Work Text:
The music screamed in his ears, but Izuku didn't mind. For years, he'd been used to hearing this voice during his training sessions. As he launched himself into the void with his skateboard, the voice in his ears fell silent for a few seconds, while the adrenalin of the fall swelled in his veins.
“- Midoriya, are you ever going to take those headphones off? His coach yells at him at the end of his workout.
⁃ What for? It helps me concentrate,” he replies nonchalantly as he removes his protection.
Since high school, he hasn't done a single workout without music. And judging by his results at competitions, he's doing pretty well this way. In a few days' time, he'll even be heading off to the FISE in France. What's the point in changing his habits?
“- You realize that during competitions you can't always ask for the music you want? continues his coach.
⁃ So what? I know very well how to skate without music and you know it. Well, now I've got to go and get ready.
⁃ But we haven't finished talking about it!” His coach yells at him as Izuku already starts to leave.
Izuku raises his eyes to the sky, waving goodbye. It's not after 17 years of skateboarding, and at the age of 23, that he's going to let himself be taken in for something so trivial. It's become a routine for him to fly through the air, listening to music, listening to his voice. The first time he heard him sing, he couldn't believe it. How could he sing like that? It was just impossible to believe, and at the same time, he'd never sucked at anything. Secretly, Izuku started listening to his music on Musicaly. Then, as his band grew in popularity, it was already too late to stop. Izuku Midoriya had become obsessed with the band of his former best friend, Katsuki Bakugo.
Gliding along the city streets on his skateboard, Izuku let himself be captured by a notification on his phone. FISE has just announced him as the top participant. A smile lights up his face at this news.
Izuku discovered skateboarding at a very young age, around 6. His mother was afraid he'd hurt himself, but Katsuki was so keen to try. At first it was just child's play, trying to glide as far as possible without falling or racing against each other. But with time, Izuku came to really love the sport and made it his passion. In junior high school, he started competing in competitions around his home, and as time went by, he became quite well known in the world of extreme sports.
Continuing on his way, scrolling through his networks, another notification appeared. A message from his best friend, Ochako Uraraka.
“Did you see that Dynamight was doing a concert in France when you’ll be there? In the same town, no less! You have to go, it's a sign!!!”
Yes, Izuku knows. He knows all about Kacchan's band. But there's a world between listening to them and going to see them. It's been years since they've seen each other, and their relationship hasn't ended on good terms. So going to see them, and in another country? No, that's out of the question.
Another message appears in the group conversation he's having with his best friends.
“Speaking of that, I've already bought tickets for us Zuku', so you have no choice.”
Excuse me? Shouto did what? He's going to kill him. Yes, that's the best solution.
“- Be careful!” shouted a voice.
So taken aback by the message, he nearly runs into some poor granny. He apologizes with a thin smile and decides to ignore the messages completely. It's out of the question. No way.
On the other side of town, Katsuki struggles with his suitcase. He has to take too many things and there's clearly not enough space. With a sigh of exasperation, he lets himself fall backwards. Why don't they make bigger fucking suitcases, eh?
“- Izuku Midoriya, number 2728, takes off. He's 23 years old and already number 10 world rank”, explains the commentator's voice.
The loft's flat screen displays a replay of the latest international skateboarding competition held in the USA. Katsuki wasn't able to see it live, because of the time difference and the concerts. As if hypnotized, the blond watched his childhood best friend do the most complicated tricks of the discipline, as if it were as easy for him as breathing.
Katsuki can't stop watching Deku's competitions, ever since he started. Sure, he loves extreme sports, but deep down he knows exactly why he watches these competitions. Watching him fly through the air on his skateboard feels like he's touching the sky. It's like he's become invincible, like he's really flying. And it gives Katsuki a sense of fulfillment every time.
The ringing of his phone interrupts his thoughts, and he grimaces as he picks it up.
“- What the fuck do you want shitty hair?
⁃ We're leaving tomorrow, I hope your suitcase is finished, exclaims Kirishima, the band's lead guitarist.
⁃ Of course I fucking did, lies Katsuki, glancing at his half-closed suitcase.
⁃ I also wanted to tell you that I got us tickets for FISE in France, I saw that it fell right during our concert there.
⁃ What the hell did you get?
⁃ See you tomorrow Bakubro!”
Before he could even yell at him again, Shitty Hair hung up. No, this couldn't be happening. Crap. No. He couldn't have done that. He couldn't. This moron knows damn well why he can't go. He clearly can't fucking show up to the nerd competition like nothing happened, in another country no less. No, it's out of the question. Shitty hair can go fuck himself. He'll never set foot over there. I'd rather die with his mouth open.
“- Bonjour le France!” Izuku shouts in excitement.
Shouto Todoroki, to his right, raises his eyes to the sky as he continues on his way as if nothing had happened.
“- I love your enthusiasm Izuku, but we say “la”, not “le France”, corrects him Iida Tenya.
⁃ Oops, sorry.
⁃ We're going to put our stuff down at the hotel, then we have to meet the coach. The competition starts in tomorrow and we've got the concert tonight, Shoto lists.
⁃ I said I wouldn't go, there's no point.
⁃ Of course you're going, otherwise we'll drag you by the scruff of your neck,” claims Himiko Toga.
Izuku grumbles in his corner, knowing that there's no point in standing up to Himiko, she always ends up getting what she wants. And her girlfriend, Ochako, convinced her to take the skater to the concert. She couldn't make it because of her university exams, but unfortunately for him, his other friends are also into extreme sports and taking part in FISE.
Someone save Izuku or kill him before tonight. The last thing he wants is to find himself in the same room as him, and especially take the risk of the blond seeing him. It would be so humiliating, please don't. Anything but that.
Yet, just a few hours later, he finds himself in downtown, surrounded by his friends, looking for the concert hall. If Izuku could, he'd flee to another country, far, far away from this concert and Kacchan. Why does he have to be in this position? Why can't his friends let him listen to his own music alone instead of dragging him to concerts?
“- Stop making that face Zuku’, he's not going to see you. The hall is big and we'll be in the back. Just enjoy the concert,” Himiko tries to comfort him.
- But you know very well why I don't want to go.
- And it's a stupid reason, she tells him. You'll see, everything's going to be fine.
- I hate you.
- We all know that's not true,” retorts Shouto a few steps ahead of them.
Himiko takes hold of Izuku's arm to comfort him as they approach the hall. At the entrance, a huge queue has already formed. Sometimes Izuku forgets just how famous the band Dynamight has become; they fill entire halls all over the world and have millions of fans. A hint of jealousy appears. He was their first fan, listening to them on Muscialy when they didn't even have 10 views. He's the one who gave Kacchan the idea. It's also what drove them apart. No, he mustn't think that. Kacchan is happy doing this, he should be happy for him.
In the dressing rooms, Katsuki hangs around on his phone waiting for the concert to start. Without realizing it, he finds himself once again watching videos of skaters, one in particular.
“- Still watching videos of the love of your life? exclaims Mina Ashido, the band's bassist.
- Fuck you, Racoon Eyes.
- When are you going to contact him again?
- Shut up.
- Always the kind word,” she giggles, slumping down beside him. Seriously, you've been hooked on this guy for years, it might be time to make the first move, right?
- Go to hell, you know very well how it fucking ended.
- So? It's not the same situation and you know it.
- Damn, go away, I don't want to talk about it.
- If you say so.”
The stage manager's voice is heard telling them that it's almost time for them to go on stage. Katsuki stands up and picks up his guitar on the way. He's the band's lead singer and second guitarist. He fucking loves music. At every concert, adrenaline rushes through his body, making him feel like he could do absolutely anything. Music is like one of his limbs, he couldn't live without it. It vibrates inside him all day long, and he's constantly coming up with ideas for melodies and lyrics.
As the lights go down in the room, the screaming begins. The band takes the stage. First Denki Kaminari on drums, followed by Jiro Kyoka on keyboard, then Eijiro Kirishima on guitar, Mina Ashido on bass and finally Katsuki Bakugo. The music fills the room immediately, and Katsuki's voice roars through the speakers.
For an hour, Dynamight play a succession of songs, interspersed with speeches by the band members. At the back of the room, Izuku Midoriya can't take his eyes off the blond
in front of him. Kacchan is in his element, shining with a thousand lights. Izuku's heart is too fragile for that. He's so handsome and talented, it should be forbidden.
Himiko shouts the lyrics, while Shoto and Iida dance to the music. Izuku just gasps and can't do anything. As the lights come back a little for Katsuki's speech, a strange feeling comes over Izuku.
“- How you fucking doing tonight?” He yells to the crowd, who respond in kind.
He sweeps his gaze around the room, and that's when Izuku's stomach churns. He's seen him. Sooner the thought crossed his mind than the blond was already looking elsewhere. Maybe he hadn't, maybe he'd misinterpreted. Please let Izuku be wrong. Still, he feels as if he's burning in place.
“- We're going to play a song I wrote many fucking years ago. We've never really played it, because I promised one person I'd play it the first time in front of him. And I think that fucking day has come. Goddamn, I hope you know it's for you.”
The first chords begin as Izuku's blood runs cold. No, this can't be that song. It can't be it. Kacchan wrote it for him before this happened. And he's never been able to listen to it since, it hurts too much.
“- I wanna be your vacuum cleaner, breathing in your dust. I wanna be your Ford Cortina, I will never rust. If you like your coffee hot, let me be your coffee pot. You call the shots babe, I just wanna be yours.”
The words went straight to Izuku's heart, bringing him back to his brothel room that evening years ago. Kacchan was sitting on his bed gently strumming his guitar, singing softly, afraid to break the moment. The words he spoke lodged themselves in the skater's head and a big smile stretched across his freckled face. It's the most beautiful thing he's ever been allowed to hear, and Kacchan wrote it for him. Only for him. Izuku feels himself about to explode with love for the man in front of him.
“- Secrets I have held in my heart are harder to hide than I thought. Maybe I just wanna be yours, I wanna be yours, I wanna be yours. Let me be your 'leccy meter and I'll never run out. Let me be the portable heater that you'll get cold without. I wanna be your setting lotion, hold your hair in deep devotion. At least as deep as the Pacific Ocean. I wanna be yours.”
He had promised not to perform this song without him. Because it was only meant for him and he wouldn't want anyone else to hear it if Izuku wasn't there. Yet Kacchan is singing it, here in this packed concert hall, in front of thousands of people. The blond couldn't be clearer than that, he knows Izuku is here. And he dedicates to him the love song he wrote to Izuku when they were in high school, filled with love and hope for them both.
Without realizing it, tears roll down his cheeks. And Kacchan drives the knife even deeper into the gaping wound by echoing with another song. This time, his red pupils lock directly into the skater's green ones. Confirming that Kacchan has seen him through. Jirou's keyboard notes fill the room.
“- Same bed, but it feels just a little bit bigger now. Our song on the radio, but it doesn't sound the same. When our friends talk about you all that it does, is just tear me down. Cause my heart breaks a little when I hear your name. It all just sound like uh, uh, uh. Too young, too dumb to realize that I should have bought you flowers and held your hand, should have given you all my hours when I had the chance, take you to every party cause all you wanted to do was dance. Now my baby is dancing, but he's dancing with another man.”
Oh. Oh.
Oh.
Oh.
Izuku remembers this party very well. It was the first after their breakup, and he was in so much pain that he just wanted to forget everything. He drank so much at that party, he can't even remember how it ended. But he remembers very well Kacchan's broken look when Izuku danced for part of the evening with someone else. He wanted to make him suffer as much as he suffered.
“- My pride, my ego, my needs and my selfish ways, 'cause a good strong man like you to walk out my life. Now I never, never get to clean out the mess I made, and it haunts me every time I close my eyes. It all just sounds like uh, uh, uh, uh. Too young, too dumb to realize that I should have bought you flowers and held your hand, should have given you all my hours when I had the chance, take you to every party cause all you wanted to do was dance. Now my baby is dancing, but he's dancing with another man.”
Why does it hurt so much to hear him sing this? Yet it was Izuku who ended their relationship, so why does it hurt so much even after so many years?
“- Although it hurts, I'll be the first to say that I was wrong. Oh, I know I'm probably much too late to try to apologize for my mistakes, but I just want you to know. I hope he buys you flowers, I hope he holds yours hands, give you all his hours when he has the chance. Take you to every party cause I remember how much you loved to dance. Do all the things I should have done when I was your man. Do all the things I should have done when I was your man.”
Izuku never saw this person again after that evening. He hasn't even had a serious relationship since Kacchan, because no one has ever been able to make him feel the way the blond made him feel. It's always been Kacchan, ever since they were kids. Why had the blond never told him all this? Why? Why now?
Izuku quickly wiped away his tears as the lights came back on, signalling the end of the concert. There's no way his friends are going to see him like this. A little shakily, he excuses himself and hurries out of the hall. He needs air. He needs air now.
Kacchan refused to go public with him, not wanting to spoil his perfect image for the band. His manager refused. And for all Izuku's love for him, it was becoming a burden on his shoulders. Constantly having to pay attention when they were around each other, all the moments missed because of it. It was all too much. Izuku needed these moments, needed Kacchan by his side. But Kacchan completely refused. The suffering was such that Izuku put an end to their relationship, he couldn't stand it anymore.
And now Kacchan was telling him in front of thousands of people what he had hoped for years ago? Breathless, he finally reached a small, empty aisle at the back of the hall. Squatting to the ground, Izuku bursts into tears. No, this is too much. He can't do this to him, not now. Izuku can't afford to be broken into a million pieces again. Not today, not now. He has a competition tomorrow. He's got to win. But he can't stop thinking about Kacchan. His words. His eyes staring back at him throughout the song, of the glimmer of hope that shone there. No. No. He can't go back. He can't go back to that relationship.
Yet the only clear thought piercing the fog of his brain is that maybe Kacchan wants to start all over again. No. That's impossible. It must just be a coincidence.
“- Oi, are you okay?” exclaims a voice to his left.
He doesn't even have to look up to see who it belongs to. Kacchan. What's he doing here? Why is fate so relentless? Why is this happening?
“- Ka-Kacchan,” he bellows.
- Deku? Is that you? Shit, are you okay? Are you hurt? Fuck.
- Why?” Izuku asks between sobs.
Katsuki freezes. The man he's loved for years is there, in front of him. Crying. And all Katsuki can think about is how much more handsome he's become. In all these years, Deku has become a real man. His athletic muscles are visible even through his shirt, his jaw has become squarer. It takes the blond's breath away, making him realize how much he's missed out on because of his fucking teenage stupidity.
“- Why what?
- Why now? Why are you doing this to me, Kacchan? Izuku continues, rising to his full height.
- Deku, I... Shit, you're fucking catching me off guard.”
Katsuki wants to tell him so many things, but the words get tangled.
“- I don't even know why I came, I'd better go,” blows the skater.
- No!” screams Katsuki, grabbing his arm. Please don't! Please stay. I...What I sang, I mean it, damn I still mean it. I was a stupid fucking teenager who thought what his idiot manager said was necessarily the best thing for the band. But I've grown up, I've fucking changed Zuku'. Please believe me.
- Why now, Kacchan? You had years to make a move, but you never did. Why then?
- I don't fucking know. I guess I was afraid, afraid that you'd forgotten me. That you'd moved on. I was fucking terrified, you know. So when I saw you in that fucking crowd, I thought maybe, maybe I still had a chance. And fuck Deku, you don't know what it felt like to see you there. I took my fucking chance and told you what I've never been able to do before. I'm sorry for everything, I'm so sorry.”
His voice cracks at the end of his sentence. He's been wanting to tell him for years, wanting to see him again. And now this moment has arrived. He can't let him go, he has to tell him everything. Even if his fucking pride takes a hit.
“- Kacchan...
- I love you, okay? I'm still madly in love with you. Shit, I've never stopped. You're the only one in my thoughts, the only one I want in my life. The last few years were fucking torture, but I didn't want to hurt you again. So I preferred to watch you fly from afar. You're so fucking beautiful when you fly, Deku. I beg you, at least give me another chance.”
Chaos. That's how define what's going on in Izuku's head at this moment. Too much information in such a short space of time. Did he really hear what Kacchan just told him? Does he still love him? It's not a dream this time? Is it real? But how? How can it be? Izuku scans the blond's face for any answer, but he stares at him so expectantly that it hurts. And without really realizing it, Izuku grabs Kacchan's face with both hands and presses his lips against his. God, he'd missed this. The taste of strawberry, Kacchan's favorite fruit, is still there. It's like finally being able to breathe after too much apnea. Izuku feels as if he's coming back to life after years.
Katsuki deepens their kiss and pulls Deku closer to him. He feels as if he's dreaming. Izuku is kissing him, right here, right now. It feels so fucking good.
Breathless, Izuku pulls away a little.
“- Me too, he murmurs. I still love you too, Kacchan.”
In a burst of uncontrolled happiness, Katsuki seizes the skater's lips in a new kiss, a kiss worth a thousand words.
“- Give me another chance, please, Kacchan whispers between kisses.
- I'd give you the world, and you know it”, replies Izuku.
The next day, Katsuki finds himself in the front rows to see Deku take off once again on his skateboard. The sun lights up his whole body, making him look like a god from Katsuki's point of view. He's so beautiful it takes his breath away. After a few minutes, his run comes to an end, placing him in first place. Katsuki can't prevent a cry of joy from escaping his mouth and rushes after the man he can now call his boyfriend. Not caring about the people around him, he lifts Deku into the air and spins him around. The skater's laughter echoes and it's the most beautiful melody Katsuki has ever heard in his life, and yet he's a musician.
“Kacchan! Release me, laughs the green one in his arms.
- Never let go. I want everyone to fucking see how damn good my boyfriend is. Oi suckers, Izuku fucking Midoriya is the best!" he yells.
Without further ado, the two boys kiss as if their lives depended on it. An explosion of happiness spreads through their veins and out into the world. They can finally look and listen to each other without hiding, they can now see each other shine with their own eyes.