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“Ready to go nerd?”
“Almost done, Kac- er. Dynamight!” The near slip turns the tips of Izuku’s ears pink, Kacchan’s laughter booming up from the ground below.
For some reason, despite constantly referring to Kacchan as Dynamight to his students, Izuku keeps almost letting the old childhood nickname slip while out on patrol. It’s innocent enough, it’s not like they have secret identities to protect, but he really wants to try and be professional. He’s only been back in the field for a few months as a part-time hero and while everyone is telling him he’s got nothing to prove, he can’t help but feel like…well…
Eight years is a long time.
People still know who he is, of course. There’s statues of him all over Japan alongside the rest of his classmates. He’s got merch and sometimes he’ll still get calls from reporters looking for a new scoop or to get him to sit for a documentary. It feels unearned in a lot of ways, though he’s not discrediting the part he played or the sacrifices he had to make.
It just feels like hero Deku was someone else, someone he barely got a chance to be.
Izuku Midoriya, a teacher at U.A, had still had an active hero license despite being mostly retired. He had to keep it up to date to be able to teach the hero course and sometimes he’d even get asked to do consults on big multi-agency missions much like All Might used to after his own retirement. He was never far from the world of heroes, but he never thought he’d actually be out here again, with Kacchan and the others.
Then All Might presented him with the suit.
His chance to be Deku again.
For real.
Shaking his head he sets his expression with renewed determination and focuses on helping to lower the bound villains down onto the street below. His new suit’s version of blackwhip works remarkably well and even kind of looks similar with a soft green outline. It’s a lot more versatile than Uravity’s grappling wires, containing some form of nano technology that he’s slowly having Hatsume explain to him. He’s able to hold the villains bound together and lower them at the same time, and when he’s done he can retract it back into his gauntlets.
Once the villains are on the ground, and he’s sure the police have them in official custody, Izuku lets himself drop from his perch. The suit reacts instantly and his descent is slowed until he’s hovering a few feet from the pavement.
Right in front of Kacchan.
“Tch, showoff.” Kacchan smirks, face smeared with the kohl he uses around his eyes and soot from his explosions. He’s shoved his mask up into his hair and Izuku can’t help but feel like he’s the most beautiful man he’s ever seen.
“Says the biggest showboat in the rankings.” Izuku teases, meeting Kacchan’s smirk with a bright smile of his own.
“Fuck off.” Except Kacchan is laughing, so there’s no bite to his words. He reaches up, grabbing at the collar of Izuku’s cape, tugging him closer. “Are you done? Can we go?”
“Why are you in such a hurry?” He chuckles, head shaking, “You spend all your time pestering me to take time off classes to go on patrol with you and now that I’m here you’re cutting it short.” He lets his feet finally touch the ground, though he’s still not entirely used to the little jolt that happens when the propulsion system cuts off. It makes him stumble a little, but Kacchan is quick to steady him.
“Yeah, and it’s even harder to get time off that fucking lines up.” Kacchan huffs, flicking him in the forehead and grinning when it makes Izuku squawk indignantly. “Now hurry the fuck up. We’ve still got paperwork to get done before we can leave.”
Together they spend a few moments talking with the lead officer on scene. It had been a simple robbery attempt for the most part and the criminals involved had had relatively straight-forward quirks. Nothing catastrophic and they’d managed to keep the fight contained so that property damage was at a minimum. With no injuries reported all they had to do was exchange some identifying information for official reports and then Kacchan was grabbing Izuku’s elbow and dragging him away from the scene.
“Bye!” Izuku waved, “Thank you so much for all your hard work!” He called out, seemingly content to just let Kacchan haul him along.
“Kiss ass.” Kacchan scoffs, shoving Izuku’s head down and ruffling his curls.
“Kaccha- Dynamight!” He swats Kacchan’s hands away, cheeks pink and his smile wide, “We have to be respectful of the police! As heroes we’re meant to support them, not replace them.”
“Yeah, yeah. Don’t fucking lecture me, nerd. I’m not one of your damn brats.” He swung an arm across Izuku’s shoulders, lengthening his stride so that Izuku had to scramble to keep up. “Now hurry up. We’ve got places to be.”
----
Back at Mirko’s agency they settled inside of Kacchan’s office to fill out their paperwork. Mirko didn’t really have sidekicks but she’d taken Kacchan on after Best Jeanist’s retirement. Since it was really just the two of them, some support staff, and other freelance contract heroes like Izuku- Kacchan got to have his own space.
It was small but Kacchan only ever spent time in here when he needed to file paperwork so it did its job. He’d had another desk moved in so that Izuku could have a place to work on the days he came in.
Izuku had told him it wasn’t necessary. The second desk, even wedged up against Kacchan’s, made the room infinitely smaller. It seemed a waste to take up so much space when he was only here three or four times a week. He’d have been happy using the workspace all the other freelance heroes used, but Kacchan wouldn’t let him hear the end of it.
Normally, it takes them hours to fill out even the simplest reports. Put them in a room together lately and they’re kids again, throwing things at each other and laughing at something stupid.
It’s something Izuku never thought he’d have…especially with Kacchan.
After the war, after losing OFA and becoming quirkless again, it felt like something inside of him broke. He was still determined to keep moving forward, to keep smiling, but it got harder as time went on. The embers faded and his guilt over failing to truly save Tenko had weighed on him more than he’d realized. He’d spent a lot of his final days of high school with a growing sense of dread at his impending graduation. Where once the prospect had felt thrilling all it represented now was uncertainty. What was his life going to look like now? If he couldn’t be a hero…then what?
Slowly, he’d started to set his dream aside. Distancing himself from his friends and focusing on keeping the smile on his face no matter how much it hurts. Teaching hadn’t been an immediate alternative, and it had in fact been Principle Nezu who’d singled him out during graduation to make the suggestion in the first place. Offering to have UA cover the costs of his continued education so long as he returned to teach once he’d finished. By then OFA had flickered out midway through his third year and Izuku was trying not to panic at the realization that he had no clue what he’d do when he finally finished the hero course.
Accepting hadn’t been easy, it felt like officially putting his dream to rest, but it had brought relief. He really did enjoy teaching…at first, anyway. In time his life had become something repetitive and dull, happy to help the next generation of heroes find themselves, and yet watching his former classmates live up to all their potential with an ache in his chest. In time his laughter and smiles felt strained and performative.
Through all of it, Kacchan was there.
But it wasn’t like this.
There had been a weight between them. Laughter and playfulness was rare- Kacchan was always so tired and Izuku didn’t fare much better. Whatever moments they got to themselves outside of Kacchan’s visits to his classroom for demonstrations, was spent in mostly subdued silence in one of their apartments.
Of all his friends Kacchan had seemed the busiest and yet…he made the most effort to see Izuku. Every single day. Even if only for a moment. Even if it was just through a video call. Kacchan always put in double, sometimes triple the effort to maintain their tentative friendship.
Finding out about the suit...well…
Suddenly all those hours Kacchan spent working, the exhaustion he wore like a second skin, had made sense. To think that all those years Kacchan had been organizing a project worth millions- perhaps even billions, just to give Izuku his dream back.
It has only been a few months since he’d received the suit. In that time, as he’d trained how to use it, the weight between them had melted away. With the suit completed Kacchan wasn’t so tired and his enthusiasm at being able to spar with Izuku again was as infectious as it had always been. They fell into a pattern that felt old and new all at once. Childlike, like the friendship they’d had at the start, but with a depth they’d only just started to touch at UA.
Even with their uneven schedule they managed to grow closer and Izuku, when he’d been ready to step back into the world as Deku, had Kacchan right beside him. He might not have been able to dedicate all his time to being a hero, but getting even these short glimpses into that life fed a new ember in his chest. One that he hadn’t realized had been snuffed out alongside OFA.
Laughter came easier, smiles felt less like paper masks. He could sit at the desk across from his childhood best friend and feel genuine joy as they tossed wadded up notes at each other like kids in a rowdy classroom.
It was…nice.
Much to Izuku’s disappointment, Kacchan seems especially determined to accomplish their work at a reasonable time today. He shuts down any attempts Izuku makes to play around and ignores his very justified pouts.
“Focus, idiot!” Kacchan swats at his hand when he tries to reach over to snatch something off the other hero’s desk. “Stop wasting time! I don’t want to still be in the fucking car at three in the morning.”
“Aww, c’mon Kacchan…” He reaches over again and this time manages to actually grab Kacchan’s pen. “We’ve got time! There’s no rush, the mountain is still going to be there whenever we get there.”
Kacchan growls, standing up so he can reach over and swat at Izuku with a folder. “That.” Swat. “Is.” Swat. “Not.” Swat. “The point.” Swat. Swat. Swat. Any effect he’d hoped to have was cancelled out by Izuku’s squealing laughter, tears streaming down his cheeks.
“Alright! Alright! Ow ow- Mercy!” His squeals turned into shrieks as Kacchan tossed aside the folder in favor of grabbing Izuku by the cheek and shaking him. It didn’t hurt, not really, and Izuku was still laughing, but he could behave.
Maybe.
Kacchan releases him with a huff, falling back into his chair and grumbling under his breath as he digs another pen out of his desk. They’re Dynamight themed and he keeps having to order new packs because Izuku always steals them when he comes into the office.
Rubbing his cheek Izuku smirks, kicking at Kacchan’s foot beneath their desks.
The blast (mostly smoke) he gets to his face sets him off laughing for at least another ten minutes.
----
Eventually they finish their paperwork (no thanks to Izuku.) They shower and change in the locker rooms and Kacchan sends him home with a long sheet of instructions about what to pack and how. Izuku has received at least five copies of this exact paper over the weeks they’ve been planning this trip, Kacchan not really trusting him to not forget something.
It’s a fair assumption. He’s not exactly forgetful, just…easily distracted.
While he’s already packed and ready to go he accepts the list for what it is, a silent command to make sure that he hasn’t forgotten anything. So, with all the diligence he might show his new suit, he double and triple checks his bags once he gets home.
He was never much of a hiker. After they’d stopped hanging out as kids and being around Kacchan had become a 50/50 chance of getting beat up, he mostly kept to the playground. He’d still follow Kacchan around, but their day-long trips into the little wooded area by their neighborhood had dwindled to near nonexistent. They’d gone on a few trips in their third year at UA and even one while Izuku was working towards getting his teaching license, but he really only went hiking because he knew it was something Kacchan enjoyed.
It felt like a blessing to be invited along on these trips. A chance to witness Kacchan in an environment where he could truly be himself- at ease and in his element.
As much as he’d been playing around earlier he knew it was just his excitement needing an outlet. He couldn’t wait to have time alone with this special, rare, version of Kacchan again.
“You ready to hit the road, nerd?”
Ready felt like too small a word for the way he’s hopping from foot to foot on the sidewalk. Beaming up at Kacchan as the other man eyes him from over his sunglasses. Kacchan always looked insanely cool, but there was just something about the brand of confidence that came with him being behind the wheel that notched that up by a thousand.
“Ready!” He was already scrambling for the trunk even before Kacchan popped it open. Tossing his well-worn yellow backpack and sleeping bag next to Kacchan’s far more professional looking camping gear.
“Sure you have everything?” Kacchan peeked at him through the rear view mirror, one finely sculpted eyebrow arching up towards his hair. Giving Izuku’s enthusiastic thumbs-up a skeptical look. “Used the bathroom? Final warning. If you make me pull over before we’ve even left the city I’m leaving you on the side of the road.”
Rolling his eyes, and holding the trunk partly open so Kacchan could see that he was sticking his tongue out at him, “Yes, I’ve gone to the bathroom.” As soon as he saw Kacchan opening his mouth to retort he slammed the trunk closed, cutting him off. Chuckling to himself as Kacchan’s muffled yells followed him around to the front passenger seat.
Kacchan’s car was painted in his signature colors- big and boxy, it was designed for off-roading and rough terrain and wore the dings and dents of a life well loved with pride. A graduation present from his parents, Izuku had often wondered why he’d never replaced it with something flashier, especially after he’d begun to make money as a pro hero.
Knowing that Kacchan had been saving up for Izuku’s suit put a lot of things into perspective about the life Kacchan had been living the last few years. Things that hadn’t made sense when he remembered the brash, loud-mouthed kid in middle school declaring that he’d be the richest pro hero in all of Japan. Knowing that Kacchan had set all of that aside for Izuku…it felt like too much to think about sometimes.
A thought that felt heavy with implications he wasn’t sure he was ready to try and decipher just yet.
Hoping into the passenger seat and buckling up he shot Kacchan his brightest smile.
“Tch, dork.” Kacchan tugged at the brim of his bucket hat, pulling it down over his eyes and ignoring his squawk of protest.
“Kacchan!” Hands flailing as he tries to swat Kacchan’s hand away and fix his hat at the same time. “I like this hat!”
Kacchan just laughed, starting up the car and edging them out onto the street. “Yeah, well. It makes you look like a dork.”
“You’re mean, Kacchan.”
“Yeah, and you love it.”
“Unfortunately.”
Kacchan just smirks, looking far too smug.
----
Normally, when they did this kind of thing before, they left early in the morning. Oftentimes before the sunrise. Unfortunately, Kacchan’s final shift had cut into that plan, and even with Izuku picking up some hours that day, they still didn’t get on their way until a little past noon.
Which meant they would have been arriving at Kacchan’s preferred camping site close to midnight if Kacchan was the kind of person to risk hiking in the dark.
“If it was just me I’d do it.” They’d reached the start of the trail, the place they’d have left their car if they were continuing. Only instead of getting out and starting the hike up to Kacchan’s spot, he was doing his best to make the car comfortable.
“I can handle it.” The look Kacchan levels his way seems to call him an idiot in several different languages.
Izuku doesn’t push because ultimately, the expert here is Kacchan. Izuku can barely call himself a casual hiker.
Instead they pull out the dinner Kacchan must have made the night before, if not sometime between when they got off work and when he came to pick Izuku up at his apartment. They climb up on the hood of Kacchan’s car and stargaze while they eat, talking about nothing in particular.
All the way out here the sky is clear and luminescent, more than just stars. It swirls with colors that remind Izuku of OFA and he likes to think that the vestiges are out there still watching over him.
Over all of them.
Already Kacchan has settled into the version of himself that Izuku only ever sees when they’ve left civilization far behind them. The ever present tightening of his jaw has relaxed, gaze soft, and the lines of his body lax. Even his voice sounds different, softer and less gruff, like he spends all his time straining to speak and only now does it come easy.
He’s so beautiful.
It’s not a rare thought. Izuku has had some variation of it since he was four. Kacchan is objectively a very beautiful man, but that’s hardly the reason those words always seem to crop up in his head. Kacchan was beautiful in a thousand different ways that had nothing to do with the model good looks he’d inherited from his mother. His gestures, the way he carried himself, and the drive for victory that poured from his heart, were qualities that Izuku felt belonged hanging from the walls of a museum. Kacchan was beautiful in ways Izuku had no concept for yet, even after all these years.
He doubts he’ll ever have the words. He’s no poet and his writing has always been more analytical than anything else. He could spend a thousand notebooks talking about all the technical reasons Kacchan was beautiful, but it’d only scratch the surface.
Still, he hopes that one day he can figure out how to say it all. That he gets the courage to even try.
Until then he says what he always does, letting the ‘I love you,’ curl around each letter and drape across his tone, turning his voice soft and tender. “Kacchan, sugoi…”
“Tch, nerd.” And maybe he imagines it, the matching fondness in Kacchan’s voice, but for now he smiles and lets himself tilt into Kacchan’s orbit. His eyes close as an arm is thrown around his shoulders, tucking him securely against Kacchan’s side, a soft smile on his lips.
For this one shining moment, he lets himself think that maybe, just maybe, he’s the luckiest man in the world.
-----
They rise before the sun the next morning, have breakfast, and set off as the first rays of light peek over the horizon.
Izuku has been with Kacchan on this trail before but Kacchan still slows his pace down for him. Never letting himself get too far ahead and stopping to hold a low hanging branch out of the way or reach out a hand to help Izuku up and over an obstacle.
It had surprised him the first time Kacchan invited him out on a hike. He was so used to Kacchan's particular brand of tough love. The compliments and advice coated in a thin layer of insults and angry goading. He'd been expecting to get driven up the mountain like he was training for battle.
What he'd gotten instead was a rare glimpse into a version of his childhood best friend that left him winded in ways unrelated to the strain of exercise. Even now, with a handful of similar hikes under his belt, Izuku couldn't help the way the air whistled out of him any time he so much as looked at Kacchan. The easy smile on his face, the way the sunlight caught in his hair or flashed in his eyes, the soft cadence of his voice. Carrying without risking disruption of the natural world around them.
For someone who seemed so…urban. Everything about Kacchan felt flashy and stylish. His clothes, his looks, and even the way he carried himself. Looking at him you couldn't help but feel like he belonged on a bustling city street.
Izuku knew better now.
Kacchan's element was the wilderness. He thrived in overgrown forests and steep mountainsides, pushing through undergrowth and digging his fingers into sharp rocky crevices.
There was rock dust in his hair and scuffs in his boots. Dirt under his fingernails and holes in his too-big shirt. He was quiet and subdued but still so, so very Kacchan. Handsome features split into a devilish smirk that turned all of Izuku's insides into putty. Words as harsh and explosive as ever even if they were delivered in a tone that rumbled through Izuku's veins like distant thunder.
The climb to Kacchan's spot wasn't especially long, but it was tedious, and they spent most of it in companionable silence. Kacchan had gifted him a field journal of sorts, something bound in leather with thick expensive paper for Izuku to write and sketch things in. It was far more durable than his regular analysis notebooks and already over half full from their last hike.
Which, looking at the date on the last page, had been right after he'd lost One For All.
He remembered that hike.
It was before graduation, before he'd gotten the offer from Nezu to go into teaching. At the time he'd felt like the future he'd been holding so dear to his heart had just shattered in his hands. He'd even considered dropping out of UA entirely, certain that it would feel like some cosmic joke to get his hero license when he didn't have any hope of actually being one.
For all that he'd wanted to believe someone could be a hero without a quirk, he'd grown so used to the feeling of One For All flowing through his veins that its loss had felt genuinely crippling.
Kacchan wasn't there when the embers faded, but he'd known anyway.
Despite loads of coursework and their finals coming up he'd asked permission for them to take a week and planned a trip to this very same mountainside. He'd gifted Izuku with this journal while they'd been unloading their things from the car and barked at him to take extensive notes, just in case he ever felt like hiking without Kacchan there to guide him.
The idea was impossible, absolutely unheard of, but not a reason to turn down such a precious gift. He could never see himself coming out here without Kacchan, not when half the beauty was seeing Kacchan so at ease with himself.
Even today, with all the grumbling he'd done about leaving so late yesterday, there was no rush to their movements. They took the winding path through trees and up small rocky outcroppings at a leisurely pace. Any time Izuku's eyes caught on something- a bug, a flower, the pattern of sunlight as it peeked through the leaves, Kacchan would stop and lounge with his eyes closed while Izuku muttered and sketched in his journal.
Being here, like this, it had helped more than he thought. Out here, away from everyone except Kacchan, it was easier to let himself crumble. He could finally feel what losing One For All meant to him. Not just the loss of a quirk, or All Might's legacy. Not even just the loss of his dream and the uncertainty of his future.
Izuku had clung to Kacchan and cried for the vestiges. These people who'd been a part of his soul, who'd helped and trained him. He'd cried for Tenko and Tomura, the villain he couldn't save and the boy buried deep inside of him asking so desperately for help. Mostly though, he'd cried because Kacchan was crying- because he could remember that moment in the hospital and the way Kacchan had crumpled for Izuku.
Kacchan had promised that Izuku would be a hero, and Izuku believed him.
----
When they arrive at the campsite it's well past afternoon. Kacchan is almost militaristic in his efficiency when it comes to setting up their campsite. Izuku knows most of what's expected of him but he still scrambles to follow orders when Kacchan barks at him. They build their tent, unpack their sleeping bags, and set up the cookware so Kacchan can get dinner going once they've gotten settled.
It's familiar and Izuku talks about nothing and everything the entire time. Filling the semi-silence of the outdoors with his ramblings, confident that even if he doesn't seem like he's paying attention Kacchan is always listening.
"What's for dinner?" A pleasant exhaustion has him crumbling into the foldout chair set by the little outdoor cooking stove Kacchan is diligently tending. Whatever is cooking smells delicious and it makes the onigiri they'd had for lunch feel like air and empty promises in the pit of his stomach.
"Beef curry." Kacchan glanced up, smile twitching with the threat of a smirk. "Don't worry. I went light on the spice this time."
"I threw up one time!"
"Yeah, and it was gross and a fucking waste of good food!"
"Whatever." His arms cross over his chest, sinking further into his chair. "Is it almost done? I'm starving."
Kacchan snorts at him, rolling his eyes before focusing back on the pot he's stirring. After a moment he shakes his head, "Think it needs a little more time." He nods towards the bag he'd packed all their food in. "There's a bag of those damn hero chips you like in there. Have at it."
"Really?!" He shot out of his chair so fast that it toppled over and crumpled into itself. The chips were right on top the moment he opened the bag, as if Kacchan had known beforehand Izuku would be asking for them.
Though that's not what makes him scream.
"KACCHAN!" He grabbed the bag, thrusting it out towards the other man and screeching again. "THAT'S YOU!!" He shook it, holding it tight enough it threatened to pop and send the chips inside spraying everywhere.
Recently the popular hero snacks had Shoto on the cover, the bags colored in a split red and blue design. He had an unopened bag as a display piece on the shelf with some of his other Shoto merch.
This bag however…oh he couldn't open it! Not when it had Kacchan in his full hero gear, palms pointed outward and glowing, that manic, battle-ready grin on his face. This was a collector's item! His first bag of hero chips with Kacchan on them! This should be shelved- no! Framed.
"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?!" He half wailed, looking absolutely betrayed that he hadn't known this in advance.
"Jesus fuck, Izuku!" Kacchan swats at Izuku's hands, brushing the bag away from his face where Izuku is currently trying his damnedest to shove it. "It's a preview! They're not out yet!"
Izuku blinked, "Oh." He drew the bag of chips back, clutching it to his chest and feeling suddenly very hot in the face. "Well- still. I can't eat these!"
"EH?! Why the hell not?!" Kacchan turns away from their dinner to glare at him. "What? You saying my flavor isn’t as good as that half-and-half bastard's?"
"What?! No!" Izuku turned his body, arms tightening around the bag of chips, like it was their child and he was shielding it from an argument. "It's my first bag. I always keep my first bag if it's someone important!"
"You little freak. Just eat the damn things! I'll get you another one."
"Kacchaan! No." He says with a surprising amount of finality despite the whine in his tone, stomping his foot for emphasis. "This one is extra important because it's Kacchan."
Kacchan groaned, rolling his eyes, turning back to the pot he was stirring.
Izuku made the mistake of letting himself relax thinking that he'd won. Fixing his chair and settling back down on it with his bag of chips on his lap.
Only to have Kacchan lunge at him from the side.
Before he could do much more than scream the bag of chips had been wrenched from his hands. "Kacchan!" He scrambled after him, trying to snatch it back while Kacchan turned away from him and extended his arms out of his reach. "Give it back!" He's practically climbing onto Kacchan's shoulders as the other man folds into himself, shielding the bag of chips from Izuku's grasping hands.
It was almost like they were little kids again wrestling with each other. He’d be laughing if he wasn’t genuinely concerned for the safety of the newest piece to his merch collection.
There was a loud 'pop' and a triumphant "Hah!" from Kacchan.
"Kacchaaaaan!" Izuku cried, slumping his full weight onto the other man. Kacchan grunted in annoyance, shrugging him off and shoving the now open bag of chips into Izuku's hands.
"There. Now eat."
Izuku's lip wobbled, tears bubbling up and then overflowing down his cheeks. Pushing the chips back at Kacchan and refusing to take them. "That was mean, Kacchan…"
"Tch. Don't cry over a damn bag of chips. I said I'd get you another one."
Izuku doesn't answer him, instead choosing to scoot himself to the side, turning away from Kacchan and sniffling. "I don't want them anymore."
"Izuku, I swear to god…"
He hears Kacchan's exasperated groan but doesn't give the other man the satisfaction of turning to look at him. Instead he squares his shoulders and huddles himself into a tighter little ball, like he used to back when they'd been kids and Kacchan started getting mean.
Behind him he could hear the rustling of the bag and the chips inside, the crunch of Kacchan eating one. The forest is silent, peaceful, with the only other noises being the crackle of the fire and the sounds of their food cooking. The air was already fragrant with all the spices and flavorings Kacchan couldn't go without, even on a trip to the mountains.
"Hey nerd," Izuku chooses not to respond, shoulders squaring higher and body angling even more pointedly away. “You don’t even want to see what card you got?” There’s an odd lilt of amusement to Kacchan’s tone that Izuku recognizes as him just barely holding back a smug grin.
He’d be lying if he said it didn’t perk his interest.
“Alright…I guess I can keep this one, huh?” A huffed chuckle, “Feels kind of narcissistic, but-”
Izuku’s head snapped up, instantly spinning around and lunging for the card in Kacchan’s hands. Kacchan doesn’t fight him, letting him swipe it from between his fingers without so much as an ounce of resistance.
Great Explosion Muder God Dynamight.
It’s Kacchan.
The card in his hands is holographic, protected inside of a sealed plastic sleeve. Kacchan is in his most recent suit, crouched down with his arms out in a pose that never fails to drive Izuku a little crazy. Taunting some unseen villain to come get him, face split into a manic grin that practically screams, is that all you’ve got? The border of the card is black with the rest of it in an orange and green gradient that’s reminiscent of Kacchan’s hero suit. Flipping the card over he’s met with stats and a basic rundown of Kacchan’s quirk and bio.
Arguably, it’s not a rare card. He’s seen this series online and he knows there’s a few alternate versions of the artwork that go for way more, but that’s not what matters right now. What matters is that it’s Kacchan’s card and Izuku finally has one.
Feeling suddenly, insanely giddy, he holds the card over his face and giggles. Legs bouncing in an effort to dispel some of his excited energy.
“Nerd.” Kacchan’s voice sounds so fond that Izuku can’t help but peek up at him. Cheeks flushing at the look on the other man’s face. His expression is so soft it twists Izuku’s stomach into knots and forces his eyes back to something safe, like the card in his hands.
“Kacchan is amazing…” He says, the only response he can think of at that moment, holding the card like it’s a precious heirloom.
“Oh? I thought you said I was mean…” A sudden jolt has Izuku squeaking as Kacchan grabs onto his chair and drags him closer.
Izuku curls around his new possession protectively, though he knows Kacchan won’t try to take it from him. “You are.” His glare nowhere near as potent when Kacchan is still looking at him with such open fondness and the laugh he gets in response makes him pout. “I’m still mad at you!”
“No you’re not.” He drops the chips into Izuku’s lap, “Now eat.”
Turning his head so he’s looking down at his lap, he doesn’t much bother trying to hide the little smile on his face. “No. I’m not.” Voice soft and far too fond, as he fishes out a chip to take a bite, and if Kacchan pulled him close enough he could lean his head on Kacchan’s shoulder…well, neither of them seem to mind.
----
The early morning sees them at the summit of this small mountain overlooking the view they’d travelled all this way for. Kacchan had dragged Izuku from their tent while the night was still heavy so that they’d reach the peak just as those first slivers of sunrise started to peek over the horizon.
By the time they’d settled on the ledge, a meager breakfast of individually wrapped onigiri between them, the sun’s rays had struck the still mirror of the lake. Like a symphony reaching its crescendo, the world exploded in warm colors. Blazing red the color of Kacchan’s eyes flared out into a gradient of orange and gold that never failed to steal the air right out of Izuku’s lungs.
“I think it gets more beautiful every time I see it…” Izuku whispers, awed.
“Yeah…” Kacchan’s voice is equally subdued.
Something in the tone of it has Izuku turning his gaze away from the sunrise, curious to see the look on Kacchan’s face, and momentarily startled when he finds that Kacchan is already looking at him.
There is no hiding the gasp that slips past his lips at the smoldering intensity of those eyes.
“Izuku…” Kacchan’s voice remains soft, quiet, meant only for him despite them being miles from anyone who could possibly hear. A soft whisper of Izuku’s name that causes a shiver to slip down his spine.
He’s beautiful.
He thinks maybe he’ll have that thought, unbidden, until the day he dies. In fact, he hopes that however many years from now his death happens, he’ll still be able to witness these moments. Though he takes his time trying to consume everything about Kacchan that he can, scanning his face like he’s trying to etch the details into the soft tissue of his brain.
He wants to remember this- Kacchan looks like the sunrise. Bathed in golds and oranges, a halo of light shining through his blond hair.
They’re so close he can feel Kacchan’s warm breath against his lips with every word he speaks. His eyes are drawn to the movement like moths, captivated by the formation of each vowel and wondering (stupidly) if the mouth tastes different depending on what it’s saying when you kiss it.
“Start a hero agency with me.”
Wait.
What?
He blinks, brows furrowing at Kacchan’s lips, like maybe he’d been trying to read them but wasn’t skilled enough for any of it to make sense. “What?” It takes way more effort than he cares to admit to tear his eyes away from Kacchan’s mouth and back to the rest of his face.
“Start a hero agency with me.” Kacchan repeats and there’s nothing in his tone except soft, gentle sincerity. No teasing, no barely restrained laughter, or even the rushed blurting of someone whose verbal filter has worn away.
He’s sure and confident, like always.
“And before you go and say anything, most of the boring shit is taken care of. I’ve done the paperwork with the commission and scouted a location. All the permits are good and I’ve even got people lined up to start working once we’re off the ground.”
Izuku’s mouth keeps opening and closing. Any words he might say coming out as a strangled noise, thoughts scattered like he’d thrown a puzzle at a brick wall.
“I’ve even got the forms filled out to be hero partners, all they’d need is your signature and we can get that process finalized too.”
“Wha-” The more Kacchan speaks the harder it is to process everything he’s hearing. An agency? Hero partners? His mind is spinning trying to find traction but Kacchan just keeps going.
“I haven’t picked out a name yet or anything, I figured you’d want to do that together and then we can sit with my parents to design a logo, maybe figure out how to get my costume to match your suit better.”
“But- but- wait.” Izuku’s hands are up, waving frantically and leaning back, trying to put some distance between them. Enough so that he could think for a minute. “Hero agency? Kacchan- I can’t- I’m. I’m not a hero-“
Before he can say anymore the soft expression on Kacchan’s face hardens and he’s got a hand firmly gripping his jaw, stopping any more words from leaving Izuku’s lips. Those familiar red eyes have gone almost murderous and Izuku has the distinct feeling like he’s in danger. “Don’t you ever fucking say that again.”
“But-“
Still clutching Izuku’s jaw, Kacchan shakes him. “Stop it. You’re a fucking hero. I don’t care if you only work at the agency one day a year. I don’t even care if it’s ours in name only and you hang up your suit tomorrow. You will always be a fucking hero.” He narrowed his eyes, “Would you tell All Might he’s not a hero now that he’s retired, huh?”
“What?! No! But that’s-“
Kacchan growled, daring him to finish the sentence, and with one of those explosive hands still on his face, Izuku didn’t think it was worth the risk.
“Kacchan…” he wrapped a hand around the other man’s wrist, gently tugging until he at least softened his grip. “Why me?” He doesn’t understand it. All their friends are heroes, great heroes. Shoto is even number two in the rankings, and that’s despite choosing not to align himself with his father’s old agency. There are so many better choices to start an agency with, to become hero partners with than a quirkless school teacher.
“Because idiot, it’s always you.” Kacchan’s hold on his face shifts, cupping Izuku’s neck so that his thumb can swipe lazily across his cheek. “Never wanted to open an agency with anyone else. Never wanted to be partners with anyone else.” He’s pulling Izuku closer as he speaks and Izuku’s body can’t do much besides obey, hopeless to fall into Kacchan’s orbit without any hope or desire of tugging himself back out. “I only want you.”
Izuku lets out a breathless little gasp at those words, a sound that’s half lost in the press of their lips.
Suddenly nothing else matters. All his worries, all his buzzing thoughts. His confusion. The world itself drops out from under them in the wake of Kacchan’s kiss.
Kacchan is kissing him.
Him.
Izuku.
He stalls for a second, long enough for Kacchan to start pulling away, before he’s surging forward like that little millimeter of distance is going to kill him. Scarred hands lifting until he can grab desperate fistfuls of Kacchan’s shirt.
Any attempts on Kacchan’s part to keep the kiss some level of chase is thrown over the edge of the cliff when Izuku hauls him down on top of him. Tugging at Kacchan’s shirt until the other man has no choice but to follow as Izuku tips backwards to lay flat, lips parting in an open invitation for Kacchan to take anything and everything Izuku has to offer.
It’s Kacchan that breaks it, pulling away with a gasp and a strangled laugh. While Izuku whimpers at the loss and tries to tug him back.
“Hey, hey. Hold on. Give me a fucking minute.” Kacchan bats his hands away, propped up over Izuku using one arm. “I didn’t think kissing you would be some horny activation code.”
“Kacchan!” Embarrassment makes his cheeks turn a sudden, vibrant shade of scarlet. Hands dropping to cover his own face. “I’m not- It’s not- I just really wanted to kiss you!”
Kacchan laughs, “Yeah, I can tell.” Tugging Izuku’s hands away from his face and placing a soft kiss on the scar beneath his eye. “But I asked you a question, remember?”
Right.
The hero agency.
“If you say no.” Kacchan brushed Izuku’s hair back from his forehead, waiting until their eyes met. “This, the kissing. Us. That stays, okay? I still want you. Doesn’t matter how.” A soft smile, “But I need you to give me a good fucking reason for saying no. None of this ‘you’re not a hero’ bullshit, and don’t think I didn’t talk to that rodent at UA to figure out if it’d even be worth asking.”
“You talked to Nezu?”
“Yeah.” Kacchan nodded, “I know you’re technically doing both right now, but running an agency is a lot more intensive than just freelancing whenever you have time off. I didn’t want to ask you if it’s not something that wouldn’t let you be a teacher, at least part-time, if that’s what you wanted.”
It’s impossible not to cry listening to Kacchan’s words. He’s honestly surprised he hadn’t started crying sooner. His voice warbled as heavy tears slid down his cheeks, “Kacchan…”
“Crybaby.” Kacchan’s voice is fond, that soft expression on his face finally becoming clear. Love. Kacchan loves him. That’s the look he always saw but could never decipher. The one expression that he could never quite read.
“What’s it going to be, Izuku?” Kacchan’s hand is on his face, trying futilely to swipe at some of the tears. “Spend the rest of our lives together. Side by side.”
Izuku hiccups a laugh, his own hands joining in the messy attempt at stopping his tears. “That sounds like a marriage proposal, Kacchan…”
“Yeah, well. It is, so.”
Izuku’s eyes widened, mouth working but no sound making it past his throat.
“I said the rest of our lives, Izuku. I meant it.”
“But- but we’re not- WE’RE NOT EVEN DATING!”
Kacchan just gives him a deadpan look, shrugging. “I’ve got the ring back at camp. Figured I’d kill two birds with one stone.”
A ring. Kacchan got him a ring.
His entire world feels like it’s spiraling. He half wonders if maybe he died in his sleep last night, or maybe he’s still in his tent and this is some elaborate dream.
Then he looks up at Kacchan and all the spinning stops. The chaos goes quiet. Kacchan who’s got a halo of sunlight in his golden hair and a fire in his eyes. Kacchan who loves him.
Kacchan who even now was holding out a piece of his dream that he’d long since buried and urging him to take it.
“Yes. A thousand times yes.” He feels breathless, eyes wide. “To everything. To Us, to being hero partners, to the agency.” He reaches up, cupping the back of Kacchan’s neck, dragging him back down, until their lips are so close each word carries the whisper of a kiss. “I want to chase you, to fight with you, to stand by your side for the rest of our lives.”
“Fucking finally.”
Izuku couldn’t tell you who pressed into the kiss first.
-----
Back at camp Kacchan digs out a little velvet box and despite Izuku’s protests gets down on one knee. ( “I’M DOING IT RIGHT.” “WHY’S IT MATTER WE HAVEN’T EVEN GONE ON A DATE YET!” “EH? WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK THIS IS THEN?” ) The ring is sturdy, almost a wedding band all on its own. Silver with orange and green stones and an etched design in the band itself.
The more he looks at it the more something feels familiar, finger tracing along the lines, following the pattern. “Wait. Is this All-Might’s golden age design?”
“Duh.” Kacchan says as if it's nothing for him to design Izuku’s engagement ring around his favorite All-Might era costume.
Surging to his feet he nearly tackles Kacchan to the ground in his desperate need for a kiss. “I love you. I love you so much!” So full of emotion he feels like climbing back up the mountain so he can scream it. Peppering Kacchan’s entire face with kisses until he’s forced to stop by a pair of firm hands on his face.
Instead of annoyance or anger, all he gets is that soft tender fondness. “I love you too, nerd. Now calm down and kiss me like a normal person.”
Izuku laughs, tipping into Kacchan’s space, eyes bright. “Okay, Kacchan.” He coos, pressing up on his tiptoes. It feels like the last eight years, all the weight he’s been carrying since the war, have finally slipped off his shoulders.
“Hey, Izuku. You’re floating.”