping lightly against the cheap tiles. "I can feel the emotions of the person closest to me physically, hence, empathy. I guess it's a blessing and a curse." she looks up, smiling warmly. "You're interested in my quirk, aren't you? I can feel it."

A slight flush appears on the man's face, slightly embarrassed. "Ah—I like learning about peoples' quirks."

She chuckled. "You don't have to feel embarrassed." the cashier reassures him, a comforting smile laid neatly on her face. "Anyways, I could feel the pang in your heart and... the emptiness. It wasn't there earlier when you first entered."

The pang... in my heart?

Izuku hummed, listening intently as the conversation suddenly directed to him.

"But... ah, forgive me. I sound like I'm meddling, sir."

Izuku chuckles, a soft laugh exitting his mouth. "No, no, it's alright. Go on."

She looks at him, a little hesitant. "Earlier... when I told you Dynamight was the other hero in this convenience store, my heart felt like it was accelerating. It couldn't have been me." she explains. "It couldn't have been me 'cause I like girls." she felt the need to add, laughing.

Izuku's heart squeezes, his feelings being caught by a stranger he hasn't even spent an hour with. 

"So... with how your heart's speeding again, I'm correct?" 

He looks off to the side, nerves making a quiet laugh leave his mouth, wary of everything he was revealing. At the end of the day, this is still a stranger. "I'm not sure if I should say this..."

She laughs again, bringing some sort of comfort to him. Must be a second quirk cause how does she feel so comforting? "Don't worry, I understand. You don't have to tell me, but either way, I won't tell anybody." she brings a finger in front of her mouth, making a playful 'shh' gesture.

"When Dynamight walked past you," she began talking, voice quiet but certain. "I couldn't feel your emotions since you were too far away, but I could catch glimpses of you from the corner of my eye." she paused, suddenly feeling nervous and a little conscious about herself. She seemed nosy. "Sorry if it seemed like I was over-analyzing! Y-You weren't exactly hiding it... and I know you and Dynamight are quite close."

Izuku sighs in defeat, unable to hide it anymore. His eyes flick towards the coffee stand and the candy rack, practically scrambling to look at anywhere instead of a pair of eyes, feeling too shy to make eye contact with the person in front of him anyway. "Well..."

"It was about Dynamight, wasn't it?"

He practically chokes on his own breath, caught off guard. Coughing on his hand, he looks back at the cashier with widened eyes as he brought his gaze to her with shock—how did she even connect it so easily? Her quirk wasn’t even in use at that distance, she said, and yet she’d still figured him out like she’d had a window directly into his chest.

It left him reeling.

No one ever said it out loud. Maybe they knew, maybe they never did, but even those that were the closest to him never asked—or maybe they already knew the answer, and never said it. And here this stranger was, somebody who he hadn't spent an hour with yet, effortlessly piecing him together like he was some sort of puzzle. She was going to be one heck of a therapist someday.

What she said was true, there was nothing about it that Izuku could deny. 

"Your feelings... they're very strong. And it's just gonna cause you pain if you hold it in," she said, gentler this time to put him at ease. Her voice slightly shifted in tone as she added, "Midoriya."

Midoriya, not his hero name, Deku.

Because right now, she wasn’t talking to the hero that saved people in a way, she wasn't talking to a symbol, or somebody that inspired a generation—she was talking to the man beneath the name. The one who awkwardly stood in front of her with nervous hands, burning cheeks, and a heart full of questions he didn’t have the courage to ask.

She didn’t treat him like a symbol or a celebrity, nor somebody of high status in Japan. She treated him like a person. A person who, just like anyone else, might need someone to see him—really see him—and say, you don’t have to carry this alone. Because at the end of the day, he was still an ordinary man who had the struggles of a human.

His feelings had been there for maybe a longer time than he'd expected, but it had only been acknowledged just a while ago. And during those times that he'd looked at his feelings and thought, Maybe this wasn't so platonic after all, never was there a time that he thought I should make a move, or do something about this because I can't keep living like this. Because doing something felt like walking on a tightrope, without a net beneath him to catch him in his fall.

Making a move was said easier than done. It wasn't just about the probability of rejection—but it was the risk of losing everything they've built. He doesn't wanna misread Katsuki's actions, because if he does, he'd continue to cling onto every little thing it like the idiot that he is. If he misreads it, there was more than just their friendship to pay.

It wasn't just going to ruin things for Izuku, it was going to ruin things for Katsuki too. They both worked hard in rebuilding their bond, and Izuku knows that won't easily be returned after a confession, no matter how close they are. Plus the fact that they live together. It wasn't just his feelings that were going to be affected—it was the comfort, space, and the feeling of safety. Katsuki would have to live uncomfortably with the fact that his roommate likes him.

Izuku wouldn't wish that on him, matter of fact, he wouldn't wish that on anybody.

But maybe, just maybe, there'll be a time where the fear fades and he'd be willing to take the risk. Maybe it'll be today, maybe it'll be tomorrow, next month, next year, or maybe even never. 

Even if there'll never be okay, it'll be alright. It was enough for him, to admire him from afar like he's done all his life. He was happy.

Was he happy?

"So," she huffs out, effectively cutting his spiral of thought with a smile. "Maybe you should do something about it."

"Do something?" he repeated, a little dumbfounded.

"I don't know about you, but I felt things when Dynamight was paying at the counter." she teases, as if she was an all-knowing.

Things?

No, he couldn't misread things now.

Izuku attempted to scoff, trying to bury the swirl in his stomach. "Probably indifference." he muttered, his eyes drifting off to the countertop. "Or annoyance."

The cashier makes a hushing sound, still smiling. "I guess that's for you to know." 

Izuku nods. He pulls out his phone from his pocket to check the time, and looks back at the girl.

"We can exchange numbers. You can contact me whenever you need help." he tells her with a smile, going to his contacts.

The cashier looks up at him with a surprised glint in her eyes, "Ah, it's really fine! It's too embarrassing on my end, I'm exchanging numbers with the number four hero!"

The teacher laughs, light and amused, finding her reaction humorous. "It's alright, really. We're friends now, aren't we? Besides," he added with a grin, "It's not just Hero Deku. It's Midoriya Izuku, and I think he's way cooler."

The cashier giggles, rolling her eyes mockingly as she spoke sarcastically. "Sure he is."

The train home was quiet, with every noise, every chatter being blocked out from Izuku's ears asides from the rhythmic sound of the tracks as the train drove smoothly through it and the voice on the intercom announcing the next stop. 

Izuku sat silently by the window, feeling the coldness of the metal bar through the fabric of his teacher uniform. His head tilted against the window, his left temple pressing against its coldness—every breath leaving a small, unnoticeable fog on the glass.

It felt nice—nobody was bothering him, and everybody left him alone. It was quiet, just the way he wanted, and he was left alone in a battle with his thoughts. He watched as the trees and the afternoon cityscape blurred past them as the train continued moving at a fast yet steady motion. 

A thin, plastic bag laid neatly on his lap—rustling through every small movement. Viridian eyes turned to look at it, glancing mindlessly at the two bars of chocolate inside, one slightly crooked as it were jostled and broken during the walk to the station, as if it were some delicate object. It was the cookies and cream one, the chocolate that Izuku had initially planned on eating during the train ride home, but had suddenly lost appetite and decided to save it for later on instead.

He glanced at the spicy one in particular, his lips twitching.

Did I really buy this for Kacchan?

The wrapping crinkled quietly as he pulled it out of the plastic bag, gazing at the cover for longer than he intended.

Izuku didn't even know he bought it, or why he did—which was probably the most befuddling part of his day. Perhaps it had been a habit of his, to see something that Katsuki would like and immediately lay his hands on it without any words.

Closing his eyes as he let out a shaky exhale, he shifted in his seat and laid his head against the cold glass of the train's windows. 

“So, maybe you should do something about it.”

Naoko had said it so simply with a smile.

Izuku let out a breathy and quiet laugh, tired. He hit the back of his head lightly against the cool glass, light enough to not hurt but strong enough to make a thud, eyes half-lidded.

He wanted to. God, he truly wanted to stop dancing around the silence that remained so painfully between them. But he also wanted Katsuki to look at him like he used to, like they still shared something that they wouldn't trade anything in the world for. Why would he want for more when he already had everything?

But lately, with every day that passed by, it felt like Katsuki was adding a height to the wall between them, a wall that he didn’t know how to climb. And maybe that wall wasn’t meant for him to climb at all.

He didn't blame Katsuki for avoiding him—how could he blame him for anything, really? Katsuki's a naturally perceptive person, and maybe he found out some things—Izuku wouldn't blame him for wanting to put some distance between them, honestly.

The train began to slow. His stop was coming up.

The voice on the intercom announced his stop, and that was his cue to leave.

Izuku sat up, slowly tucking the chocolate into his bag. Whatever hope Naoko had stirred in him, whatever ache she’d named, it was still there—but quieter now, quiet enough for it to not play in his mind on repeat, but loud enough to remind him; something he wanted to push down. Like a heartbeat that vibrated uncomfortably under his ribs. Still present. Still unsure.

Still his.

Despite everything Naoko talked to Izuku about earlier in the convenience store, he still flopped mindlessly stomach-first on his bed, groaning. The wooden frame of his bed creaked under the sudden shift in weight, where he groaned out loud against the thickness of his bed's mattress.

Katsuki was still gonna avoid him after he comes back home, the talk with Naoko wasn't gonna change that. He could've booked a full therapy session with her, talked about everything and got his mind off things momentarily, but the moment he'd step into his home, all of that would easily be forgotten because of this stupid blond. And yet, here he was, waiting for somebody who wouldn't even talk to him the moment they get home like the idiot that he is.

Izuku feels tired, miserable, and tired. Did that say tired twice? Probably. But the second tired was more tired than the first tired. Did that make sense? No.

He was out of his teacher uniform by that point, and he wasn't able to eat the chocolate he had in store for the train ride back home—so he stored both bars inside of their fridge. His body feels tired, and he couldn't exactly sleep because there were more things he had to finalize. Being a teacher and a hero at the same time is not recommended by Midoriya Izuku.

Whilst still laying on his stomach, his head turned towards his desk to eye the cruel stack of papers that stared back at him as if he owed them rent. That was a cruel stack of paper, it was almost as tall as Mt. Fuji, and even looking at it, touching the idea of grading them, absolutely pained him!

The papers were taunting him.

"Nope. Not today." he spoke like a tragic victorian heroine, speaking dramatically as he pulled his eyes away from the papers that continued haunting him even when he closed his eyes.

He turned on his back, laying down on a starfish-like position. Honestly, somewhere along laying down, he kind of wished that the bed would eat him. Maybe his responsibilities would be buried along with him as well. That wouldn't be so bad.

Maybe Katsuki would fall out of the ceiling and proclaim his great love for him. "Oh, Izuku, I'm sorry for being stupid and loving somebody else. I just realized you're the love of my life. Also I won't avoid you anymore."

Izuku chuckles at the imagination. Now that would be peak romance. 

"God, I'm so tired," Izuku mumbled into his pillow again as he turned once more on his back. "I feel like a microwaved sock."

The doorbell rings, which immediately alerts him and leads him to think of only one thing.

"Kacchan!"

Immediately getting off his bed, he stumbles and catches himself on his forearms. But that was just an obstacle he had to get over, because he immediately got back up and swung his room's door open to get to the front door of their apartment. He pats himself down, rakes a hand through his disheleved hair to make his appearance look more tidy and clears his throat, but a thought appears in his mind for a split second as his hand reached for the door handle.

Wait, wouldn't Kacchan have a door to our apartment? 

Nonetheless, he twists the door handle and opens it—immediately met by scarlet eyes.

That wasn't the shape of Katsuki's eyes, though. And the shade of red was a little off.

"Oh—hey, Midoriya!" Eijiro greeted him with a toothy grin, rubbing his free hand on the nape of his neck. His other hand held something familiar.

Kacchan's phone?

The red-head cleared his throat. "Is Bakugo here? He left his phone at my agency, saw it at the desk when I was getting ready to go home." he explained, holding the cellular device up. "Figured I'd swing by and drop it off real quick."

Izuku stays silent, looking at the phone in his hand. He blinked, realization hitting him like a slap. He hadn't actually responded to him yet. "Oh! Uh—no. Kacchan isn't home. Maybe he's at your agency, looking for it?"

"Oh, that makes a lot more sense. I'll just look for him myself th—"

"No!" Izuku blurts out, too loud and too immediate. His face immediately flared in a violent red from fluster and embarrassment. "I mean, I can give it to him when he gets home." 

Eijiro's eyebrows, dyed in red, shot up as he jumped a little from the sudden raise in the other's voice. But then he gave him the phone and smiled warmly, "Alright. Tell him to stop forgetting his things, yeah?"

The freckled man laughs, nodding with the phone in his hands. "Of course."

Eijiro's gaze turns towards his eyes again, a soft chuckle leaving his mouth before he spoke in a softer, fonder tone. "Man, you two really do act like a married couple."

A married couple?

The words that left Eijiro's mouth were a simple comment, probably said without much thought—but it lingered in his mind for longer than he probably should have let it.

Maybe they really did. Izuku hated how that sparked childish thoughts and false hopes in his mind. But he found comfort in the false thoughts either way, it sparkled something in him—a quiet, maybe ridiculous feeling. How the comment made his heart stutter, igniting a small glint of hope that he didn't ask for.

They live under the same roof. They basically share their salaries. Katsuki even cooks for him, breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They always look out for each other. And Katsuki was the most important person in his life, like a husband was to a wife and vice versa. Was he the most important person in Katsuki's life, though? Izuku doesn't wanna get ahead of himself, but he sure does hope he is.

The only difference is they don't sleep in the same bed. They don't hold hands when they walk side-by-side. Izuku doesn't wake up in Katsuki's arms. They don't share lazy kisses in the morning, kisses after seeing each other once their work shift was over, and kisses before they went to bed. That didn't sound so bad, though. 

His heart warmed up at the thought, nervous flutters flooding his sense of feeling from silly fantasies that clouded his mind. He laughed as well, taking the phone from his friend's hands silently. He was silent, but there were a lot of things going through his mind—confusing emotions, mixed signals. Katsuki still wasn't communicating with him, and he won't rest easily until he knows the reason as to why.

The red-head pats the green-haired man's shoulder with a strong sense of friendliness. "Alright, I'll be going now, dude."

Gripping the phone tighter, Izuku watched as the man walked away. The warm flutter faded, and the growing question lit back to life.

Katsuki was still avoiding him, and he wanted to know why.

Eijiro was one of the man's best friends, wasn't he? Perhaps he'd know some things.

"Wait, Kirishima," Izuku calls out to him, still holding the phone in his hands.

Red hair slightly swung as Eijiro's head turned towards him, confused. "Yeah?

"Can you come here? I want to ask about... some things."

Footsteps were heard, with the red-head walking towards him. "Sure. You alright?"

He suddenly felt the weight of the conversation he was about to have, and felt embarrassed.

Izuku looks down at the floor, too shy to make eye contact despite Eijiro being one of his closest friends—somebody he'd known for a decade already. 

"What is it?" His friend spoke to him with a friendly voice, slightly easing him. The red-head had always been an easy person to talk to, so maybe Izuku shouldn't be too worried.

"I—uh," he still stumbles and stutters, unable to get his words out properly without fumbling. "It's kinda..."

The slightly taller man chuckles at his nervousness. "Hey man, whatever it is, I've got you. You can talk to me." he spoke, voice warm with reassurance.

Green eyes light up in admiration, trying to find the slightest bit of courage to actually talk. But Eijiro was one of Katsuki's closest friends, and Katsuki was one of Eijiro's closest friends too—so the hesitance and the doubt couldn't easily leave his mind either way.

So should he really tell him? The man has principles, and Izuku trusts him—why not?

"It's sort of about Kacchan." he finally spits out after the array of doubts, looking off to the side as a tinge of red crosses his face due to embarrassment. "Okay, it's all about him."

Eijiro immediately falls into silence, face slightly dropping. Confusion and intrigue lied between scarlet eyes, but there wasn't judgment. 

The silence was killing Izuku, and so was the awkwardness of the situation he dragged himself in. But he chose to continue talking. "I was just wondering if you knew something. 'Cause I really don't get it."

His friend laid his hand comfortingly on his shoulder, patting it as his red eyes stared at him as if they were trying to ease him through his gaze. "I'm really sorry that I don't, man." he paused, clearing his throat. "But you can talk to me. I'll listen, alright?"

Izuku huffed out a tired laugh, feeling more relaxed from the man's comforting demeanor. "Kacchan's been... I don't know how to put it, but it's like he's been avoiding me. I really don't mean to exaggerate, but it's like he hardly notices when I'm in the same room as him. And it's hard, because all I want for us to do is to sit on the same dining table and actually talk instead of pretending like the other isn't there. We walk past each other like we don't even know each other, or at least he does. Like we're strangers." he paused, biting his lip as he entered uncharted territory of letting his feelings act.

"I know—I know that he's been trying too, we both are. We've both been rebuilding everything that shattered between us—though, I can't help but feel that our efforts are just reducing to nothing because we're... how do I put this? We're just going back to the way things used to be, falling into the same distance that we had between us back when we were not so good."

His voice cracked ever so slightly, just enough to make him pause, just enough to make it real.

"And I hate it." his breath hitched, "It's tiring—to come home after work, and all I just want is for someone to ask me how my day was. I'm not asking for much, just for somebody to notice when I'm there. We don't even talk for longer than five minutes anymore. And it's stupid, but it feels lonelier when he's there than when I'm by myself."

He didn't exactly mean to rant and dump a whole lot of words onto the other, but he did. Like water breaking through a dam, and only then did he notice that his words spilled more and more—without knowing when he should stop, or when he would.

Izuku breathed heavily, feeling that his chest was tightening. He hadn't meant to let it all out like that. Every part of him felt like something of him was missing, and it was uncomfortable, but talking about it was able to lift a part of the weight he's been trying to carry on his own. Talking always made him feel better, because in a way, he could unlock his cage of feelings, reassured by the fact that the other was listening.

And it did help him, talking about his problems and his worries. But this time, why was he aware of every pained vibration that left his chest through every heartbeat? The tightening of his throat, the panging in his head, and uneven breaths. 

"I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to rant—"

But Eijiro didn't give it a second thought. "Hey, Midoriya" he spoke, voice steady and warm. "Don't apologize for having feelings. You're human, man. This? This is normal." Eijiro reassured him with a genuine expression on his face. A soft, nearly teary laugh left his mouth. "You're gonna make me cry."

Izuku let out a quiet and tired chuckle, "I really didn't mean to drag you in this situation."

The red-head shook his head gently, a soft expression on his face. "Really. It's no big deal." he let out a soft, quiet mutter. "I just wish I could help you both a little more."

A tiny smile appeared on Izuku's face, without quite reaching his eyes.

"Bakugo's... always been a difficult person," he began slowly. "And I know you know that better than anybody in the world, Midoriya." he spoke with gritted teeth, looking to his side, wary of the blond that could come home any minute now. "Don't ever tell him I said that. He'll kill me."

A giggle escaped Izuku's mouth whilst he responded. "I won't. I understand, Kacchan is pretty hard to work with sometimes."

"Then I'm glad you understand." an exaggerated, humorous exhale leaves the red-heads mouth.

He could see the weight Izuku was carrying on his shoulders, and he knew the reason why it was there. It internally pained him, not being able to tell him right then and there—but he knew it wasn't his story to tell.

"I don't know the whole picture," he continued, not exactly lying. "But I know Bakugo has always had difficulty in sorting his stuff out. He's got an entire world inside his mind and he barely lets anybody in it. He buries stuff deep. And he ignores it—doesn't talk until it gets too loud."

"I just want him to talk to me," Izuku mumbled, voice low and quiet. "Because he knows I'd give anything to help him. Practically everybody knows, now, don't they? But it's like I'm invisible, like I'm not even worth a hi or hello—"

"Woah, woah, woah." Eijiro cuts him off, leaving him quiet with a heart thumping in an accelerated pace. "Maybe it's something internal that Bakugo's been dealing with himself. It's not your fault, Midoriya. None of you are at fault. None of you are to blame for this, so don't blame yourself, okay?" he placed both of his hands on his friend's shoulders, patting them to get his point. The other nodded, understanding.

"Hey, I'm not saying it's your job to this," he shook his head, "Because it was Bakugo's choice to handle it on his own. Just... remind him you're there, okay? Even if he pretends to not notice. I bet you that's all he needs—you're literally his medicine, and I'm not exaggerating. And he better be there for you as well, because I have a folder of embarrassing Bakugo pictures I'm ready to make public."

Another tiny laugh slips out of Izuku's mouth, but despite the laughing, he was left confused with a now growing question.

"I'm not saying that I don't want to, but why me? Being the one to be there for him, I mean." 

His stomach twists at the last part of his sentence, feeling his heart doing somersaults in his chest. 

"There's a lot of people that love and admire Kacchan—you guys, his parents. And I do too, but... why does it have to be me specifically?" Izuku's brows furrowed as his gaze drifted towards the ground, pondering the question. "And Kacchan likes somebody, I know that. It isn't exactly hidden, with the Twitter post and it being constantly there wherever I go." he added, the words rolling off his tongue with a bitter aftertaste.

"If Kacchan really does like somebody, wouldn't it make sense if he wanted them to be there for him instead of me?" he asked innocently, a tiny pained smile tugging on the corners of his lips as his eyes remained looking at the floor, pretending that his heart wasn't breaking with every word.

Izuku was more than willing to be there for him, of course; it was Katsuki they were talking about. It was always Katsuki. But another question lingered in the tight spaces in his mind, barely fitting with all of his thoughts, but echoing like something that needed to be answered: Why him?

He didn't know whether he was reading into it too much, but why did it have to be him specifically? A lot of people loved and cared for Katsuki, and Izuku was one of them too, of course, But if Katsuki really was in love with someone—shouldn’t that person be the first one he could turn to? Shouldn’t it be them standing in that place? Shouldn't they be the only one to be able to ease all of his worries?

Yet... it didn't feel wrong to stand there. It felt right. It felt right that the spot was reserved for Izuku, and Izuku only. A sense of quiet certainty lingered between doubts and rivers of unsureness.

It felt like the place beside Katsuki's was always meant to be his.

His train of thoughts were immediately put to a halt, hearing Eijiro's voice process through his ears.

"Midoriya, Bakugo..." The red-head trails off, pausing as he contemplated whether he should really say whatever he was about to say. Hesitance was obvious just from the glint in his eyes, but he sighed and decided to say it anyway. "Bakugo... loves you very much. Maybe even more than all of us in our friend group combined. And I know that he won't admit that to you, but I know he knows that to himself."

Izuku's gaze snapped back to him, accompanied with a nervous flutter of unfamiliarity that danced in his stomach. His heart stumbled over itself, hearing the words that just left the other's mouth—forming fantasies and even more questions he didn't need.

But... he didn't understand.

"Loves... me very much?" 

Eijiro visibly winced, sucking in a sharp breath through his teeth. He looked away, a pained crease forming between his brows, like he immediately regretted saying anything at all.

Before Izuku could press further, Eijiro’s eyes flicked past him—toward the hallway.

Katsuki.

The blond approached with familiar, heavy footsteps, three grocery bags in hand, his expression unreadable as he slowed in front of them. His sharp eyes lingered on Eijiro, then shifted toward the phone in Izuku’s hand.

"Hey, Bakugo," Eijiro greeted, too casually, jerking a thumb toward Izuku. "Was about to return your phone since you left it at the agency, but I ran into Midoriya, so we caught up a bit."

Katsuki’s gaze dropped to the phone, then back to Eijiro. He snorted, the sound flat and dismissive but without its usual venom. "Didn’t ask."

Eijiro chuckled. "Of course you didn't." he exaggerated his vowels, acting a little too suspicious.

He clapped Izuku lightly on the shoulder, not meeting his eyes this time. Hurriedly, he went. "Anyway, I’ll get going. Later, guys." And then he jogged off, waving with one hand as the elevator doors slid open.

Now it was just them.

With silence between them, louder than ever before.

Izuku stood there, still clutching the coldness of Katsuki’s phone in his hand. The air shifted—thicker, heavier with tension that remained unresolved with them. Katsuki still wasn’t looking at him. He took his time slipping his shoes off, then brushed past him toward the kitchen.

Izuku turned slowly, watching the retreating line of his back, feeling the heat of Eijiro’s words still burning in his ears.

"Bakugo… loves you very much."

His chest ached, caught somewhere between hope and hesitation.

"… You left your phone," he spoke quietly and carefully, stepping forward to place it on the counter beside him.

Katsuki didn’t respond. He just reached into a grocery bag, sorting vegetables with mechanical precision and muscle memory, his jaw tense.

Izuku swallowed, his voice softer now. "You okay?"

A beat.

Then two.

"I'm fine, Izuku." Katsuki muttered, a delayed reply.

But it didn’t sound like he was fine. Not really.

Izuku stood there for another moment, unsure of what to say next, unsure if he should say anything at all.

Because maybe the person Katsuki loved really was someone else.

And yet... he couldn’t shake the feeling that the space beside him felt like it belonged to Izuku.

Chapter Text

Today's the last day of finals week in U.A.

Izuku was cramming a lot of scores and grading, and he was on his last paper—which he had to finish before the end of the day. And after that, he can finish up the final grades and he could finally get the very well needed rest for a week or two. 

He held the paper impatiently in his hands, wanting to get it over with as soon as possible with his brain scrambling to find a reasonable grade to give.. The lack of sleep, fatigue, and stress had been catching up to him like wildfire. And he was hungry. His lunch wasn't in his bag, he's pretty sure he left it back at home.

A loud thud was heard from where his head hit the teacher's table, frustratedly raking his hands through green hair and pulling hard as he let out a loud groan. "I can't read this!"

A low rumble sound came with the opening of the heavy door to his classroom, with light footsteps following right after. Crap, a student probably witnessed his patheticness.

Instantly, his head rises from where he banged it on the table, faint red markings visible on his forehead from where it hit the table the hardest.

His eyes remained closed as he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose whilst speaking tiredly. "If it's a late assignment, then it's not your lucky day."

"That's not exactly what I came for, sensei." the person spoke in a low voice, seemingly confused and a tad bit concerned. The teacher continued reading through essays, internally pained with the unreadable handwriting that was comparable to ancient languages he would need linguists to decode. 

"Note to self; next time I hand an assignment, make it printed." Izuku muttered to himself, clenching the sides of the paper he was holding. Oh, the student. "Do you need extra credit? Help me decode this, please. It's like an ancient language." He cleared his throat, speaking whilst he squinted his eyes at the piece of text he was reading—well, trying to read. 

A stifle of laughter came from the person that entered the room, shortly leaving their mouth in tiny chuckles. "That's not what I came for." 

"Then what is?" the words came out impatiently, growing more and more rushed as he raked through other pages to see something understandable, the sounds of paper rustling violently accompanying the action.

"You forgot your lunch, Izuku."

Izuku? Just who—

He turned his head towards the person, brows furrowed in confusion.

Katsuki. In a civilian outfit. Holding the exact same lunch Izuku forgot to put in his bag.

His heart raced, struggling to find the right words to say. Because what the heck was he supposed to say?! Katsuki hasn't visited in what seemed like an eternity, and they barely even talk anymore. Why was he here?! And how did Izuku not recognize his voice?

"Kacchan!" he exclaimed, seeming as if he was unsure if he was actually seeing the man. "... Hi!" a delayed greeting came afterwards.

A cough left his mouth, clearing his throat because what the hell was going on.

The man left from where he was standing, grabbing a seat from the empty classroom to set it neatly by Izuku's desk. Katsuki sat and cleared his throat as well, looking off to the side as he placed the bento box between them.

"You didn't grab your lunch." The blond felt the need to say, the awkwardness between them lingering like a show they didn't want to watch but was forced to sit through.

Izuku looked back to the paper he was reading, hands trembling with the pounding of his heart growing louder and louder through every minute, every second. "I can't eat anyway," he laughs, soft and clear with fatigue. "Not until I finish this."

Katsuki furrows his brows, narrowing his eyes at him. "What?"

"Well, it's the last batch, so I'll be able to rest soon—"

His stomach grumbles in hunger, loud and clear. 

...

"That isn't really helping my case." Izuku commented with a sheepish grin, sucking a breath beneath his teeth.

"No, it isn't."

"No, it isn't. Well," the teacher agreed, finally connecting their gazes. 

Scarlet eyes stared back at him in ferocity, with such intensity that he felt like he was slowly folding underneath them as if he were a paper boat. His heart squeezed again, seeing that Katsuki wasn't pulling away from the eye contact—why wasn't he pulling away? 

"Why are you here, Kacchan? It's your day off, isn't it? You don't have to force yourself to hang out with me." he laughed between the end of his words, saying all of that crap even though he knows to himself that he wants Katsuki to stay a little longer. Was it too much? He didn't know, to be honest.

The buzzing of the air conditioner grew louder, filling in the awkward silence that remained between them. What was up with them and weird silence between conversations?

Words on the paper Izuku was reading continued swirling with characters mixing and merging with each other, becoming more and more unintelligible—not because of the horrid handwriting he was facing, but because of the tension that just kept growing bigger and for longer. 

"I want to," a delayed response left the man's mouth, quiet but loud enough for Izuku to hear and understand. 

"What?"

"Can't you just eat your fuckin' lunch already?"

"Kacchan, I can't. It's like I'm decoding texts from ancient egypt."

"Give me that." Katsuki abruptly spoke, yanking the paper out of Izuku's hands as it made a loud rustling noise.

Izuku's brows shot up in surprise, befuddled. "Hey! You might rip the paper."

The taller man's nose scrunched, with Izuku focusing on how ruby eyes travelled from side to side as it read through the lines of the essay he held roughly in his hands. It was mesmerizing, maybe even a little easy to get lost in—like a hypnotizing device that swung from side to side, the motion beneath the man's red eyes hypnotized him. 

"I can read this." he said arrogantly as if it was easy, giving the paper back to him as he laid back on the chair he was sitting on.

The teacher shook his head, forcing the trance the man had on him to leave his mind. "What? How?"

"Dunce face's handwriting is so much fuckin' worse." 

Izuku slowly nodded, unable to form the correct words for a response. He chewed on his inner cheek, focusing on trying to understand the text. He let out an exhale, calming his nerves for better focus and understanding. To an extent, he could read the student's essay, but he often had to re-read a sentence or two sentences every once in a while to double check whether he was reading it correctly.

Disappointment lingered beneath focus though—it wasn't strong enough to boggle Izuku's mind and leave him unable to concentrate, but it was there—a faint trace of it lingering, faint enough for him to ignore, yet strong enough for him to feel. Because Katsuki was right there, and they were finally talking, but Izuku's work was in the way. Things he had to complete, because these weren't just stuff that he could push away or put a halt to for a while. These were responsibilities that he had to tend to, and no matter how much he wanted to talk—to ask, to clarify everything that hasn't been clarified yet, he knew that he couldn't do so yet. He hopes Katsuki is willing to wait.

But for now, he was okay with the silence. It wasn't the uncomfortable silence that played whenever he had uncertainties—it was the silence that provided comfort, with the reassurance that Katsuki was right there and maybe he was willing to talk. It was a different kind of silence, and Izuku was willing to sit through it.

He was on the last sentence. Time truly did fly by quicker than ever, with somebody accompanying him. His pen made a faint, scratchy noise as it dragged lines of ink through the paper, writing the grade Izuku gave the student along with a small note in regards to their penmanship.

The moment the ballpen left the surface of the paper, the moment the familiar clicking sound processed through both of their ears, Izuku let out a sigh of relief.

"Izuku,"

"Kacchan,"

They spoke at the same time. There was around half an hour left before the lunch break ended.

"Oh," Izuku laughed, light and amused as he tapped his pen lightly against the table in a rhythm, feeling a little anxious. "You go first."

"Just spit out what you wanna say." Katsuki spoke with gruff in his words, looking off to the side grumpily to hide the nervous glint behind his eyes.

Izuku bit his tongue, wondering whether it was a sensitive topic to talk about. He didn't wanna ruin things now right when they were finally talking, so should he really take the risk when there's a possibility it'll just mess things up even more?

He couldn't just sit there and act like nothing was messed up between them, though. Things had to be cleared up, the confusion between them had to end.

"So, maybe you should do something about it." 

Naoko's words rung through his head, sparking a delicate flame of confidence in him—flickering, but it was able to hold up on its own.

Maybe he should. And the first step was to talk about it.

"So, about the past few weeks..." Izuku laughed through his words, even though there was nothing about it in particular that he found funny. Heat rushed to his face with anxiety hitting him like a punch in the stomach. "I just wanted to ask. You. About the past few weeks." 

What the heck was he doing?!

A loud thud was heard, which slightly frightened Izuku, causing him to jump a little. Katsuki dropped his head loudly and heavily on the teacher's desk. "That was the most stupid shit I've ever pulled." his muffled voice spoke, sending slight vibrations Izuku could feel from the table. "And that's out of all the most stupid shit I've ever done." he felt the need to add.

Izuku spoke with concern and confusion laced in every syllable his mouth sounded. "Huh? Stupi—what? Kacchan?"

Katsuki lifted his head, laying his chin on the table with his arms folded to half his face. Red eyes drifted off to the side, not wanting to maintain eye contact with the other man as his face flushed with a faint blush. "Please don't ask me." he mumbled, eyes focused on the table as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. "I might say a load of bullcrap I don't want to."

And just like that, Izuku's heart thumped beneath his chest, leaving him unable to process thoughts as he continued staring at the other man who now looked like was in a vulnerable situation. Holy crap his heart was pounding so fast.

There was something about how raw Katsuki looked. Quiet, a little humiliated, and vaguely panicked. The complete opposite of his usual demeanor. But it felt so real.

But that just made Izuku's hunger to know more grow. 

"Kacchaaaan, I'm dying of curiosity, though." Izuku pouted, drawling the vowels of the childhood nickname. "What were you going to say, anyway?"

"Nevermind that crap. Stay curious."

"I can't. I might die."

Katsuki let out a snort. "Heh. I've died once."

Izuku hit him on the head lightly using the back of his hand. "Not funny."

"Okay. Not funny." Katsuki rolled his eyes, scowling with his joy being stripped away. He sat up straight, hands crossed at his chest, finally looking Izuku in the eye.

...

"Your tie’s loose."

Izuku blinked and glanced down. Sure enough, the knot was sitting awkwardly at the base of his throat—crooked and barely hanging on. The tail end of the tie was peeking out from under the wrong side, and the knot itself looked like it had barely survived the train ride to the school.

“Oh—” he muttered, flustered, and immediately brought his hands up to fix it. He slipped his fingers under the fabric, tugging at the narrow end like he sort of remembered what to do, even though he had barely a clue, but before he could properly adjust anything—

Katsuki was already stepping in, standing tall beside him.

“Seriously?” the blond scoffed, brushing Izuku’s hands away with a light, slightly harsh slap. “You’ve been walking around like that all morning?”

“I—I didn’t notice, okay?” Izuku protested weakly, voice squeaking in surprise as Katsuki moved in close.

“Can’t even do your damn tie without my help?” Katsuki muttered, though his tone was softer than usual—grumbly but he wasn't mean.

Without waiting for permission, Katsuki slightly crouched down and tugged the tie loose, undoing the amateur knot entirely. He pulled both ends straight, then flicked Izuku lightly in the chest to make him stand up straighter.

“Hold still.”

Izuku’s breath caught in his throat, heartbeat accelerating once more in a way that he could feel every beat in his eardrums, feeling the same surge of heat that rushed in through embarrassing situations.

He felt like his heart was pounding so hard against his chest that Katsuki could feel every vibration, each beat a clue to his feelings.

He wishes that Katsuki couldn't feel it, but there was a desire that knocked at the back of his head—for him to notice, to notice that he's keeping his shaky hands hidden by placing them still, gripping tightly on the edge of his chair. To notice how his face turns redder when he does something so simple as to getting too close. To notice how Izuku kept staring at his concentrated face, admiring his features as if they were art taken straight out of a museum. To notice how his heart was pounding over every ounce of movement. To notice everything he felt, not only in that exact moment, but for every other moment too.

Katsuki’s hands moved with surprising precision—he crossed the wide end over the narrow, looping it around the back, up through the neck opening, and then down through the knot he shaped in the front. His fingers tightened it with practiced ease, tugging until it sat neatly and snugly under Izuku’s collar. He gave the knot a final tug and a pat, smoothing it into place.

“There,” Katsuki said simply, eyes flicking up to meet Izuku’s for the briefest second before darting away again. “You’re not a damn rookie, stop dressing like one.”

Izuku stood frozen, face a little too warm. “Thanks,” he mumbled, reaching up to touch the knot that now felt way more secure—and for some reason, more personal—than it had before.

He could still feel where Katsuki’s hands had been.

"I missed you," Izuku muttered softly, his thoughts speaking out loud while he was unable to wipe the fond smile he wore on his face. 

"What?"

His face bursted out into flames, scrambling to look at anywhere other than the man standing in front of him. His heart continued to do gymnastics in his chest once more.

"I missed y—this. Us. That's all." he rushed out, stumbling over his words as if correcting them could somehow undo the awkward situation he caused. His laugh came out awkward and breathy, his hand flying to the back of his neck to rub at it, a habit he noticed he's done every time he was nervous. Katsuki kept his eyes lingering on him for longer than he was comfortable with, heart threatening to explode with every second ruby eyes continued to bore holes into him. "Not like—hah, just the normalness of it. Being not weird." he spoke all with the pass of one breath.

But it was weird.

Katsuki just stood there, staring at him in a way that he couldn't even predict his next move anymore. That had been happening a bit too frequently for Izuku—getting less and less able to predict the other man's thoughts and actions.

Katsuki just stood there, like he forgot to blink.

And then he blinked. One time. Two times. Slowly.

His face formed something unexplainable, but nearly familiar. Something that laid at the very edge of Izuku's mind. And then suddenly—

Whack! 

A hand met his head, roughly smacking him.

"Ow! What was that for?" Izuku hissed, even though there wasn't actually any pain.

Katsuki finally muttered something that nearly sounded fond, accompanied with a low sigh, "God, you're such a dork." and turned towards the door to leave. But he didn't really leave, he just stood there, like he was waiting for a response to leave Izuku's mouth.

"Takes one to know one, Kacchan." Izuku smiled, nervous but warm. Things finally felt... normal.

The taller man by the door scoffed under his breath, Izuku noticing the way the tips of his ears went pink.

"Fix your collar, dumbass." he spoke before leaving.

Izuku grinned wide, fixing nothing of himself.

The atmosphere felt different between them, shifting and changing, but it left one stupid thought in Izuku's mind.

It almost looked like Katsuki had feelings too.

Izuku walked off school grounds nearing evening, sun already setting in the horizon as an orange-pink hue colored the sky beautifully with thin clouds scattering in an irregular pattern. He'd already eaten his lunch in the teacher's room whilst he was finalizing grades, finally having nothing else to do. So he felt pretty full.

But his heart continued to race beneath his chest, heat travelling slowly to his face as a faint but noticeable blush spread across his face. He held his bag close to his chest, hearing not the chatter of the people around him, but the loud drums of his heartbeat in his ears.

"Izuku, you are too delusional for your own good." he muttered beneath gritted teeth, even more heat rushing to his face. 

An outdoor flower shop across the street catches his eye.

Without assessing why he was walking towards it, he continued to let himself be driven by his legs who were moving for a reason he didn't even know, but didn't want to stop. The flowers looked beautiful and the old lady selling them seemed sweet.

There were baskets of many different flowers, roses, daisies, carnations, lilies, tulips, and much more in so much variety. Each delicate petals were painted in such vibrant colors, with aromas that were quite a pleasing scent to breathe in. 

"Ah, Hero Deku! It's a pleasure to have you here." the old lady who seemed to run the shop greeted him sweetly with a welcoming smile, her voice trembling with age. Izuku greeted her back with a warm smile, "Please, it's Midoriya."

He continued looking at the flowers, even dragging his fingers across to caress the soft and delicate petals, each smooth to the touch. These flowers were very well maintained and cared for.

But out of all the flowers inside of the flower shop, only one batch in particular really caught his eye. The roses—flowers that people often buy for their loved ones or significant others. There was a variety of colors, red, white, pink, and many more. But there was a separate batch; a rose with dainty white petals, with an elegant red in its inner.

Izuku seemed drawn to its beauty, walking over to it and gently running his fingertips across the petals. They were impossibly soft—like velvet, delicate and light under his touch. Thorns remained at its stem, prickly to the touch. The bloom reminded him of something, though he couldn’t place what. Or maybe someone. 

"Those are called 'Osiria roses'," the old woman said kindly, noticing the way he lingered longer in front of its batch longer than the other flowers he'd came across. "Rare, aren’t they? The outer white and inner red—it’s like they’re blushing from the inside out."

He nodded, heart doing flips in his chest. 

"How much are they?"

"One is 1000 yen, sir." 

Nodding once more, he looked back at the flowers. They were truly beautiful.

So when he said, “I’ll take ten in a bouquet, please,” even he was surprised by how quickly the words left his mouth.

That was a lot of money he was going to be spending, and he was aware of it. He was aware, but it felt like he didn't even mind at all. Ten in a bouquet was going to cost around ten-thousand yen.

"One bouquet will be 11,000 yen, sir," she said with a kind smile. "If you’d like it arranged with filler greenery—some fresh leaves and a touch of baby’s breath—it would come to 13,000 yen in total."

Izuku sat by the window of the train, holding a bouquet of flowers that costed thirteen-thousand yen. His gaze peered through the window, watching the blur of lights pass by him as the train drove in speeds. His temple laid on the cold glass, taking warm and shaky breaths, causing mist on its surface.

Looking back at the bouquet he held, he couldn't help but smile as he thought of his roommate. I wonder if he'd like them.

Did he seriously buy a bouquet that costed him thirteen-thousand yen for Katsuki? 

Then again, he didn't really mind. 

Would Katsuki like the flowers, though? 

He imagines him, standing stiffly in their apartment, probably a little surprised and confused. He'd probably scoff and mutter something like, "Why'd you get this crap for me? I'm not a girl," and take it anyway. Maybe he'd be a little reluctant, or give him crap for spending so much money on him. Maybe he'd pretend he doesn't care, maybe he does care.

Would he feel weirded out? Or would that spark of softness flash in his eyes—the one Izuku always caught when Katsuki thought no one was looking?

Would it be okay?

His phone buzzes in a notification, a text from one of his friends. He reaches out for his pocket and opens his messages.

Eijiro texted him.

Kirishima 💪💪

6:02PM

Kirishima 💪💪

>> Hey, Midoriya! I was just wondering if you and Bakugo were alright now.

>> I know that it wasn't my place to meddle, but Bakugo talked to me yesterday. Talked a little sense in him, lol.

Izuku blinked, and then he smiled fondly, grateful for his friend's meddling. He'd probably be all sucky and miserable if not for it.

He typed in his reply with one hand, taking quite a while.

Midoriya 💪💪

>> hi! yes, we're doinf alrigjt now. thank you so much i dont think i wouldve been able to tslk to him:') feels so much lighter now aaaa

"Bakugo... loves you very much."

Eijiro's words rung in his mind once more as it usually has been lately. Words he'd been thinking of for more than usual, words he'd been thinking of so frequently it was unhealthy. 

He stared down at the bouquet in his lap. The Osiria roses looked almost too beautiful to be real, their deep red hearts blooming from snow-white petals like secrets pulled from silence. His chest ached—not in pain, but in something softer. Warmer.

And then, almost instinctively, Naoko’s voice came next.

"So, maybe you should do something about it."

Maybe he already was.

Maybe Izuku was doing something about it. He wouldn't have bought a bouquet that costed an expensive amount of money if he didn't care.

Maybe it wasn't just an impulse, and perhaps it meant something more—that he’d seen something beautiful and thought of Katsuki. That he wanted to give him something, that he was ready to give him his all, his everything, even if he didn’t know how it would be received.

Maybe he was tired of holding all of it in.

Of pretending that the way he felt was something he could keep tucked away forever.

Maybe he wasn’t ready to say the words out loud, but this—this was still saying something.

A gesture, a step, something small but honest.

Maybe he didn’t need to have a plan. He just needed to be himself. It was okay if he stumbled through this, if it wasn’t perfect. He'd always been full of flaws, hasn't he? And each flaw was something he wasn't afraid of showing him.

Maybe he was being a little foolish, too foolish for his own good, but love always led to foolishness and recklessness anyway, right?

But maybe doing something, anything, was better than doing nothing at all.

Maybe this was it. The start of something.

Maybe the flowers weren’t just a gift. Maybe they were a confession wrapped in ribbon.

And maybe—just maybe, he’d finally reached the point where staying quiet felt scarier than trying. 

"I don't know about you, but I felt things when Dynamight was paying at the counter."

And maybe...

"The one Kacchan loves... is me."

Izuku utters under his breath, quiet enough for nobody to hear, heart pounding faster than it ever has before as he discovered something new, potentially true, potentially not.

The voice on the intercom announcing his stop processed quickly in his ears, but barely registered through the rush of blood in his ears.

He darted towards the door and left the train quicker than anyone else with the practiced precision of a hero—making sure that nobody trips or gets hurt with his rushing. His hero insticts never fell, even now. But he had to go. He had to move. Because if he didn't do this now, he doesn't know when he'll get the courage to again.

"What the hell?"

"What's got him so rushed?"

"Wait... was that Hero Deku?"

Mutters of judgment rose from the other people riding the train followed him, voices mixing in confusion and recognition. Izuku felt a little conscious from the attention, seeing as he was acting a tad bit rude, but he wanted to leave the train station as quickly as possible. Tonight might be one of the biggest things that's ever going to happen to him, and he didn't mean to make a scene, but he just—

He just had to know.

He stepped out of the station, one hand holding the handle of his briefcase, the other holding the bouquet of Osiria roses. The evening air immediately hit his face with a light and cool breeze, sending slight chills from its coldness. It felt a lot cooler than usual.

The walk to his apartment was around fifteen minutes, and fifteen minutes was something that he decided was too long of a time period. 

So he ran, with his legs moving on pure instinct at the urgency, importance, and possibly stupidity of what he was going to do—propelling him forward, as if this was a moment that he couldn't let slip away from his hands. His heart threatened to detonate at any second, beating so fast, pounding with a ferocity as adrenaline pumped through every vein of his body. Each beat served as a meaning, a confession that he was finally going to do tonight.

Katsuki was more than his long-time crush, he's his best friend. A constant in his life. And he deserves honesty. To know about everything; that includes Izuku's feelings. He doesn't deserve to live in a lie, to live life without knowing that the person closest to him loves him, or loves him back. 

He couldn't keep pretending.

Not to Katsuki. Not to himself.

No more pretending, and no more hiding things.

They can't keep living like this. Dancing around each other, circling each other like they were at orbit, never colliding.

They couldn't keep living in half-dances, almost-confessions, when it looked like something real was blooming between them. When there's something beautiful that could be of them. 

Maybe it was time they finally open the closed door. 

Drop. A droplet of water fell from the sky to his skin.

The water laid cold against his flushed skin, but he kept running.

Maybe it was time they start something new. For a while, Izuku was worried that what they had was going to be in ruins after he actually does something, but he hadn't actually considered the option of starting something new.

More and more water just kept falling from the sky, soaking his sleeves, catching in his eyelashes.

They could begin again, not as friends, not as awkward roommates that pretend not to look at the other for two minutes too long, not two people that keep getting tangled in almosts, but maybe something more. They were always made for something more, weren't they? Always trying to break the bounds.

They were always more. 

Even as rain started pouring heavily, Izuku kept running like it was a race against time. Because he couldn't hold the truth in any longer. It was there, waiting to be tipped over and spilled, it was there, ready to confess every secret, every whisper his heart ached in not being able to speak vocally. 

The heavy static sound of the rain filled his ears, but it wasn't loud enough to overcome the volume of how loud his heart was thumping in his chest. Water pricked at his hair, hoping that the flowers don't get ruined in the rain. He held the bouquet close to his chest. Thankfully, the wrapping wasn't paper and was instead a thick, woven sheet of cloth. Protected. Just like how he's always protected his heart.

But maybe this was the time he could finally let it be given away, instead of trying to protect it from something that could open it to so much more.

Perhaps opening the truth will allow for more growth. The growth of something beautiful, something new, and maybe something they didn't even know they needed.

He kept running, every step making a splash in the puddles of water that covered the sidewalk. He kept running, even though his shoes became more and more soaked, his socks stained with muddy water. He kept running, even with the cold air biting into his skin, colder with the drench of his clothes. He kept running, even though the fog and mist of the rain in the air thickened, veiling his vision in a silvery blur. He kept running, even though there was a probability of sickness. Even with all of these things that would've made any person stop and rest, he didn't. He kept running.

He kept running, because all of this—this mess and discomfort? It was all temporary. Socks can be washed, and so could clothes. A fever will go away in time.

And the mist, the fog of uncertainty will go away with the rain, and the sun will shine again—even if it wasn't tomorrow.

He kept running because he loved Katsuki, and it was unfair that Katsuki didn't know.

It was unfair for Katsuki to go on not knowing that the one he loves—if he interpreted Eijiro and Naoko's words correctly—loved him back just as much. That everything Katsuki had been carrying in silence had already been mirrored, quietly, in Izuku’s chest all this time.

But if—if—there was even the slightest chance that Izuku wasn’t the one Katsuki liked, then…

Well.

He had enough in his savings to legally change his government name, buy a one-way ticket out of the country, and start a brand-new life somewhere far away. He was thinking… maybe Nabu Island. Somewhere isolated with limited internet access and questionable cell reception.

Maybe he could become a scientist in I-Island. That place is strictly isolated, isn't it? It was a perfect hiding space. He'd be known as Mizuku Idoriya and he'd go out to be the greatest scientist in the world, and in interviews, they'd ask him "What drove you to be a scientist?" and he'd say "I professed my love to somebody and thought they liked me back, but they didn't, so I ran away and started a life elsewhere."

Yes. That was his plan B.

And no, he didn’t have a plan C.

Realistically, he probably wouldn’t even get past the paperwork stage before having a huge breakdown in the middle of the registry office, but still—he liked to know the option was there. It was comforting. Okay, it wasn't, knowing that the option of Plan B was there because he wasn't sure if everything will end out well. But even so, it was still better than not telling Katsuki at all.

Because Izuku was done loving him in silence.

And if all he walked away with tonight was the truth laid bare—then that would be enough.

He was nearing his apartment building. He saw the building peeking through the fog, and he was finally there. All he had to do was take the elevator. 

So he ran towards the elevator, immediately pressing on a button to use the practical mode of transporation. He was practically jogging in place and buzzing in anticipation, while also trying to catch his breath from the run. 

But he didn't actually feel tired. Honestly, his body might be physically, but he feels the complete opposite. Adrenaline was still pumping, and the immediate hit of nervousness was keeping him unable to stay in one place.

When the elevator doors finally slid open, he slipped inside and hit the button for the sixth floor. Just one digit. Just one floor among many—a button he's pressed multiple times, an elevator he's rode in the same amount of times, but this felt different.

Ding! The doors closed behind him with a soft chime, and the sudden stillness inside made his heartbeat feel even louder. He was alone, trapped in a moving box of metal and nerves, clutching a bouquet that still smelled faintly of rain water and the aroma of roses.

He was soaked from head to toe—his uniform's sleeves clinging uncomfortably to his arms, the hems of his pants dripping little puddles onto the elevator's floor—which he would like to say sorry for to the next people using the elevator. His hair stuck to his forehead, soaked in water from the rain as little droplets dripped onto his shoulders, and his breath came in uneven pulls, but each felt heavier than the last.

The bouquet rustled low under his hands—not because the elevator was moving, but because his hands wouldn’t stop shaking violently.

Was he really about to do this?

Was he really going to knock on their door, look Katsuki in the eye, and just—say it?

No dramatic setups, no practice runs. Just say it.

His eyes flicked down to the flowers. The Osiria roses still looked beautiful despite the downpour, but the petals were slowly falling apart. He had to be quick. 

He swallowed hard, the taste of his saliva bitter and dry, and let his head thump gently back against the elevator wall. Doing that just squeezed some of the rain water from his hair, and now dirty water mixed with his sweat was dripping in the elevator. 

What was he even going to say? Hey, I love you. Surprise! Hey, so, this entire time I’ve been helplessly in love with you. Wanna hold hands now or later?

The number above the doors blinked: 4… 5…

He straightened up, heart in his throat.

Floor 6.

A soft ding echoed in the silence.

The elevator doors slid open.

And Izuku stood still for one second longer than he meant to—because everything in him was screaming, This is it.

And then, he stepped out, running.

Surely enough, he was in front of his apartment's door. A door he's stood in front of many times whilst fumbling to find his key. This was normal. This was just like any other time he tried to get into his apartment.

Except it wasn't. Because he was dripping head to toe with rain water and he was holding a bouquet of roses that was slowly coming apart from all the motion and the heavy rain! 

He placed his briefcase off to the side, letting it lean against the wall so he could grab his keys. With shaky hands, he dug his hands in the pocket of his jeans to find the familiar metal object.

Relax, Izuku. Relax. Relax. Relax.

His fingers curled around nothing but lint and a gum wrapper.

The keys weren't there. Izuku breathed heavily, probably hyperventilating at this moment.

I think I left it in the school. He groaned, lightly hitting his forehead on the door. The rain water squeezed itself from his hair, now dripping down the sleek wood. That's embarrassing.

How could this day get any worse?!

Okay. He could ring the doorbell. It'll be alright.

So he rung the doorbell.

... Was he really going to do this in his current state right now?!

Was this how people confessed their love? Looking like they just crawled out of a drama shoot gone wrong?

He thought briefly—maybe I should fake fainting.

He was dripping wet from the rain, the bouquet was falling apart, and he'd just been plain unlucky throughout the entire day. He left his keys, he ran through the rain, which, frankly, was his own fault, but if his luck was this bad, who knows what would happen if he actually follows through with this God forsaken plan?! The plan B's going to be the plan A! Maybe it's not too late to back out, maybe he could jump off the buildi—

The door creaked open.

And Katsuki was there, fresh from the shower with a towel slung over his shoulder, damp hair sticking to his forehead. Izuku was the same, except he didn't look fresh. He looks like a rat that accidentally fell in the drain and spent hours trying to climb his way out.

Katsuki blinked at him. “Who the—” He started gruffly, eyes narrowing in his usual irritation before his expression flickered to something more concerned and softer. His brows softened a little, voice quieting. “...Izuku?”

His heart hammered beneath his chest, feeling a lot more nervous. Both of his hands held the bouquet, and it was right there, held at his chest. Its wrapper rustled under his hold on it that continued to grow tighter. Katsuki took a good look at it, before connecting their gaze once more.

He couldn't say anything—he couldn't bring himself to say anything. All he could do was stand there, looking like a drenched idiot with a bouquet worth thirteen-thousand yen, its petals slowly falling apart.

The night breeze blew, its cold air blowing on Izuku's moist skin, but he felt like he was unable to even react to the cold.

Because his heart was beating so fast, that he feels like he forgot how it felt to have it beat in a normal pace. 

He breathed heavily, bouquet rustling violently under the grasp of his shaky hands.

And warm tears started flowing down viridian eyes, blurring the edges of his vision. They didn't sting, they didn't even hurt at all—they were just there, thick with feeling.

Everything felt ruined. How was he supposed to say it now? He felt like a loser.

Katsuki just stood there frozen, brows risen in shock, eyes widened in reaction, placed in a stunned silence as if he didn't know what to do or what to do or how to react.

>> you should probably sort your situation out too. The public loves you guys, and it'll probably end out better than you thought it would be. rejected or not.

Ochako's text appeared in his mind in photographic memory, having read it so many times, contemplating whether he should actually do something or just leave it be.

Rejected or not, this was something he had to do.

The tears just kept flowing, his heart squeezing as he stared back at Katsuki with trembling eyes. His bottom lip shivered, not from the cold, but because—

"I like you."

—of the confession that seemed to spill out of his mouth so easily, as if it was something that was destined to be let out—his hearts deepest secret, a whisper that was always meant to be shouted. It wasn't a memorized confession, and even though it wasn't anything big—it was raw. Those three words felt like they held the weight of the world, yet they were so simple and bare that they hung between them like a held breath.

He sniffled, bringing one hand to his eyes as the tears kept flowing. His bottom lip quivered—not because of the rain or from the cold, but because he was finally releasing something in him that had been internalized for far too long.

"I like you," he repeated,

"I like you," he said again, firmer this time,

"I like you."

And again.

No matter how much times he said it, it never felt wrong. It felt like the rightest thing to ever happen to him.

"I love you," he corrected, voice thick with genuity. "And I'll never feel that it was wrong to."

It was done.

He let out a choked sob out of his own will, his throat tangling with emotion—every truth, every bit of his heart's whispers, finally set free.

It left him shaking, maybe a little scared, but it felt lighter.

Katsuki rushed out to him with speed, wrapping his arms around him. The first time he's ever instigated a hug, and it was with Izuku. The first time he's ever let go of his pride, and it was with Izuku.

So many of his firsts, and almost all of them were Izuku's. 

How had Izuku not seen it sooner? Everything Katsuki had, was his too. That was enough of a hint.

Izuku clung to him as if the world was about to fall apart, and this was the only thing keeping it from doing so. He hugged back tightly, burying his face into Katsuki’s shoulder, letting out soft sniffles and ragged breaths, his chest trembling from too many feelings coming out all at once. The bouquet remained held tightly in his hand as he wrapped his arms around him.

"Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry," Katsuki whispered gently, caressing the back of his head. His hand rested at the back of Izuku's head, warm and steady, fingers threaded carefully through damp curls. He didn't even care that the dirty rain water was wetting his clean clothes. Izuku sniffled loudly, letting a choked sob escape his throat as he pulled himself closer as if he wanted to melt in his touch. "Fuck, don't cry."

His heart continued beating loudly in a fervor against his chest, so loudly he swore that Katsuki could feel every vibration that escaped his chest—feeling it pulsing through the layers between them. And if Izuku really focused, really, really focused, he swore he could feel Katsuki's too.

It was beating just as fast as his.

Katsuki pulled away, cupping his face with both hands delicately as if he was something to treasure. He pushed a stray of green hair away from his face, staring at him in a way that Izuku's never seen him do before. Soft in a way that Izuku felt like he was falling all over again.

Another piece of him that he could keep to himself. All his.

He couldn't look away, even with trembling eyes, even as the tears kept falling, even as his breaths came out unevenly, in faint stutters. His tears continued flowing in a steady stream, letting out shaky breaths as the other's face remained close to his. He couldn't bring himself to look away, especially when Katsuki was looking at him now. Looking at him like he meant something, like he always had—and perhaps it was something that wasn't so hard to believe now.

"Stop crying, baby." Katsuki spoke to him in a gentle yet teasing voice, speaking in a manner that he usually wouldn't. He swiped his thumb under Izuku's eyes, catching the tears before it fell once again.

Izuku sniffled, unable to fight the tug of a smile on the corners of his mouth. "Baby?"

"Yeah, you big crybaby." The taller man huffed a soft laugh, the sound being enough to curl into Izuku's ribs and stay there.

And Izuku just stood there, dumbfounded at how Katsuki's gaze was always on his eyes.

Not at the water dripping from his hair, not at the extravagant bouquet that Izuku clutched in his hands between them, Not at the flushed curve of his lips or the mess of his tear-stained cheeks. His eyes, and his eyes only.

Izuku's breath caught in his throat, his chest finally moving to an even rhythm—rising and falling in slow, shallow pulls. His lips trembled, his knees nearly buckling, and he didn’t know what to do with himself. He was drenched in cold rain, soaked to the bone, and yet he felt warmer than he ever had in his entire life.

His lashes fluttered shut. Vision slipped into darkness.

Although he couldn't see anything, he felt everything. The hitch in Katsuki's breaths that matched his own, the warmth of his hands against his cheeks, and his shaky exhales against his skin.

There was a pause—brief, fleeting, but heavy with the foreign feeling, after being so used to loving him from afar.

Katsuki leaned in, each inch he closed between them a meaning. Their foreheads connected, close enough that they were nearly connecting.

Everything felt so surreal. As if this was one of his dreams. But there was the reassurance that it wasn't just some dream he didn't want to wake up from anymore, this was reality. It was real.

Izuku could feel the faintest brush of Katsuki's nose on his own, could feel the faintest of breaths ghosting over his lips, cautious but sure. Because it wasn't a question anymore—it was finally an answer.

"Tell me when I should stop, okay?"

And finally, finally, the distance between them closed.

It was soft, warm, a little hard to navigate through, and they were both pretty stiff at first—but they eventually melted into it, finding a rhythm that wasn't too overwhelming, but not too underwhelming either. It wasn't cinematic nor scripted. It wasn't perfect, but it was pretty close to it.

Izuku's fingers curled around the damp fabric of Katsuki's shirt, grounding himself, while Katsuki’s thumb rubbed slow circles against his cheek, grounding him in return. It wasn’t just a kiss—it was safety. It was belonging. It was the answer to a question neither of them had dared to ask until now.

Their first kiss was careful, as if they thought of each other as a delicate petal they wanted to preserve. It was slow, and it wasn't hungry. It was filled with love, something the both of them have been looking for, but was too scared to imagine.

There weren't any fireworks, there wasn't a grand confession, the wind never blew in the position they were in, and Izuku may be dripping head to toe in rain water, but they never needed any of that—it was never about that. They never needed anything extravagant or a practiced confession, all they needed was each other. Their trust, and their feelings.

It felt like an apology from God—for every test, every ounce of pain they've been through in their life.

And even though it was messy, it was alright. Because they would never have it any other way.

They were figuring things out, and it was okay. 

They pulled away, their hearts beating in a rhythm as if they coexisted with each other—beating a pleasant song, humming a tune that was always meant for them. 

They pulled away, but the closeness between them remained. Katsuki's forehead remained on Izuku's, face flushed.

Izuku stared back at him with half-lidded eyes, staring at him as if he hung the stars.

"People say I look at you like you're my universe," he smiled warmly, looking down as if he was too shy to make eye contact. His gentle voice came around once more, speaking shyly. "It's true. You are my universe."

A laugh left Katsuki's mouth, soft but amused. "You're so fucking cheesy," he grabbed him by the chin, forcing him to look up as he planted another clumsy kiss on his lips. 

"Come on, you love me," Izuku teased with an infectious grin, punching him lightly on the shoulder. He furrowed his brows, feeling a little suspicious, "You do... don't you?"

Katsuki rolled his eyes, "You just want to hear me say it. Fucking hell, Izuku. The entire internet's figured it out before you."

Izuku couldn't help but giggle. "Well then, Mr. Dynamight, sir, I love you too."

"Shut up." The blond spoke harshly, turning away to hide the flush on his face.

Viridian eyes slightly widened as if he remembered something. His other hand was holding the bouquet of Osiria roses. 

"I got you this." he spoke nervously, feeling like a teenage girl who just professed her feelings to the popular boy. Katsuki's eyes widened in surprise, looking at the flowers before then hesitantly taking it in his arms.

"It's kind of coming apart... cause of the rain... but it reminded me of you." Izuku explained, laughing awkwardly as Katsuki remained wordless with the bouquet in his hands.

A bright blush spread across the other's face, of fluster and embarrassment. 

"I thought you got it for Uraraka."

"What?"

"And I thought you guys were dating." he looked to the side with a sheepish look on his face.

...

"You what?!"

katsuki 🔒 @fuckersgofuckoff 1 month ago

i think i'll keep the post up.

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DENKSKSK 🔒 @chargephone111 1 month ago

Replying to @fuckersgofuckoff Simp

Eijiro 🦈🦈 🔒 @manlyprivate 1 month ago

Replying to @fuckersgofuckoff I'm afraid I'm with Kaminari on this one

katsuki 🔒 @fuckersgofuckoff 1 month ago

Replying to @manlyprivate ok bozo who asked 

dezuku 🔒 @smallmightcrashinout Just now

Replying to @fuckersgofuckoff kacchan you're such a loser

katsuki 🔒 @fuckersgofuckoff Just now

Replying to @smallmightcrashinout tf?? i'm literally beside you right now?

dezuku 🔒 @smallmightcrashinout 1 month ago

I THINK IVE BEEN IN LOVE WITH MY BEST FRIEND AND I DIDNT EVEN KNOW

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dezuku 🔒  @smallmightcrashinout 1 month ago

Replying to @smallmightcrashinout I CANT LIKE HIM HE LIKES SOMEBODY ELSE:(

dezuku 🔒  @smallmightcrashinout 1 month ago

Replying to smallmightcrashinout AND HES MY BEST FRIENDDDD eughshxj I FEEL SO DISGUSTED WITH MYSELF

dezuku 🔒  @smallmightcrashinout 1 month ago

Replying to @smallmightcrashinout WHAT DO I DO??????

dezuku 🔒 @smallmightcrashinout 1 month ago

Replying to @smallmightcrashinout BUT HES SO PERFECT HOW CAN I NOT LIKE HIM

Shoto 🔒 @shotodoroki 1 month ago

Replying to @smallmightcrashinout You're cooked.

katsuki 🔒 @fuckersgofuckoff Just now

Replying to @smallmightcrashinout and i'm the one you call a loser

dezuku 🔒 @smallmightcrashinout Just now

Replying to @fuckersgofuckoff kacchan no

Chapter Text

"I can't believe I just did that," Katsuki huffed out a short, quiet yet fond laugh. He turned away, walking towards their door that was left opened. Izuku remained where he stood.

He was still in shock, alright? Everything happened so fast, and so perfectly. Almost as if it was a weirdly realistic dream. Maybe he was a little bit scared that he'd blink his eyes and wake up to the unpleasant sound of his alarm. Maybe he was a little bit scared that all of this wasn't real and he was just imagining it.

"So," his more-than-friends-less-than-lovers spoke, turning to look at him again from their doorway. He leaned on the door frame. "You gonna come in?"

Izuku blinked. He'd completely forgotten to move.

The wind blew, leaving him to hiss from the cold. The fact that his clothes were wet weren't helping very much. So he walked towards the door, aiming to get some warmth from the inside of their apartment.

Katsuki pulled him inside and closed the door from behind him, locking it. "You're gonna get sick, dumbass."

The apartment hummed silence, reeking of the faint metallic smell of rain and Katsuki's scent, filling up Izuku's sense of smell. It was warm, warmer than it was outside—physically warm, but there was warmth in Izuku's heart too. 

What made him feel even warmer was how Katsuki's eyes were only on him. Staring at him in the same way he's always have for years—and Izuku finally, finally had the reassurance with the knowledge as to why. That it was always love behind scarlet eyes, adoration, admiration, and every other feeling that Izuku wishes to uncover more and more—finally leaving behind the secrets behind them, finally having nothing more to hide.

Because they were there—just the two of them, and they had the same things travelling through their mind; The one in front of me, who I wished would look at me in the way I've always dreamed of, is finally looking at me.

And nothing felt missing or out of place anymore. 

He crouches down and places his shoes besides his roommate's own pair. Sheen layers of water laid on the floor from the fabric of his wet socks. His clothes were still wet, but not drenched enough to drop little puddles onto the floor anymore.

"You should go change your clothes and take a shower. I'll wait, okay? I'll be in my room." The words left Katsuki's mouth so gently, strumming every pleasant tune in Izuku's heart. It hammered beneath his chest, leaving him as nothing but a lovesick idiot.

Izuku plants a quick kiss on his lips, and walks past him in a speedened pace to his room. He looks back at him, voice quivering with the flustered mess that he was. "I'm sorry if I ever made you feel like a fool!"

The door slammed as Izuku entered his room.

The back of Katsuki's head lightly hit against the hard wood of their front door as he slid down to the floor. He buried half of his face in the crook of his arm, eyes trembling while a pleasant red painted his face. He mumbled, his voice muffled beneath his skin. "I don't mind being called a fool for the rest of my life..."

He folded.

Izuku fell to the floor of his room, trembling. "I can't believe that just happened. Oh my God." he whispered beneath his breath.

He brought his shaky hands towards the heat of his chest. His heart was beating so fast.

"This feels like a fever dream," he spoke to himself, relaxed but at the same time processing through disbelief. He smiled, letting the back of his head lean on his door with his heart thumping loudly. "But I'm so glad..."

He entered Katsuki's room quietly without needing to knock. The door creaked unpleasantly as he swung it slowly and cautiously, playing quiet as if making even the slightest bit of noise would cause a mess or a catastrophe—it wouldn't, of course, Izuku was just overreacting—though, he couldn't help but feel nervous.

Tonight was the night that they were finally going to talk. Tonight was the night where Izuku had to be brave. Tonight was the night where Katsuki had to man up. And even with the confession and everything else set aside, there was still unresolved air between them that had vagueness—and maybe, just maybe, all of those would be solved by tonight. And they won't have any more problems—Katsuki can kiss Izuku in the mornings before work, Izuku can feel jealous without feeling like an ass, and loving each other won't feel like stepping on a bunch of eggshells and shattered glass while walking on a tightrope at the same time.

Okay.

Huff. Take a deep breath.

... Katsuki wasn't in his room.

"Okay, Kacchan isn't in his room. Big deal." Izuku muttered to himself, trying to calm himself by evening his breaths out. He took a deep breath. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe—was he hyperventilating?! 

"Huh. This was a dream." a short, unamused laugh leaves his mouth barely more than a breath. "I must be hallucinating."

So he leaves the room, not knowing what exactly the destination he was aiming for in their apartment. He just wandered aimlessly, letting his feet take him wherever, heart buzzing and throat lurching—maybe a little pit of embarrassment from earlier from the confession, but it was a softer feeling.

Maybe what happened earlier wasn't real—maybe his delusions truly did get the better of him. Maybe what happened earlier were mere hallucinations, maybe he's going insane, maybe he's—

And then he saw him.

Katsuki was leaning on the kitchen counter, scrolling on his phone—he didn't look up immediately, but the sound of the floorboards slightly creaking beneath a familiar weight alerted him, giving Izuku away. His head to rose towards the direction where Izuku stood dumbly in the hallway, and he slipped his phone by his side.

Their eyes met. Oh, God. Their eyes met.

Izuku froze like he was in a game of freeze tag.

He just stood there, standing by idly without knowing what to do, mind blank. What should he even do? Should he come close to him? Walk right up next to him? Should he greet him first? Or should he let the silence do everything for him like how it always has for the past few years?

It was awkward.

Katsuki already looked composed—in a fresh change of clothes, hair dry, and clean. He didn't look like a person who was caught in an emotional equivalent of a hurricane. He didn't even look nowhere near as messy Izuku was, even though Izuku was fresh out the shower. 

Scarlet eyes lingered on him—unmoving, piecing him together.

There was a vase centered by the dinner table, filled with water and the same roses Izuku bought just earlier during the day. It laid there beautifully, sustained temporarily by the water—still soft and delicate, arranged in a way where the petals wouldn't fall off so easily.

Izuku's hands clenched and unclenched by his side, unknowing of what to say. He felt like he was still dripping wet, despite knowing that the towel did its job already. 

The silence stretched long between them—but it wasn't an uncomfortable silence, more like... a reassuring quietude—that the both of them were there and they weren't going to run away anymore. Izuku knew the meaning beneath the other's gaze, and even beyond that.

Then, Katsuki moved.

He pulled out one of the stools by the counter, its sound as it scraped against the floorboards low and silent. His knee tapped against it lightly, signalling for the shorter man to come by and sit. It was just a tiny motion—but that tiny motion was development.

Izuku blinked, as if he'd forgotten to move. He walked towards the kitchen and sat by the stool Katsuki pulled out, now sitting beside the man who remained stood up.

His green eyes flicked towards the expression on the taller man's face, trying to piece it together.

Calm. A little too domestic for Izuku's dainty heart to handle.

"I thought you'd take longer, so I hung out in the kitchen." Katsuki swept a mug towards Izuku's direction, brewed just a while ago, still warm. It steamed, cycling the faint citrusy scent of his favorite tea in the room. Scarlet eyes flicked away, his hand hovering over his mouth as if he felt shy. "I was drinking that, but you can have it."

Indirect kiss.

His heart squeezed at the thought, stuttering all over the place.

"Okay."

For a second, he hesitated. But his fingers curled into the mug, the heat creeping up his palm and his arms. He brought it close to his face, the mug only being halfway full. The warmth steamed against the skin of his face before his lips finally curved around the rim of the ceramic, finally taking a sip. 

He wondered if he took a sip where Katsuki's lips laid. 

The ceramic made a soft thud against the marble counters as Izuku placed it down gently. He fiddled with his hands, stealing glances of Katsuki even from the very edges of his eyes. 

"Did you mean it?" Katsuki finally asked.

Izuku tilted his head. "Huh?"

"When you said you loved me."

His heart skips a beat.

A soft shuckle comes out, barely above a whisper as Izuku spoke once more. "Is it really so hard to believe?"

A little laugh leaves Katsuki's mouth too, but he remained wordless.

Another beat.

"What did you feel?" Izuku asked in return. "When I... said I loved you."

Katsuki shuffled slightly, a reaction that only Izuku was familiar with. 

He turned towards the man who remained leaning on the counter, still sitting on the stool. His stomach surged with butterflies as he buzzed with anticipation for Katsuki's reply. His heart continued hammering beneath his chest, racing with thoughts, filling his mind with the multiple shutters, multiple pictures it took of Katsuki—that seemed to be what his mind's photo gallery was revolving around nowadays. 

"I couldn't believe it. For a moment, I thought it wasn't true." Katsuki answered truthfully. He huffs out a tiny smile that curved ever so slightly at the corners of his mouth, before turning his gaze towards the floor with a slight flush on his face. He mumbled, more quietly this time. "But I wanted it to be."

Izuku's heart beat loudly out of his chest as he admired Katsuki in his stance—standing awkwardly, sayings things that he knew was out of his comfort zone, shy. All of these tiny imperfections that Katsuki refused to show in public, and Izuku was always the first to witness it.

"Tch," the man clicked his tongue, "Don't make this weird."

"Can you face me?" he said without even thinking, but he knew what he wanted.

Soon enough, Katsuki moved. He shifted his body, turning towards Izuku who remained seated.

The faint flush on his face, the slight pout in his lips, the shyness in his eyes, and the furrow in his brows were finally caught in full view. Izuku knew he wanted to look at him all day, for eternity, even.

He stood up from the tall stool, standing just a little shorter in front of the other. Their height difference wasn't drastic, but it was noticeable. 

Before he knew it, his hands rested on Katsuki's shoulders, connecting just at the back of his neck. Katsuki stood stiff, almost as if he didn't know what to do. Izuku laughed at his immediate surge of awkwardness, finding his demeanor a little bit adorable (not that he'll admit it).

Confirmed, Kacchan does freeze up when he feels awkward.

Taking one of his hands off of Katsuki's shoulder, he grabbed Katsuki's hand in his and directed it, placing it by his waist. "Hold me," Izuku requested before placing his hand back up Katsuki's shoulder.

"What are you doing?" Katsuki muttered fondly, huffing out a laugh barely any longer than an exhale. Nonetheless, he complied and placed his other hand as well on Izuku's waist, though hesitantly.

Izuku smiled, feeling both of Katsuki's hands holding him gently.

"I couldn't believe it. For a moment, I thought it wasn't true. But I wanted it to be."

"I want you to believe it."

They held each other gently, already in the stance for slow dancing.

"So will you dance with me, Kacchan?"

He felt a lot more daring that evening for some odd reason.

Katsuki seemed to freeze a little, maybe a little taken aback. "I'm fucking shit at dancing."

"You'll learn." Izuku replied so easily.

"We don't even have music."

Izuku tapped lightly on Katsuki's shoulder, as if to say It's okay, just follow my lead. 

They swayed side to side like leaves caught in a gentle breeze, intertwining and sometimes crashing into each other as they crossed paths. Their slippers squeaked slightly against the floorboards, relaxing into each other's touch as they slowly found a rhythm they could dance into without problem.

He kept his eyes on Katsuki, smiling slightly as he saw the briefest of a smile lifting the corners of Katsuki's mouth. The explosions in his heart seemed as if they were put to a halt, weakening and calming every time he softened under Izuku's gaze. He followed Izuku's lead stiffly at first, stepping on Izuku's feet, his own feet, until it became slight brushes, and then it finally turned to the point where they didn't bump into each other as much anymore—grabbing a hang of the art of slow dancing.

But it was too quiet, and it felt incomplete.

The hum of the ceiling fan continued, filling in the quietness between them.

Song Recommendation: Somethin' stupid - Frank Sinatra & Nancy Sinatra

"I practice every day to find some clever lines to say," Izuku sung through the silence between them, raising the speed in Katsuki's heart. He closed his eyes and continued, "To make the meaning come true."

Katsuki chuckled, adoring the simple moment they had. Izuku truly was creative.

They continued moving side to side, pulling each other close occasionally.

"But then I think I'll wait until the evening gets late," Izuku opened his eyes, smiling. His hand clasped with Katsuki's gently as Katsuki raised his, spinning him around. "And I'm alone with you." They pulled each other close, close enough that if they focused, really focused, they could hear the loud fervor of each other's hearts.

"The time is right," Izuku speedens his pace, "Your perfume fills my head," Katsuki adapts to Izuku's speedened pace, "The stars get red," They push and pull, "And, oh, the night's so blue." And they slow their pace once more.

Izuku looked beautiful. So imperfect, and perfect in so many ways.

Katsuki continued looking at him like his eyes held the stars, not needing to control the speedened pace of his heart anymore. Izuku was just the same.

"And then I go and spoil it all," Katsuki rose his hand, the one that held Izuku's, spinning him once more. "By saying somethin' stupid like," Izuku sung while spinning and dropped, caught by Katsuki. 

"I love you." 

The singing finished, but they remained in that position for a while, just looking at each other's eyes.

A cheeky smile lifted the corners of Izuku's mouth. 

The song wasn't quite done yet, though.

"I love you." Katsuki continued the song where Izuku left off,

"I love you." and Izuku continued right after him, alternating until the song ended.

Katsuki lifted him up, letting him stand on his feet. Izuku pulled him close, his arms interlaced behind Katsuki's neck. Katsuki's hands remained on Izuku's waist.

Their foreheads connected, noses brushing. Their breaths slowed, closing more and more of the distance between them.

And then they kissed.

Slow and steady, warm and soft. In the middle of their kitchen, wearing whatever clothes they could find in their closet, with mismatched slippers on their feet. They kissed, after slow dancing inside of their apartment without any actual music on and being unprepared.

They kissed, not caring about anything outside anything but the person in front of them—cherishing each other, living the life of loving each other loudly. 

And though it wasn't the first time they've kissed, it felt just as magical at the other times—just as imperfect, but as well as the most perfect thing to ever happen to them in the entire world and beyond.

Because they finally know how it felt to love the other without feeling the need to hide.

They pulled away—it wasn't sudden, it felt natural. Just a natural pause, like their mouths have already communicated everything they had trouble with in speaking verbally. 

Izuku opened his eyes first, only a sliver, finding that Katsuki's was already watching his. There was something about his gaze that made Izuku feel so—loved. Something raw, something beautiful, maybe somethin' stupid.

"Maybe I do like dancing with you." Katsuki spoke first, and Izuku could hear the smirk in his voice. They were still in the same position, still in close proximity.

Izuku giggled. "So, you love me? According to the lyric you sung. I love you~" he repeated the same song lyric in the same melody, teasing.

Katsuki rolled his eyes, but he didn't pull away. If anything, his arms curled tighter around Izuku's waist. "I didn't say that. I sung it."

"Nope, I saw the look in your eyes."

"Okay, smartass, you really gonna make me regret saying that?" he muttered, though his voice was fonder than the words deserved.

Izuku only grinned wider. "Not at all. This is going in the scrapbook."

"There's a scrapbook now?"

"There will be." 

The taller man groaned, hiding his face in the crook of Izuku's neck to hide the embarrassment and slight smile on his face that he didn't want to show. Like he could hide from the teasing. "God, I'm stuck with a dork. Please help me."

"You love it, though." the green-haired man whispered in return.

"I love you." Katsuki mumbled against his skin, using the teasing as an opportunity to tease back.

Izuku’s breath caught, surprised even though he’d just been teasing him about it seconds ago. Hearing it again, unscripted and unguarded like always, still made his chest flutter in that way it always did with him. No matter how many times Katsuki says, it can never feel any less precious.

"You mean it?"

"Every word." he pulled away from the crook of Izuku's neck, facing him with a smirk.

Izuku bumped their noses together in a fond nuzzle, "Then say it again," he whispered. "Just once more."

Scarlet eyes continued peering at him for a long beat—eyes serious, but soft. Then,

"I love you."

They leaned in and pulled each other closer once more, capturing each other's mouths in another kiss—softer, slower, almost like a punctuation.

They stood there in the middle of their apartment's kitchen, surrounded by faint shadows and fading laughter, still wrapped up in each other like they had all the time in the world. And maybe they did. Because for once, time didn't feel like it was running out. No doors were closing. They had the reassurance that no one was leaving.

They pulled away once more, still close.

"I could get used to this."

"Then get used to it."

Izuku's fingers brushed gently against the nape of Katsuki's neck, but he was a little hesitant. His eyes searched for Katsuki's, not with doubt, but something closer to slight worries.

They remained like that for a while, finally comfortable with being this close with each other. Until Izuku's voice cleared up the silence once more.

"Kacchan," Izuku began, voice low. "Do you think we should tell people?"

A lot of people have already had rising suspicions about their relationship—even way before this thing between them had already started. The public would go insane, considering that they were already trending without any actual confirmations from them yet—would it really change anything?

Katsuki didn't pull back, but he searched for something in Izuku's eyes.

"Like—publicly?" 

Green hair slightly bounced as Izuku nodded, hesitance lining his eyes. "I mean—people have already been suspecting things already, even before we started this," he exaggrated the last word, pulling away, pointing at whatever was going on between the both of them and rubbed the nape of his neck, suddenly feeling nervous, "And I'm not saying we should do this big announcement or anything, that's probably not necessary, I just—"

"Izuku." Katsuki reprimanded the other man, grabbing a hold of his wrists, their hands squished between their chests. "Deep breaths."

His heart fluttered at Katsuki's ways in calming him down, new methods that were foreign—never used on him until they reached this point of their relationship. 

With his chest rising up and down unevenly, he took long, deep breaths, and eventually calmed down.

"I just wanna..." he sucked in a breath, "holdyourhandinpublicwheneverIwanttoandnothavetomakeexcusesinfrontofthepress?"

Katsuki didn't say anything at first.

He just stared at him—really stared at him, like he was watching words sink deep into his skin, watching the nervous thrills behind the breathless rush of syllables.

And then he started laughing, not loudly, but not quietly either. The sound rang like a beautiful song processing through Izuku's ears.

"What? Why're you laughing?"

"How terribly fucking cute, Izuku," Katsuki spoke through laughter, pinching Izuku's nose. He began once more whilst wearing a smirk on his face, "You just want an excuse to pull me away with an actual reason when a civilian feels up my biceps. I see your nasty looks."

"What? When have I ever—"

"There's articles about that crap."

"Articles?!"

"You won't believe the lengths people would go just to write about something in the news industry."

Heat travels from Izuku's neck up to his face. "That's not it, anyway!" he answered ridiculously fast, wrists still in Katsuki's grasp. He looked away, embarrassed. "I don't give nasty looks," he muttered.

"Okay."

"'Okay' what?"

"Okay," Katsuki repeated, "Then let's make it public. We don't have to hide."

"Really?" Izuku's mouth parted slightly. Until he frowned. "But what about your public image? You're already so close to number one."

"I don't care about the rankings, Izuku," he furrowed his brows, "I care about you." 

He looked down at the floorboards, catching vision of him and Katsuki's slippers—both mismatched, wearing one that belonged to the other. 

His attempts in trying to distract himself was pathetic. He couldn't ignore his heart. How it was beating so hard it almost ached—thudding against his ribs with the force of something alive, something desperate. He wasn’t even sure if it was adrenaline, or joy, or fear—but it filled every inch of him, flooding his chest and throat and fingertips all at once. 

Ranks have always been everything to Katsuki—everything he's been fighting for, everything he's been chasing ever since he knew he could walk.

It felt a little too good to be true, but it couldn't stop the warmth that grew in Izuku through the words that left the man's mouth.

"It's crazy," Izuku huffed a laugh, "You wouldn't have ever said that in the past."

He looked up at the taller man with a smile as their fingers intertwined. Red eyes flickered down, shying away as if there was something he hesitated to say. A soft, quiet mutter left the Katsuki's mouth, but Izuku couldn't quite hear it.

"Fuck, nevermind that. Anyway—we don't have to make it a grand announcement, I don't want you to get overwhelmed in our mess." Katsuki reassured him, soothing circles in Izuku's hand using his thumb. 

The blond let out a tiny chuckle before beginning once more, "Let them figure it out gradually," he swiped his green hair out of the way and planted a kiss on his forehead, "Less overwhelming for you, huh?"

"Less overwhelming for you, huh?"

The words rung through Izuku's mind, leaving him with a comforting feeling.

Katsuki put Izuku first. He prioritized what would make him comfortable, what wouldn't, what he was feeling, and everything else. 

Izuku smiled, "Then I guess it's settled," he squeezed Katsuki's hand, making Katsuki squeeze in return. "Kiss me again?"

"You name it."

salmon fish @dynadekuinvestigator 1d ago

not totally related to dynadeku (or maybe it is 🤫) but i think i just saw deku running out in the rain with a bouquet of flowers😭😭😭 DYING to know who it's for. sorry the pic is kinda blurry, seeing him caught me offguard and water got caught in my camera lol

#deku #herodeku #dynadeku?

[herodekuflowers.PNG]

89.1K Likes          2.3K Shares

Comments

Deku! ✔ @ofaherodeku

Replying to @dynadekuinvestigator uhhhhhhhhh

salmon fish  @dynadekuinvestigator

Replying to @ofaherodeku WE SEE WHO YOU ARE

lalalalava  @chichichichicken

Replying to @ofaherodeku LMAOOOOO

Naoko 😻😻  @matsum0to_naoko

Replying to @dynadekuinvestigator I may have some theories.....

 

katsuki 🔒 @fuckersgofuckoff 15h ago

i have a bf now. this is so gay

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dezuku 🔒 @smallmightcrashinout

Replying to @fuckersgofuckoff hi 😁 (first time being a bf... kinda nervous)

katsuki 🔒  @fuckersgofuckoff

Replying to @smallmightcrashinout heh

Eijiro 🦈🦈 🔒 @manlyprivate

Replying to @fuckersgofuckoff He's truly a changed man... love changes you man

katsuki 🔒  @fuckersgofuckoff

Replying to @manlyprivate shut the fuck up

DENKSKSK 🔒 @chargephone111

Replying to @manlyprivate He's still the same he's just whipped asf

minah 🔒  @myprivluvvv

Replying to @fuckersgofuckoff proud of u babe 💋💋 u bagged a baddie

DENKSKSK 🔒 @chargephone111 15h ago

Why am I still single

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Eijiro 🦈🦈 🔒  @manlyprivate

Replying to @chargephone111 JUST ASK HER OUT ALREADY

kyoka 🔒 @kyoooka_.

Replying to @manlyprivate ask who out?? why am i the only one that doesnt know about ts

Chapter Text

TRENDING TAGS

• #dynadeku - 48.3M
• #dynadekuisreal - 23.1M
• #teacherxhero (NEW) - 948.7K
• #ingeniumxuravity - 521.4K
• #cookingwithshoto - 299.1K

"Hey, Deku!" Ochako popped up from behind him, still wearing her hero costume. Izuku squeaked in surprise, looking back almost instinctively like a hero. He lets go of the breath he didn't even know he was holding, finding that it was just his friend.

"Hey," he said, looking frazzled underneath his teacher uniform. He looked tired in just about every place. He looked like he hadn't slept in days.

Ochako sucked in a breath through gritted teeth, a little taken aback at the man's current appearance. She tried her best to sound polite but...

"Woah, you look bad."

That wasn't how she meant to say it.

Izuku sighed, not able to disagree. He probably did look bad. "I—"

"Like you aged ten years." Ochako felt the need to add.

"That's just rude." he huffed, turning away sarcastically. The place he turned his head to was a window to a convenience store, and it showed him a faint reflection of himself. Frizzy hair, stress obvious just from the dark wrinkles under his eyes, and his cheekbones looked a little bit more defined from the illusion that he lost half of his weight. He rose his hand to comb through a piece of his hair, looking closer into the reflection. "Do I actually look this bad?"

"The reflection says it all." Ochako shrugged, giggling. "What happened, anyway?"

"Yeah, and they call Uravity the sweetest hero of them all." Izuku muttered, loud enough for Ochako to hear and pinch him by the sides. “Ah—! You know I’m ticklish there!” he cried, pulling away with a laugh. “Okay, okay! Fine. So Aizawa couldn’t make it to class today, and guess who had to fill in for him? Yeah. Me.”

Ochako raised an eyebrow, clearly expecting worse.

“And it wasn't just any class. It was Hero Training. They were insane, Ochako. Worse than we ever were. I’m talking full-on chaos. Half of them wanted to spar before warm-ups, two nearly set me on fire, and I had to stop one kid from jumping out the window because he ‘wanted to test his reflexes.’ I was stressed out of my mind.”

They walked side by side by the pavement, the sky setting into an orange hue. Izuku muttered and muttered until the clouds were painted pink.

"Yikes." the brunette chuckled, nudging him gently using her elbow. "Now I know how Aizawa-sensei really felt, especially to you."

"Come on, me?! I turned out alright!" Izuku looked at her as if she didn't believe her.

Ochako nodded, unable to hide her entertainment. "You were breaking your bones nearly every week. It got to the point where he just got used to it."

Izuku sucked in a breath, wincing at his highschool memories. It really was that bad, wasn't it? There wasn't any point in arguing or reporting something he knew wasn't true, so he chose to just not respond to that and instead start a new conversation.

"Enough about me. What's going on with your life lately?"

They came to a pause at the edge of the pavement, the street glowing faintly under the warm hues of the setting sun. Ochako's cheeks lit up in a bright red as they stopped by the pavement. She pressed her lips in a tight line as if there was something she wanted to say but wasn't sure whether she should. Her eyes were scrambling to look at anything—the sky, the street, a nearby pigeon crossing the road, anywhere else other than Izuku's eyes.

His eyes squinted at her, suspicious. "There's something you're not telling me! What is it?" he aggressively pat both of his hands on her shoulders, intrigued about the blatant secret his friend wasn't telling him.

“What?” she laughed a little too nervously.

He narrowed his eyes. “What is it?”

"Ah—" she laughed nervously, looking to the sides, "Maybe I shouldn't—"

"Tell me!

"Iida confessed to me, and now he's courting me!"

Izuku immediately shut his mouth, and then took a step back, surprised. Then, his mouth opened into the biggest O shape it's ever done.

Ochako immediately slapped her hand on her mouth, realizing what she just said. She'd said it a little too fast and loud for her liking, with some people exchanging looks with each other after the abrupt confession.

"That's blowing up on the internet." she sucked in a breath, wincing.

"No way!" Izuku spoke out of shock, visibly very surprised.

"Yes way! It takes just a few clicks for people to post on the interne—"

"Not that!" Izuku interrupted, still surprised. "I didn't think Iida liked anyone."

"He said he's liked me for a while," she smiled, blushing softly. But then her expression dropped, her soft smile turning into a tiny frown. "But he couldn't tell me cause he knew I liked you and he couldn't get in the way of that."

Izuku’s chest tightened. He looked at her—really looked—seeing not just the flush in her cheeks or the giddy fidgeting, but the openness of her words. The kind of weight that had been folded and tucked away neatly for too long.

He reached out on instinct, his hand hesitating mid-air before landing gently atop hers, gaze staring deep into her with guilt. "I'm sorry, I really am—"

She gave a small, awkward laugh, shaking her head like she was trying to brush it off. “It's not your fault. I'm sorry, I didn’t mean to bring that up again. I know you're happy with Bakugo, and I don't want you thinking of anybody else other than him, okay? Don't let your thoughts wander to me or anybody else for that matter."

Viridian eyes flicked up at her, connecting their eyes. He gave her a soft smile, indicating that he felt a little bit lighter. She was right, but that didn't mean the guilt from being unable to reciprocate such a sweet girl's feeling would dissipate so easily.

"I just..." she began, her smile faltering a little bit. "I don't want Iida to think I'm using him to move on. That's not fair, he's a nice guy."

"I don't want you to make me the reason you can't live your love story with Iida, you know." Izuku chuckled lightly.

"But..."

Ochako stayed silent, wondering whether it was right to let these words leave and go anywhere else other than being kept still in her heart and mind. Her mind told her she shouldn't, but her heart whispered that she should.

"But what?" Izuku asked, but he didn't push.

That was what got Ochako to speak. "I really do want to give it a shot. I know he's genuine. But I don't want to hurt him or anything—"

"Ochako, you're not using him to move on."

"How do you know that? How do I know that? Even I'm not sure whether I'm not or I am—"

"It's all about listening to your heart, okay? Take it at your own pace. I'm sure Iida would wait for you."

Ochako looked down at the concrete pavement, at her feet, fiddling with her fingers mindlessly. "I've been seeing Iida differently lately..." 

"How so?"

"I don't know! Something's changed but I don't know what. But he's more..." she sucked in a breath, eyes widening a little from embarrassment, "A little more handsome than usual, okay!"

The teacher's mouth made an O shape again, intrigued. "You're crushing on him!"

"Am not!"

The both of them stayed silent.

"How do I know if I'm crushing on him?" she eventually peeped in the silence.

"Come on, if you liked me before then you'd already know the signs—"

"Iida's different! I don't wanna talk about this anymore," the heroine pouted, crossing her arms as she glanced to the side with her face burning.

Izuku's hands rose to the air in surrender. "Fine."

"So," a smirk immediately replaced the pout in Ochako's lips, her emotions shifting from flustered to mischievous. "Did you know?"

"That Iida likes you?"

"No—well, yes—but that's out of the question! People have been going insane about this. The teacher and hero trope!"

"Hold on," he rose a brow, finding that it sounded a little all too familiar, "The teacher and hero trope? What's that?"

"Just a trope based off of you and Dynamight." she rose her brows repetitively with a cheeky grin, "It's a new tag on Twitter."

Izuku squinted his eyes at her. "What?"

“Oh, you poor oblivious man.” Ochako wiggled her eyebrows at him, practically glowing with amusement. “It’s a trope. A fan-made troupe—well, canon, but nobody knows—based off you and Dynamight.”

Izuku stopped mid-step, visibly short-circuiting. “Wait—what? Canon?! A trope based off of me and Kacchan?”

“Its so new yet it's already exploding,” she explained, clearly enjoying this a little too much. “Look at this."

She grabbed her phone from her pocket, unlocking it before going on Twitter.

Yuka  @yukaaaaarants

I have yet another genius idea... the #TEACHERXHERO TROPE!!!!!

I've been seeing more and more photographs of Deku, in his teacher uniform, and Dynamight, in his hero costume. Like they live together and walk home together. LIKE A COUPLE. This trope is literally genius. Dynamight, who from an outsider's view, seems to be an aggressive man who can't stand shit AND Deku's personal bodyguard. Hero Deku—who primarily teaches as his job, to an outsider's view, looks like somebody who can't defend himself for shit.

BUT here's the catch. literally, the image Dynamight built of himself (threatening and intimidating) DISSIPATES WITH THIS TEACHER. it's like he has a soft spot or something for him. and Deku, who is known as the hero (or teacher for this matter) you would want as your grandson, IS THE ONE WHO HAS DYNAMIGHT WRAPPED AROUND HIS FINGER.

AND THE CONTRAST BETWEEN THEIR JOBSSSSS!!! cherry on top.

their trope is literally so basic, just a hero and a teacher, but when you look deeper into it... boo. MAKES ME THINK THERES SMTH GOING ON BETWEEN THEM.

whaddya guys think? 🤔 

#dynadeku #dynadekuisreal #dynamight #herodeku

[17 IMAGES OF THE TEACHERXHERO PHOTOGRAPHY ATTACHED]

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"This one blew up big." Ochako hid a snort.

“... You’re actually kidding. How did we come to this?”

“Oh, I am not. There's already edits. And fanart. And rumors.”

Izuku’s entire face lit up in a deep red. “Rumors?! How—I—"

"Why are you so worked up over this sort of stuff?" Ochako placed her hands on her hips like she was a mother reprimanding her child. She glanced around, checking to see if anybody was listening in on them. She sighed, coming closer to his ear to whisper, "You already know what's real or not. You and Bakugo are actually something now, aren't you? That's all that should matter."

“But even so,” Izuku mumbled, his voice unsteady with nerves and butterflies, “we’ve been together for a while now, and it’s like—I’ve forgotten how to be normal around him.”

He let out a groan, slapping a hand over his face in exasperation.

“I keep tripping over my words… or actually tripping over myself. It’s gotten so bad that sometimes it feels like we were... ugh, more normal before all this. Back when we didn’t have… this between us. When we were friends and it was just awkward.”

He peeked through his fingers, face burning. “I keep overthinking—how I should talk to him, how I should be around him, and—and—”

"And that's the problem! You shouldn't!"

Ochako cut him off clean before his spiral of a rant, placing both of her hands on his shoulders while giving him a little shake, her pinkies lifted to prevent the effects of her quirk. 

"He fell in love with you for what you were and still are to this day. You shouldn't change anything about it. Stop overthinking and just go with the flow. Because if you—"

"Ochako,"

"—don't, you're just gonna end up more uncomfortable and—"

"Ochako,"

"—more paranoid and that's what you shouldn't have in a relationship—"

"Ochako!" Izuku shouted, attempting to cut her off of her spiral of advice.

Ochako blinked. "What?" 

She turned to her side. Katsuki. In his hero costume. Minus the gauntlets. Glaring at the both of them.

Red eyes glanced at the both of them like they were analyzing them. He rose a brow and spoke, "What're you guys talking about?"

"Nothing!" Izuku and Ochako answered in unison a little bit too fast for their liking. 

Silence.

Katsuki stretched a glare at them as they pointed at each other, finding everything else to blame other than themselves. Then he looked at Izuku. "I was looking everywhere for you."

"Sorry." he sucked in a breath.

Ochako let the hand she was pointing at Izuku flop down to her side, releasing the breath she didn't know she was holding. "I'mgoingbacktomypatrol." 

Izuku's eyes widened in a way that was communicating with her, telling her Please don't go! but of course, Ochako stood her ground and squinted her eyes at him in a way that spoke You should fix your shit. and then she ran off to the distance, growing smaller and smaller as she ran as fast as she could.

...

A beat.

And then another.

Katsuki walked a step closer towards him.

"Hi." Izuku laughed awkwardly, wiping his hands on his jeans.

The hero rose a brow, arms still crossed as he narrowed his eyes down at him.

Woah, he looks good. Izuku thought as he sucked in a breath through gritted teeth, analyzing the man. 

It barely looked like he went through patrol at all. His hair remained the same, still as neat as it was just that morning, hero costume was clear from wrinkles, and there wasn't a clear sign of stress in his face. Meanwhile Izuku...

Katsuki rose his hand slowly, hesitantly. Izuku blinked, confused.

And then he felt hands raking through his hair, soft and careful—the simple action nearly made his eyes close from how soothing it felt. Katsuki was fixing his hair with a concentrated expression on his face; the tiny scrunch in his nose, the way his brows stitch together, and the tiny pout spread across his mouth.

Izuku closed his eyes as the taller man continued raking his gloved hands through his head of green hair, only peeking once he was done. 

"What happened to you this time? Y'look like hell." his brash attitude and sharp words made way out of his mouth, but the care and concern under his words cancelled it out.

The teacher looked down at his feet as they started walking, "I had to substitute for hero training."

Katsuki hummed, listening but not exactly replying. They walked side by side with enough space between them to fit a third person.

Izuku continued looking down at the pavement with a warm feeling surging through his body, bringing his briefcase up to his chest. It was silent, awkward, but a little too warm for Izuku's liking. The butterflies were there, but he didn't know why—nothing was happening.

So they continued walking in silence, their steps falling into the same uneven rhythm—but they were still walking in the same level, still side by side, not close—but enough. Even if there was a large space between them.

Nothing was happening.

And yet everything felt like it was.

And Katsuki looked grumbly for some reason. Not outwardly pissed, like he usually gets when someone tests his patience—but more like there was something he was holding in. Jaw tight, brow slightly furrowed, lips pressed together like he might say something but decided not to. It wasn’t new. Izuku had seen that face countless times. But now that they were actually together, it felt heavier somehow. Like he should know what to do about it.

Izuku snuck a glance at him again, biting the inside of his cheek. Maybe Katsuki just felt tired and didn't want to talk. Maybe something happened on patrol. Maybe he was just cold.

He let out a breath, glancing at Katsuki’s face once more.

“You okay?” he asked, voice soft, barely above the rustle of the wind between them.

"Yeah," the hero answered a little too quickly, looking down at the pavement. "Just thinking."

Izuku tilted his head, deciding to not press yet. "About?"

There was a beat. Katsuki's face remained expressionless, looking at the way in front of them, shoulders hunching slightly.

"You."

Izuku nearly tripped. On himself, and his words.

“M-Me?” he echoed, blinking at him, wide-eyed as he pointed at himself. He glanced around, seeing if there was anybody else around that Katsuki could be talking about.

Does he really have a soft spot for me?

Izuku thought back to the Twitter post from earlier, heart skipping beats. In that moment, it didn't really seem like that at all.

Katsuki stopped walking, and so did Izuku. They stood in front of the pedestrian lane.

Do I actually have him wrapped around my finger? 

The wind shifted, not sending cool afternoon breezes any longer. The sound of the busy life in the urban city filled their ears with chatter and vehicles moving around. Izuku looked to his side, and Katsuki was already looking back at him.

Their eyes met for a brief second—fleeting but honest. Then Katsuki looked away first, his gaze flicking to some invisible point in the distance, his mouth drawn in a frustrated line.

The hero sighed, shoulders rising and falling with something unsaid. “Just that…”

His voice trailed off, cut off by the noise of a passing truck. The silence that followed felt heavier than the sound itself. Then he mumbled something inaudible, something Izuku couldn't exactly hear. Probably the ear damage from the classes he taught that day.

"Just what?"

“Did I do something wrong?” he muttered.

Izuku blinked.

And then his eyes widened as the man got the wrong idea, mouth opening to say something but he didn't know what exactly to say. He knew that wasn't the case. Why couldn't he say anything?

"What? No—what makes you think that?" his voice blurred out, strained with panic.

"Am I making you uncomfortable?"

Katsuki was disregarding all of the other questions Izuku's had. 

Was there anything that Izuku did to make him think that? He doesn't think so—at least he thinks he didn't do anything wrong. Was there anything going the wrong way in their relationship?

The traffic lights went from red to green, with other people crossing the road already. But they remained standing there. 

During the time Izuku took in not responding, Katsuki went first and spoke once more. That was when he realized he hadn't spoken anything yet. "You've been acting off. Even more than when we didn't have—" he pointed at the both of them, "—this between us. Am I pulling too much? Are you not happy with me?"

"We’ve been together for a while now, and it’s like—I’ve forgotten how to be normal around him.”

Oh, no, no, no, no, no! It's my fault!

"No!" Izuku answered without thinking. Then he witnessed Katsuki's heart breaking into millions of tiny pieces just in front of him. Probably a sight he doesn't want to see ever again. He rose his hands in front of him and waved frantically, speaking in a panic. "That's not what I meant! I just—ugh..." he deflated, shrinking upon himself.

Katsuki continued peering into him, which honestly just pressured him a lot more—cause who wouldn't be?! He had literal rubies staring down into his soul, waiting for an answer he couldn't even form properly.

He chewed his inner cheek, scrolling through the right words to say in his head. Then, he looked down at both of his hands that were caressing the leather strap of his briefcase like it were a gesture that helped him find comfort.

"We've been..." the teacher trailed off, biting his lower lip as a faint flush of fluster crossed his face, "together, for a while, and yet I still don't know how this works."

The street lights glowed from green to red, the faint noise and rumble of passing cars surging once more.

"I'm—ugh..." he groaned, unable to find the right words. "It's just that—I don't know how I could ever act normal around you anymore when every second with you, every moment, makes my heart race and then I stumble over my words or myself."

Izuku tightened the grip he has on the leather handle of his briefcase, heart skipping another beat or two the longer the taller man continued peering at him. He looked straight ahead, watching the passing of cars and the birds that day still on the lines in the sky.

The place was nearly empty, with only the two of them standing still in front of the pedestrian lane.

"And I'm scared. That if I do something wrong, maybe I'll hurt you. And I guess I'm doing something wrong right now because there's enough space between us to fit a third person and that bothers me but I don't even know how to come close without it being weird."

How could people see us as this... perfect image? I can barely speak what I want to say anymore. Maybe I'm making him feel uncomfortable and pushing it a little too far. 

Izuku's thoughts ran like a train running on train tracks with no clear destination, never knowing when the next stop is. His hands trembled in nerves and the butterflies in his stomach never left. He held his belongings close to his chest, cradling it as his bottom lip trembled.

It's weird, we're closer than we ever were but it feels like we're so far away. And I'm the one pushing him away.

"Give me that." Katsuki spoke abruptly, cutting him off his trail of thoughts.

Izuku blinked and glanced at Katsuki who was beside him, staring at him as if he wants Izuku to know the answer just by reading his mind through his eyes.

"Pardon?" the green-haired man peeped, confused and a little overwhelmed with all of his emotions causing a whirl in his mind.

Katsuki pointed at the black briefcase that Izuku held close to his chest. "That."

Still confused, Izuku gave it to him nonetheless. He didn't know what he was planning to do with it, and frankly, he was feeling a tad bit slow that afternoon—but he trusts him.

The hero grabbed the leather handle, holding it in one hand. Then, with the other, he grabbed Izuku's hand in his. 

Izuku's eyes slightly widened at the unexpected action. The taller man's hand slid into his—warm, a little rough to the touch due to the protective layer that formed because of his quirk, but gentle. The texture was familiar in a way that made Izuku’s heart flutter, but what caught him most was how careful he was. Like Katsuki didn’t want to scare him off.

And then he realized something—

Katsuki's other hand was gloved.

This one wasn't.

He must've took it off while they were walking without Izuku noticing. He hadn’t said a word about it, he'd been quiet about it, quiet enough for nobody to notice—but it had been intentional. So... that could only mean one thing;

Katsuki was already planning to hold his hand the entire time.

The realization hit Izuku like a warm tide—quiet and overwhelming all at once. And it caused all of the flutters in Izuku's heart to hit him in all of the great spots.

He was a man of few words—and he knew that Katsuki was concerned, too. Like this was his way of communicating that they'll figure it out together. That Izuku isn't alone because Katsuki felt the exact same thing.

Izuku looked down, feeling a sort of warmth in his chest and in his face. He couldn't help the tiny smile that tugged on his lips.

He let go of Katsuki's hand, which caused the other man to be startled and feel the embarrassment of rejection.

"What? Is it weird?" came the quietness of Katsuki's voice, a slight pout spelt in his lips. It wasn't visible, but to Izuku, it was.

The teacher turned to face him and grabbed Katsuki's bare hand once more, bringing it up. He pressed his hand on Katsuki's, almost like they were comparing hands. Katsuki's fingers were long and slender, the skin at the back of his hand was smooth and spotless—but his palms were rough. Izuku's fingers were thick and filled with scars but his hands were smaller than Katsuki's by just a little.

He adjusted his hand in a way in which he could slip it between the empty spaces between Katsuki's fingers. Then, he slipped each finger through every space—intertwining them.

Izuku lowered their hands that were now holding each other in a way that felt secure.

"It's better this way." Izuku said while looking at the traffic lights, waiting for the red to flash into green. Katsuki remained looking at him, a certain softness sitting comfortably between the glimmers in his eyes. 

Then, Katsuki squeezed his hand and looked at the traffic lights, heart thumping quietly but with a force. 

"We have dinner with Auntie Inko, right?"

Izuku squeezed back, finding comfort.

"Yeah. Ugh... I still haven't told her about all this."

The traffic lights went from red to green once more, and they finally crossed the pedestrian lane.

"Have you told Auntie Mitsuki?"

"Not yet," Katsuki kicked a stray rock in the way, "I wanted to go at your pace."

Kano 📷 ✔️ @kanofficialjp 4h ago

📸 CHECK THIS OUT: Hero Dynamight & Deku-sensei holding hands in public.

I wonder what this could mean? 🤔

#kanophotography #gemgdynamight #herodynamight #dynamight #herodeku #deku #dekusensei #dynadeku #dynadekuisreal #teacherxhero

[1 PHOTO ATTACHED]

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Comments

salmon fish @dynadekuinvestigator

Replying to @kanofficialjp DYNAMIGHT DOESNT HAVE HIS GLOVES I REPEAT DYNAMIGHT DOESNT HAVE HIS GLOVES!!!!! THIS IS SO SWAG WHAT DOES THIS CONFIRM.

Fizzy Dizzy @s0dapophellyeah

Replying to @kanofficialjp FAVORITE PHOTOGRAPHER AND FAVORITE HERO SHIP?? FUCK YEAH THIS IS AWESOME

H a n a k o 💗 @hanakolovescatz3

Replying to @kanofficialjp They are so canon they just don't know it yet 😭

They stood outside the apartment door of Izuku's childhood home wearing not anything too casual, but nothing too basic either. Katsuki wore a basic black t-shirt over a jacket. While Izuku, on the other hand, wore a white graphic tee a size too big, with its sleeves dipping just a little bit over his elbows.

Izuku knocked three times, peeking through the little peephole looking for his mother. Inko eventually came out of the dining room, rushing towards the door.

"Izuku!" Inko greeted her son with a tight hug, pinching the tip of his nose. "I missed you, baby," she said as she grabbed his hands and squeezed them. 

She then walked towards Katsuki and cupped his face using both of her hands. Katsuki froze, still not used to the cuddly affection that the Midoriya family had instilled. The fragile woman stood on her tip-toes to rake her fingers through his blond hair, ruffling it. "My, Katsuki, I still can't believe how tall you are now!"

Katsuki huffed a chuckle, placing his hand atop Izuku's head. Green hair flattened as he pressed his hand onto it. "Taller than this one, at least."

Inko chuckled, taking a step back as she knew Katsuki wasn't accustomed to much physical affection.

"Oi, Katsuki. Don't be so mean to Izuku."

The voice came from the doorway behind them. Mitsuki leaned against the frame, arms crossed and a teasing smirk on her lips. Her eyes flicked to Izuku before she strode forward.

"Izuku!" she sang warmly.

"I invited Mitsuki and Masaru over for dinner too, you see," Inko informed them with a smile, pointing towards the woman with her thumb.

"YOU'RE HERE?!" Katsuki barked, taken aback.

Izuku giggled as the woman identical to her son approached him. "Hi, Auntie!" 

"Hope my son isn't causing you any trouble, yeah?" she ruffled his green hair, laughing.

Izuku’s smile softened, and he shook his head. "Not at all. Kacchan's been very nice to me."

"That's nice to hear. I wish I could say the same thing about him."

"God, Old hag, you're such a suck up to him." Katsuki muttered, bitter.

Mitsuki rolled her eyes, walking towards her son. Then...

Whack!

"Stop acting like you don't miss your goddamn mother!" she barked.

"That's 'cause I don’t!" Katsuki shot back, scowling.

Inko and Izuku peered at them, a little taken aback by the way they showed affection but used to it.

Before the woman could whack her son once more in the head, Inko spoke in a tiny and soft voice—essentially cutting out the word wrestle between the two. "Okay, you two, stop arguing now. Dinner's gonna get cold."

They settled by the dinner table with the air being filled with the homely scent of pork tonkatsu lingering around the room—rich and savory, with the faint sweetness of panko breadcrumbs toasted to a perfect golden brown. The cutlets were thick yet tender, their crisp coating glistening faintly under the warm dining light. A faint hiss still lingered in the air from the oil, as if the pan itself wasn’t quite ready to let go of the heat.

Beside the platter sat a neat mound of finely shredded cabbage, its pale green freshness promising a cool crunch against the warm meat. Small bowls of glossy white rice steamed invitingly, and the tangy-sweet tonkatsu sauce waited in a small ceramic pitcher, its dark sheen catching the light. The whole spread seemed to hum with the kind of home-cooked comfort that could loosen anyone’s shoulders after a long day.

"Smells good, Auntie," Katsuki stared at the cutlets, stomach silently rumbling. Izuku nodded in agreement.

He and Izuku were sitting next to each other, their chairs nearly stuck together with how close they were. There were only a few inches of space before their shoulders bump into each other.

"Oh, Katsuki, don't hide it. You're already drooling." Mitsuki teased in a motherly tone just across the table, sitting beside Masaru.

Masaru smiled at the comment his son had made. "Me and your Auntie Inko cooked it. Your mother can't cook."

Mitsuki shot a glare at her husband, but she was still smiling. She couldn't exactly deny that.

"Itadakimasu," they spoke in chorus, the word warm and overlapping in the cozy air, before chopsticks reached forward and the quiet clink of plates marked the start of dinner.

Katsuki immediately went for a cutlet of tonkatsu, pairing it with the rice in his bowl. A faint flush crossed his face from delight, his cheeks nearly hurting.

"Kacchan, careful." Izuku turned to look at the man who ate in a hurry, with a cutlet sandwiched between his own chopsticks. He turned to look down at his bowl and swept rice in his mouth paired with the tonkatsu before swallowing slowly and speaking again. "You might choke."

“‘M’not a kid,” Katsuki retorted through a mouthful of tonkatsu, barely pausing to chew.

Masaru looked at him in concern and gave him a flat look. “Don’t talk with your mouth full, Katsuki. You’ll choke.

“Oh! Right—” Mitsuki’s voice cut in, a little too brightly. She set her chopsticks down neatly, resting them across her rice bowl. “The other day I was reading this article. Hero Tropes, was it? Right, Inko?”

“Oh, yes!" Inko perked up, sipping from her cup of tea. "I sent you that one."

Mitsuki looked at the two heroes sitting by the dinner table. "You two have no idea how fan-crazed people are over romantic pairs of heroes."

"Yeah, no idea." Katsuki muttered, shoving another piece of tonkatsu and rice into his mouth. Izuku giggled softly from beside him, eyeing him.

"Especially you two."

Cough!

Katsuki coughed mid-bite, choking on his food. In a panic, Izuku yelped and grabbed the nearest glass of water, handing it towards the man then also assisted him in drinking whilst patting his back. 

“Katsuki!” Masaru’s chair scraped against the floor as he half-stood in alarm. Mitsuki and Inko stared at the choking man in concern and surprise.

“Yeah, we’re pretty popular,” Izuku said quickly, forcing a small laugh as Katsuki gulped water. His hand stayed on Katsuki’s back, thumb moving in slow, soothing circles. “I told you to be careful when you eat.”

“Stop eating so fast, brat,” Mitsuki snapped, her glare sharp enough to cut through the steam from the rice bowls. Then her eyes shifted back to Izuku—and softened, just slightly. “Though… I guess it’s nice to see someone keeping an eye on you for once.”

Izuku nodded hesitantly, before shifting his gaze toward his partner once more. "Eat slowly, okay?"

Katsuki nodded once, resting his head on his palm as he poked on his food. His face burned of embarrassment.

Mitsuki looked back at Inko, pointing at the two men using her thumb. She covered her mouth and whispered, "Those two have a trope about them."

"The teacher and hero one, right?" Inko whispered back, eyeing the two of them.

"Mom, we can hear you two." Izuku deadpanned.

He looked back at Katsuki, who he found was already staring back at him. The two of them shifted gazes and stared down at their food after being caught by each other. They've been together for quite some time but some things just never change.

"It's quite silly, actually—" Inko cut herself off with laugh, sandwiching a piece of tonkatsu and rice between her chopsticks. 

Mitsuki laughed as well, "Honestly."

And then Izuku's heart broke into millions of tiny little pieces.

"It's quite silly, actually—"

How could they say that about him and Katsuki when they were sitting by the same table as they were? It wasn't like they knew about the entire thing they have going on, but that doesn't necessarily remove the hurt from their choice of words. From his own mother?

If they told their parents about them now, would they accept them? Understand? Maybe they wouldn't after all like Izuku thought they would.

Maybe it really was silly. Maybe it really was an impossible pair. Maybe they really don't work out in that way.

Izuku forced himself to keep his head down, staring at the faint steam curling from his bowl as if it could blur out the rest of the world. He gripped his chopsticks a little too tightly, the faint tremor in his hands betraying what his voice wouldn’t.

“Yeah,” he mumbled, looking down at his bowl of food as he swallowed past the lump in his throat. “Silly.”

Katsuki’s head turned slowly, catching the way Izuku’s shoulders seemed smaller than usual, hunched just slightly over his meal. His brows furrowed. Izuku’s chopsticks idly prodded at his rice and tonkatsu, not even trying to eat, and Katsuki could see it—that quiet, dangerous way he folded into himself when something cut deep.

He then glanced toward their mothers. Mitsuki and Inko had moved on with their meal, talking less now that food was the main focus, but the earlier laughter still lingered like static in the air. It made his jaw clench.

Clack!

His chopsticks were set down with a muted clack, and his chair scraped against the floorboards as he stood up from the dining table.

"Respectively, I don't think it's silly." Katsuki spoke up. 

Everyone at the table snapped their heads toward him, surprise flickering across their faces. Even he was a little startled at himself—he hadn’t planned on saying anything, but the second he saw Izuku fold in on himself like that, something in him refused to stay quiet.

Izuku, who had been staring down at his bowl as though it could swallow him whole, now lifted his head to look at his lover.

"Kacc—"

"We're more than just what the public perceives us," the man begun, words coming out blunt but steady. "Maybe the image they paint of us is a little silly. Fucking stupid, even I can see that—but that's because I know what's real."

Katsuki took a deep breath in. He's really gonna do this, isn't he?

"The public doesn’t see what actually goes on between us." he continued, voice failing to falter even with everything he was confessing. "Honestly… neither do most people. None of you do."

He kept his expression neutral, composing his features calmly, but every nerve in his body felt like it was vibrating. The tension wrapped tightly around his shoulders, his heartbeat drumming against his ribs like it was trying to break free. For the first time in years, his hands felt like they were trembling.

Izuku’s breath hitched audibly, and his fingers curled into the hem of Katsuki’s shirt, as if holding on could anchor them both. His grip was gentle, almost pleading. “Kacchan, you really don’t have to—”

"I love him,"

The words came out flat and simply, but his heart was hammering hard enough to drown out the sound of the room. He didn’t dare look away from the people at the table.

"And I know this isn’t the perfect time to say it," he added, voice softening, "but I’m doing my best. For him. Always."

The scrape of a chair against the floor echoed again as Inko rose to her feet.

“Mom—” Izuku’s voice held a plea as he watched her stand.

Without a word, Inko stepped away from the dinner table. Izuku stood up to run after her, but Katsuki stopped him.

Izuku pushed his chair back, ready to follow, but Katsuki’s hand shot out to stop him.

“I’ll talk to her,” Katsuki said quietly, giving his arm a reassuring squeeze before motioning for him to sit.

"But—"

"I've got this covered," the taller man reassured him, pushing away a few stray pieces of green hair that covered his vision. "Not like I'll die."

"Ha-ha, very funny." Izuku scowled at him. Then he hesitated, torn between worry and trust, but after a glance toward the hallway and back at Katsuki. "Just... take care of her, okay?" he spoke quietly as he slowly lowered himself into his seat.

"Promise." Katsuki spoke softly, crouching down to land a kiss on his lips before leaving the room. Izuku looked down at his lap, flustered.

Left at the table, Izuku stared down at his lap, cheeks warm and pulse unsteady. But he looked up, trying to regain his composure. He had to set things right here, too.

"I just want you both to know that I give my best for Kacc—Katsuki, every day." Izuku began, but unlike Katsuki, he was showing signs of his nerves. His heartbeat rose, seeing the two of his lover's parents staring at him intently. "I know I’m not perfect, and I know I can’t always match him in the ways people expect, but… I don’t take what we have for granted. Not for a second."

"Oh, Izuku..." Mitsuki’s voice softened, her expression easing into something gentler than he’d expected.

"Maybe I'm not the one you expected for him," Izuku said, lowering his voice. "But if you both just let me love him—I think you'd find that I can make him happy, too."

He stood up from his chair, looking both of them in the eye. And then he bowed down, nice and low to show respect.

"I want your blessing in our relationship, Mitsuki-san, Masaru-san. I promise that I'll make him the happiest he's ever been and ever will be. I'll love and cherish him, and continue to believe in him—especially during the times where even he doesn't believe in himself."

"Izuku, son..." Masaru spoke up, voice soft and comforting. "You're like family to us, and you always will be. You make Katsuki happy, maybe even more than we have in his lifetime."

Mitsuki nodded. "Your love for each other will never disappoint us. We never expected anything for Katsuki, frankly—we didn't think he'd get into a relationship at all." She gave a small, fond smile. "As long as it was somebody who brings the best out of him, we would be content. Knowing it's you, we're more than relieved."

Izuku lifted his head, water welling up in his eyes but he refused to let them drop. His heart squeezed—he was bracing himself for rejection, but what he got was acceptance instead. It melted him.

He stood up straight, breath hitching.

"Everything you've mentioned? You've already been doing that for our son." Masaru laughed, lightening up the mood inside of the room filled with heavy emotions. "And we can see that Katsuki's his best when he's with you. We wouldn't get in the way of that. Not now, not ever."

Mitsuki stood up from her seat, and so did her husband after she tapped on his shoulder. She spread her arms before calling Izuku. "Alright, come here, you lover boy."

A laugh—half a sob—escaped him before he could stop it. Izuku crossed the short distance in quick, uneven steps, and Mitsuki’s arms wrapped around him in a tight, grounding embrace. Her hold was firm, almost motherly, and for a moment he let himself sink into it, breathing in the faint scent of her perfume and the warmth of someone who felt like home.

"What your mother Inko said earlier? I'm sure she didn't mean for it to rub off in the wrong way."

Masaru joined in, his arm coming around them both, pulling the three of them together into a bundle of shared heat and quiet acceptance. Izuku felt his chest loosen, the air finally moving through his lungs without that familiar ache.

"Take care of our Katsuki, okay?" Mitsuki murmured into his shoulder. "And if he does something mean to you, tell me."

Izuku let out a shaky laugh, his voice muffled in the crook of her neck. "I'd take care of him my entire life if I had to or even if I didn't, Auntie."

The soft hum of the refrigerator was the only sound in the kitchen. The evening air seeped through the opened windows, sending a cool breeze throughout the tiny room. Inko stood at the sink, rinsing the other plates she hadn't rinsed earlier before their dinner.

The floor creaked behind her. She turned her head slightly, expecting Izuku.

"I'll help," came Katsuki's voice, approaching near her as he made his way towards the sink.

Her steps were brisk as she moved aside to make space beside her. His were heavier, deliberate. She turned at the sound of him entering, the polite mask still there, but thinner now, her eyes already searching his face.

“You’ve been… very open tonight,” she said carefully, and he could tell she’d chosen those words instead of the dozens sharper or softer ones she could've used.

"I'm sorry. I know that it was an abrupt announcement." Katsuki briefly replied, voice low. He helped rinse the other plates Inko had already scrubbed.

But the woman continued in silence, an unreadable look from the side of her face. Puzzled, confused, maybe a little surprised. But there was something else.

They finished washing the dishes, placing them by the plate rack and all the other right places for utensils. Drying up their hands, the evening breeze seemed to blow colder that evening.

"I'm sorry for leaving the dinner table so rudely, I was just..." she looked down, "A little surprised."

"I understand."

The quiet returned, only the faint hum of the fridge and the whisper of the breeze through the kitchen window filling it. Katsuki dried the last plate, settling it in the rack. He glanced at her—still standing there with her hands wrapped in the dish towel, her shoulders drawn close.

“I love your son, you know,” he finally said. No buildup, no dramatics. Just the truth, dropped like a stone in still water.

Her head lifted, eyes searching his face. There was that flicker again—puzzled, maybe wary, but softer now.

"I know you do," she gave him a warm, but worn out smile. She walked towards the counter near the kitchen window, letting her face be struck by the aroma of the evening wind. "I just can't help but feel that Izuku's growing so fast."

Katsuki walked towards her, standing beside the woman.

"I guess I've just always viewed him as the little boy that needed his Mama's protection." She began, a melancholic smile on her face. "But you're—there, and I know that someday he'll forget all about me. Our time together had already been so limited, he's a busy teacher in a prestigious school, and alongside that—he has duties as a hero."

"He's not going to forget you, Auntie," Katsuki said firmly. "Yeah, he’s taller, stronger, busier than hell—but that doesn’t change who he runs to when it matters. You’re his mom. That’s not something time or work or me can take away.”

Inko’s lips trembled just slightly, the corners pulling into something between gratitude and ache. The wind from the open window carried the faint hum of the city, and for a moment, neither of them moved.

"It's not just that and oh," Inko's breath hitched, tears welling up in her eyes. She shifted her gaze to look at the taller man, preventing her tears from falling. "I feel horrible."

"Why?"

"Please, Katsuki—promise me you'll understand me when I say this." Inko pleaded.

Katsuki swallowed the lump in his throat, nervous. 

"I promise."

The woman looked down, voice trembling. "Is it so bad for me to be concerned about my baby? When you're the same person who—who gave him the bruises he always came home with every day from back when?"

His chest tightened like a fist had wrapped around it. The air in the kitchen seemed to thin, the quiet hum of the fridge fading beneath the rush of blood in his ears.

Images he’d struggled to live with—Izuku flinching, bruises darkening under his shirt, the sound of his own cruel words—flashed, uninvited, behind his eyes. All of which, caused by him.

His mouth opened, then shut again. He couldn't say anything, not when he knew it was true. Maybe something that he could never truly make up for. He couldn’t swallow the guilt clawing up his throat, couldn’t pretend it wasn’t deserved.

For a moment, all he could do was stand there, reeling, feeling smaller than he had in years.

The question lingered in his mind—has he really changed?

His nails dug into the palm of his hands as he clenched them—not out of anger, but out of the slightest bit of the fire he has to prove something, to prove himself.

"You're right," Katsuki finally said, voice rough but steady enough to carry. "I did all of that. And it's something I can never erase. But I've changed, and I'm still making efforts on trying to improve myself."

Inko's eyes trembled, finding it hard to look at the man.

"Maybe it's something I can never fully make up to him or to you," he went on, the words scraping out like they’d been lodged in him for years. "But you can believe in me when I say that I'll make it up to him—even if it takes my entire life."

"Katsuki..."

"And I'm not asking you to forget. I'm asking you to look at who I am now—and see that I'll give anything just to see him smile. I'll protect him. And I'd sacrifice everything, even if it takes my whole being because that's all he's ever deserved."

Inko’s lips parted, but no words came. Her gaze wavered, shifting from the determination etched in his face to the faint tremor in his hands.

"Because I love him. And I always will. He's the only one I want to stand beside with my entire life, and I know I won't be able to see myself without him. He's the one I want beside me when the world's loud and when it’s quiet, when we’re winning and when we're falling apart. And I'd risk each of my tomorrow's, just for one yesterday with him."

Her breath caught, the weight of his words settling deep in her chest. The kitchen felt smaller somehow, the air heavier—not from suffocation, but from the truth laid bare between them.

"So please, please—let me have your blessing. If you let me love him, Inko-san, I swear that I'll make him the happiest he's ever been."

Then, tears streamed down her face. Steady, calm, and even. "I want to put my trust in you, I really do—"

"Then please," Katsuki pleaded, "take this gamble. Just this once."

"I want you to promise me that you'll show him love every day. You'll protect him. You'll cherish him."

"I promise. Because Midoriya Izuku's never done anything else other than being out the best in me."

She sniffled, holding both of her hands in his as she smiled. "Then you have my blessing."

They stepped out of the apartment building, feeling the night breeze hit their skins immediately.

Izuku checked his phone for the time.

"It's already nine in the evening." he said, shoving his phone back in his pocket.

Katsuki glanced at him, catching the way the city’s warm, orange street lamps caught in Izuku’s emerald eyes. 'Cause even after everything that's happened, the sight of his eyes never fail to leave his heart skipping beats.

"Something wrong, Kacchan?" Izuku asked innocently.

Katsuki offered a tiny smile. "Just want us to be like this. Forever."

The words lingered between them, carried by the breeze. Katsuki didn’t overthink it—didn’t need to. Izuku stepped closer, one hand finding the back of Katsuki’s neck, and kissed him under the glow of the street lamp. It wasn’t hurried or heavy, just steady and sure, like a promise sealed in the quiet of the night.

When they pulled apart, Izuku’s smile was brighter than any city light. "Then we should be like this. Forever."

Deku! ✔ @ofaherodeku 4h ago

look: @gemgdynamight feeds a stray kitten !!!!! so cute

#dynamight #dynadeku

[ 1 PICTURE ATTACHED]

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Dynamight. ✔️  @gemgdynamight

Replying to @ofaherodeku hell yeah i fw whatever this is

Prokaryotes @idkanythingaboutscience

Replying to @ofaherodeku HELLO WHY IS HE USING THE DYNADEKU TAG???

salmon fish  @dynadekuinvestigator

Replying to @ofaherodeku what's cute??? dynamight or the kitten? LMAOOO

Dynamight. ✔️ @gemgdynamight 3h ago

look, or whatever: @ofaherodeku and his digital camera. he wants to show this picture he took of me be nice to him.

#deku #dynadeku

[1 PICTURE ATTACHED]

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Deku! ✔️  @ofaherodeku

Replying to @gemgdynamight ITS A GOOD PHOTO 😁

Chiyo  @chiyoiwakuraaa0_0

Replying to @gemgdynamight OH MY GOLLY WHY IS HE ALSO USING THE DYNADEKU TAG WHAT IS THIS

salmon fish @dynadekuinvestigstor

Replying to @gemgdynamight WHAT IN THE DYNADEKU IS GOING ON

Chapter Text

Deku! ✔️ @ofaherodeku

@gemgdynamight, hi!!!! thankz for always visiting me in my classroom, gets lonely without you during lunch breaks:) so pretty

#dynamight 

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Dynamight. ✔️ @gemgdynamight 

Replying to @ofaherodeku don't be doing stupid shit on your lunch break. Not on my watch.

Deku! ✔️  @ofaherodeku

Replying to @gemgdynamight believe it or not but i can actually take care of myself

Dynamight. ✔️  @gemgdynamight

Replying to @ofaherodeku sure

Enoki Mushroom  @mushroomsrgood

Replying to @gemgdynamight Fighting like an old married couple, yes. You guys are so canon. AND OMG PRETTY????

"Kacchan!" Izuku called out.

He jogged from inside the campus to outside the school gates, waving his arm as his other remained occupied with his belongings. Their surroundings were basked in a yellow glow as the sun slowly made it way to set in the horizon, but not exactly coming to hide yet.

Katsuki's head turned to look at the teacher, now in his civilian clothes—a black tee and some best up pair of jeans. He was on his phone.

"I'm sorry," Izuku apologized, laughing awkwardly as he placed his vacant hand on the nape of his neck. He stood straight, catching his breath. "I had to run extra errands with Aizawa."

The man closed his phone and shoved it back in his pockets. "It's fine."

Izuku pouted. "How long have you been waiting?"

Katsuki looked up at the sky, which was now very quickly turning dark as the sun set. "Just about an hour," he shifted his gaze back to Izuku, acting like it wasn't a big deal at all. 

Something about that made Izuku's heart squeeze. Just the thought that Katsuki was willing to wait that long for him, probably extremely bored during the entire duration of the hour he waited—yet he still did so because he...

A flush appeared on Izuku's face, leading him to direct his gaze at his shoes. 

"Shit's been pretty boring lately," Katsuki briefly spoke, just staring at Izuku in a challenging manner. "Not much action going on."

Izuku lifted his head to catch a better view of the man. Their eyes immediately met, meeting in a line of genuine emotions. There was a glint in Katsuki's eyes that Izuku had familiarized himself with, heart picking up the pace.

"I wanna bring you somewhere," Katsuki eventually said.

Izuku didn't know where, but there was something about it that churned a warm feeling in his gut.

The teacher smiled genuinely. "You can take me anywhere."

Katsuki had driven them towards the lower side of town, where the area wasn't bustling with high buildings and skyscrapers, but was instead glistening with rows of old brick-buildings with paint peeling off the walls and flickering neon lights. Rows of rusting streetlights lined the sidewalks, and the road offered jagged paths, bumpy rides. The air lingered with a faint scent of soy sauce from diners and old wood, carried from the tiny mom-and-pop shops squeezed shoulder to shoulder with laundromats and shuttered arcades.

Izuku breathed it all in through the window rolled down in Katsuki's car, admiring the change of scenery from modern scapes to down-town sceneries that offered a sense of nostalgia. 

"Down-town, huh?" Izuku said, watching as the buildings, aged yet seemed like they were frozen in time, blurred past them. A grin lifted the corners of his mouth. "I like it."

"Wouldn't have taken you here if you didn't," Katsuki replied with familiar confidence, car slowing down.

The car came to a halt in a gas station as empty as it can be, with Katsuki killing the engine and grabbing ahold of his car keys, shoving it in his pockets. They stopped at a gas station but Katsuki wasn't exactly getting any gas, so Izuku blinked, confused. 

They left the car at the same time, with Izuku standing in front of him, waiting for an explanation.

"Why are we here?" Izuku questioned, wondering what else they were doing there if Katsuki wasn't going to get his car pumped.

Then, Katsuki pointed towards the gas station shop behind him using his thumb, its neon signage barely hanging on and flickering its already dimmed glow. The sun, on the other hand, was getting ready to set.

"To get food, of course."

Izuku blinked, and then a soft chuckle left his mouth. "You know, for someone who talks a lot about eating healthy, grabbing food at a gas station's basically contradicting what you stand for."

Katsuki gave him a flat look, the corner of his mouth twitching as if it was preventing a smile to come on. "Shut up. I didn't say we were living healthy today," he said with a smug look on his face, "Just living."

"Today's cheat day, then?" Izuku laughed.

"Whatever," the other man clicked his tongue. He grabbed ahold of Izuku's hand before directing him towards the door. "Let's go buy unhealthy shit."

A bubbly feeling appeared in Izuku's chest, squeezing his heart as Katsuki squeezed his hand. He watched as he let himself get dragged by his significant other, feeling oddly like regular civilians instead of heroes. He smiled, feeling warm all over. "Yeah, let's."

The door creaked open and along with it was the sound of an old, rustic bell that rung with their entrance. The place smelled faintly of the steam hot coffee emits and other aromas that provided nostalgia. The floor layout was in checkered tiles, colored in a dirty yellow and brown, paired with walls that were covered in vintage wallpaper—edges appearing worn out with age, slowly peeling themselves off. The cashier at the cash register, aged as well, seemed as if she had lost all of her motivation for her job with the lack of customers coming to visit or buy. But her head had perked at their visit.

Katsuki, who had let go of Izuku's hand by then, grabbed a basket and passed it onto Izuku with a weak throw. "You're carrying."

"Wow," Izuku glanced at the basket in his hands and then up at his partner, "You're so romantic."

"I'm paying," Katsuki shrugged, "It's only fair."

Izuku shrugged it off, following just behind him as they strolled through the aisles of chips and candy. He watched as Katsuki grabbed the chips packaged in the brightest color of red without taking any second glances, not at the price, not at anything.

"You didn't even read the flavor." Izuku giggled.

Katsuki turned at him and threw the chips to Izuku's side, leading Izuku swing the basket and catch the bag of chips inside of it, knocking two chocolate bars off the rack beside him. He burnt in embarrassment. "Whoops."

"I saw the three peppers," Katsuki pointed at the bag of chips inside of their basket, "If it burns my mouth, then it's good."

Izuku crouched down to grab the two chocolate bars that had fallen down because of his reckless movements, fingers brushing upon the plastic packaging. His eyes dropped to the branding and the vintage-y, almost familiar design.

"Mighty Crunch: Twin Bars" Izuku whispered to himself, finding that the name rolled nicely on his tongue. 

The gold-and-red wrapper looked aged, as if it hadn’t been redesigned in decades—the kind of candy that survived on nostalgia alone. Izuku’s lips curled into a soft smile, because he remembered.

When he and Katsuki were younger, Katsuki would always sneak this particular chocolate bar inside of Izuku's home so they can secretly eat them in the living room while watching All Might movies over and over again. Katsuki would always bring them two despite their mothers being so against them eating so much sweets. They would split the twin bar into two and share them, but sometimes, whenever Katsuki felt petty, he'd just take one big bite into the twin bar and Izuku would get upset. But Izuku would never forget how Katsuki's face softened, even for just a little, whenever the chocolate melted on his tongue.

Then, the chocolate brand suddenly stopped appearing in the convenience store near their homes. Katsuki and Izuku felt distraught, but Izuku didn't feel distraught because he liked the chocolate—Izuku felt distraught because of the memories he and Kacchan made through sharing the twin bar.

So, seeing this particular brand, fallen down from the shelf beside him because of his reckless actions—it felt nice, to remember all of these memories from back then. It felt like destiny was whispering to him to make more memories with him.

Standing there now, crouching over the sweets that gave him so much good memories, his heart squeezed as he grabbed the chocolate bars with a warm smile. Because he was still with the same guy he shared these chocolates with all those years ago.

"Kacchan, look," Izuku showed him the two bars.

Katsuki perked up and turned to look, bringing his head closer to analyze the brand. And then a smile appeared on his face—fond and genuine. He grabbed it in his hands, fingers brushing past Izuku's. "Hell yeah, I've been looking for these fuckers for a long time." he said, placing them in the basket. He grabbed three more and placed them in the basket, making them five.

They grabbed a lot of snacks from the shelves, filling up nearly four paper bags of just chips, sweets, and energy drinks. Probably enough junk food to last for weeks, but it won't—seeing as they'll annihilate probably half of it in just this night and cut their lifespan in half along with it. 

The snacks were placed at the back of Katsuki's car, while Izuku sat pretty on the passenger seat as he waited for the man to return to the driver's seat. He glanced at his surroundings, really feeling in the nostalgic vibes the place emitted. The sky was gradually becoming darker, painting their surroundings golden.

The car door made a loud sound as Katsuki got in, locking the car doors.

He shoved the keys into the ignition but didn't start the car right away. Instead, he leaned back against the seat, eyes catching the horizon where the orange bled into purple, deepening by the minute. 

Izuku followed his gaze, eyes tracing lines on the shape of his face from the side. He smiled to himself, feeling warm and giddy from the inside. Like just the simple sight of him were enough to make the hairs on his forearms stand.

Then, their eyes connected. Which kind of caught Izuku off guard and nervous, but a good kind of nervous.

The waves from the nearby beach created low sounds, sounds that could be heard amidst the quietness of the town as they crashed onto the shore. It was a peaceful town.

"I think this is way better than the city," Katsuki said softly, still looking at Izuku. 

Izuku nodded, smiling. It truly was.

It was quiet, peaceful, and there wasn't much people. It didn't feel like people were gracing over every little move they do, and nobody hung around the streets very much. It felt like it was only the two of them in the world. 

"Yeah," Izuku agreed, sighing into his seat. He watched as a bird flew from a tree to an electricity line nearby. "I was just thinking the same thing."

"Good," Katsuki smirked beside him as he turned the keys, his car humming back to life. "Then you'll like where we'll head to next."

Izuku smiled as he laid his temple on the cold glass of the car windows, watching as the scenery slowly blurred past them once Katsuki started driving. 

The beach.

That was where Katsuki had taken the both of them. The place where the faint sounds of waves crashing into one another came to be. Just a simple and plain beach, with no other people—except for Katsuki and Izuku, who stayed in the car. 

They stepped out, watching as the sun sank deeper into the horizon by the minute. The sky glowed of pink and purple, covered by orange clouds. Izuku stared at the sky, in awe with its beauty. 

The sand was a clean, light beige. There were seashells buried under blankets of sand, clustering the entire beach. By the water, there was a nearby old, wooden dock while seemingly aged, seemed to be stable. There were palm trees on the side, leaves green as can be. 

Katsuki grabbed their food and threw two of the paper bags to Izuku, the other two in one of his arms. His other arm held a blanket and pillow in it.

"Why'd you take me here?" Izuku asked, not confused—just wondering.

Katsuki looked at the horizon, watching as the sun slowly made its way to set. "To watch the sunset."

The butterflies were there, gentle—but reminding Izuku that they've always been there. There was something so gentle about his words that turned on the speed in his heart.

"Okay," Izuku said, watching his shoes shift comfortably in the sand. 

They walked towards the wooden dock, just hovering above the water. Katsuki laid the blanket and pillow, along with the snacks. Izuku sat down, wondering why the racing in his heart hadn't gone away yet. The birds chirped, the ocean waves crashed onto one another, and the dock creaked. There were lots of sounds, noises that occupied his ears, but none of them were louder than the drums in his heart.

Katsuki sat down as well just beside him, immediately going for the twin bar from their childhood. Izuku stared at him expectingly as he ripped the wrapper open, eyes drawing towards the bar of chocolate.

And there it was. The same bar that Izuku and Katsuki would always split in half during their movie marathons in childhood.

The same way he's always remembered it!

And Katsuki took a big bite in the middle.

Izuku's jaw dropped, flabbergasted at Katsuki. That was the first twin bar they'd ever had in a while, and Katsuki wasn't going to share?! That's outrageous! A scandal!

"Hey!" Izuku called him out, pointing at the twin bar of chocolate with the huge bite in the middle like it was a crime scene. "I wanted one too."

"What? We bought a lot." Katsuki said, taking another bite in the corner.

Izuku crossed his arms. Believe it or not, he felt genuinely upset. "It's the essence of sharing!" His eyes glanced to the side, looking at the ocean waves but not exactly having anything else in his mind other than that violation of a twin bar.

He really wanted to share, and Katsuki knew that—probably. Why would he go and take a big bite in the middle?!

Then, Katsuki sighed. Izuku turned his head towards the low sound of an exhale, but he couldn't keep his eyes off the twin bar.

The other man's hand, the one holding the twin bar, made its way closer to Izuku. Katsuki looked off to the side, and Izuku absolutely did not fail to notice the pink in the tips of his ears. 

"If it helps with your whining," Katsuki gruffly spoke, tilting the bar of chocolate towards Izuku as he was offering it. He then looked back at Izuku. "Then have it."

Izuku looked at him, and then at the piece of chocolate with literal fucking sparkles in his vision. So he opened his mouth, hesitantly, and bit from a corner.

The flavors melted perfectly on his tongue, and he chewed slowly as if it was something to savor—the flavors, as he remembered it, hitting all in the right places. His lips curved into a smile as he smiled. "Tastes exactly like when we were kids."

Then he felt a hand, gentle upon the side of his face. Katsuki brings himself closer, brushing away stray hair from Izuku's face. He was looking at his lips.

So Izuku reciprocates, and brings himself closer as well. Until the distance between them finally close—and they pay no mind to anything else in the world.

The kiss tasted of the twin bar the both of them had eaten just earlier, sweet—warm. Izuku felt nothing more other than Katsuki's hand caressing his face and his gentle kisses.

And when they pull back, Katsuki's looking into his eyes like he's putting together a puzzle. But he was soft, the stitch in his brows were no longer there—as if Izuku's the only one who can ever unlock that expression.

"You've really gotta stop doing shit like that," Katsuki groaned, setting some distance between them now. Izuku laughed at his expression. "Seriously? Biting into my chocolate like that as if it's nothing? I wanted you to take the bar."

"And you've gotta stop doing," Izuku pointed at his own lips, all traces of the chocolate gone, "that."

Katsuki rolled his eyes, playing along. "Why not?"

"Makes me forget all of this is actually real." Izuku snorted, staring into the sky. The colors were unreal.

But Katsuki pressed, now genuinely interested. "What'ddya mean about that?"

"Cause," Izuku looked back at him. He placed a thumb on Katsuki's lips, looking directly at it. Then, he teasingly laughed once more. "it usually only happens in my dreams." 

So Katsuki pushed, landing a ghost of a kiss once more in Izuku's lips. Feather weighted. 

"And?" Katsuki huffed a laugh, "It happens in real life too, now."

"I'm glad it does," Izuku said.

He re-adjusted himself and scooched closer towards his partner, then he laid his head down on his lap. Katsuki looked down, catching his eyes, before then leaning down and planting another light kiss on his lips.

Izuku watched the sun slowly sink down in the horizon, a deep gradient of pink and purple painting the skies. The moon was already visible by then, finally clear from the clouds that were obstructing its beauty. He blindly grabbed a paper bag and searched for the energy drink he'd grabbed off the shelves earlier. Finally feeling the cold metal on the tips of his fingers, he grabbed the metal can, accidentally lifting out a chip bag in the process. The drink cracked as he opened it, taking a sip even though he was laying down.

"Don't drink shit while laying down, dumbass," Katsuki reprimanded.

Izuku only smiled. "Okay, mom."

He liked how quiet it was, in contrast to how most of his days went in the school. He liked how it felt like it was only the two of them in the world. He liked how he never wanted this to end, that he wanted this to last forever. 

A hand raked through his green curls, soft and gentle. Katsuki combed through his hair, untangling them gently.

If you had told Izuku in the past that this would be his future, he would be surprised. Eating junk food, resting his head on Kacchan's lap while he softly raked through his hair, watching the sunset? It was unreal. Even when it was actually happening, it still felt unreal. But nonetheless, it was something he wanted to last—a soft moment, a memory he'll keep safe and perhaps dream about some other night. Or maybe he won't dream about it. Maybe it'll happen again, some other time.

It honestly made him think about what he'd missed out on for the longest time.

"Hey, Kacchan," Izuku spoke as the faint sound of the waves crashing by the shore played in the background. The leaves of the nearby trees rustled as a gust of wind passed them by, its coldness biting into their skins. He chewed his lip, heart beating slightly faster. It was slowly getting darker.

"Why do you love me?"

The raking in his hair halted, like Katsuki was frozen for a moment. Izuku wondered for a split-second whether it was an appropriate question to ask. 

Then, Katsuki huffed out a soft laugh. He gently combed through strands of green hair once more. "Honestly, don't got a clue," he briefly said, braiding Izuku's hair.

There was a moment of silence, a little too long—but not empty. For a moment, Izuku thought Katsuki would leave it at there. But then,

"I thought about it back then, too," Katsuki eventually said. "When I first realized."

"Realized?" Izuku looked up at him.

Katsuki flushed and covered Izuku's eyes using his free hand. "Don't make me say it."

Izuku smiled like a fool as Katsuki removed his hands.

Another beat of silence, just them and the ocean smell—the rustling of leaves, the crashing of waves, and the sunset. Just a little bit more until the stars come out. Just them, and the race in Izuku's heart as he anticipated a response. 

Katsuki's hands slowed, undoing the braids he'd done in Izuku's hair. Then, an audible exhale was heard. Izuku looked up, watching as Katsuki's jaw clenched and loosened.

"I wondered if it was your freckles, your eyes," Katsuki slowly began. And then the tips of his ears went pink. "Or maybe even your lips, 'cause I was confused why I kept staring at them so much."

Izuku giggled, smiling at the thought of Katsuki feeling awkward about his feelings.

"I thought that maybe it was just an attraction. But you kept showing up in my dreams, and I wasn't dumb enough to not realize it wasn't just a physical attraction."

His hands, shaking slightly from nerves, pulled gently on strands of hair. "But no matter how much I tried to solve it, nothing made sense. I didn't know why I craved seeing your smile. I didn't know why I wanted to be the only reason you smiled that way. Didn't know why every ounce of physical contact left a burn on my skin. Didn't know why I missed you so fuckin' much while doing boring paperwork in the agency."

Izuku looked at him, really looked—never failing to notice the stitch in his eyebrows, his tense body language, how he hates opening up especially about his emotions—but here he is, unravelling himself in front of Izuku anyway. 

And Izuku's chest ached. Not in an exactly terrible way, but because this was once the Katsuki he thought had wanted nothing to do with him. But now, here he is, more involved in his life than anybody else in the world.

"So there, I love you, but I don't know why." Katsuki laughed, looking down at Izuku. Tears lined Izuku's eyes. He's always been sort of a cry baby. "Holy shit, are you crying?"

"No," Izuku laughed with a sniffled, hand reaching out for Katsuki's. He watched as their fingers slowly slipped through the spaces in between, intertwining. "I just wish I'd found out sooner. Kacchan's such a loverboy."

The taller man rolled his eyes, squeezing the other's hand. "What about you?" he then asked, "How'd you realize? Or when."

"Hmm," Izuku hummed in thought, taking another sip out of his energy drink, "I think it was when you made the post."

Katsuki's face burned. "No way."

"Yeah! Honestly, when I first found out about it... I guess I was a little confused. A little sad 'cause I didn't get why you didn't tell me." Izuku admitted, placing Katsuki's hand in both of his and massaging it. "Until... well, I realized I was jealous."

"Jealous?" Katsuki raised a brow, feeling entertained. "Do tell."

"I wanted to be the most important person in your life," Izuku smiled. "I didn't want anybody taking that away from me."

The sky was turning into a deep blue by then, with only the horizon carrying the colors of pink and purple. The wind was growing colder, and the smell of the ocean was stronger than earlier.

The waves crashed louder as the tide crept closer. Izuku turned his head, watching the reflection of the fading sun shimmer across the water. When he looked back at Katsuki, the last streaks of purple lit his face, and for a moment, Izuku felt like the entire world had slowed down for that exact moment.

"I think I liked, or loved—you before the post. The post was just what made me realize it probably wasn't so platonic after all." 

There was a moment of silence that followed afterwards, but it wasn't empty. Katsuki’s hand was still in his, warm and grounding, and Izuku swore he could hear the steady rhythm of his heartbeat in between the rolling waves.

The stars had started to peek through the darkness, and the moonlight was starting to show. The streetlights had turned themselves on.

"You," Katsuki paused, "are so cheesy."

"Yeah," Izuku agreed, smiling. "But I guess what I'm trying to say is—thanks for posting on the wrong account, Dynamight!"

katsuki 🔒 @fuckersgofuckoff — is with @smallmightcrashinout 

if i die earlier than i'm supposed to, it's honestly your fault

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dezuku 🔒 @smallmightcrashinout

Replying to @fuckersgofuckoff MIGHTY CRUNCH TWIN BARS THOUGHHHHGHGYHGH

katsuki 🔒 @fuckersgofuckoff

Replying to @smallmightcrashinout hell yeah, so fucking worth it