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Katsuki and Izuku have been roommates for a while. It’s what made the most sense, really. After the war, they had grown inseparable, so they decided to spare themselves the trouble of getting their own apartments and went straight to sharing one from the get-go. They knew they’d spend every day at each other’s houses, anyway.
Ever since the first week, they developed a habit of always brushing their teeth together. Katsuki doesn’t even remember what started it, but it’s somehow become an unspoken rule. It doesn’t matter if the other is all the way on the other side of the house, cooking, or speaking on the phone. If one of them yells “teeth!” the other must leave whatever he’s doing and respond to the call.
It makes the process of getting ready for bed all the more domestic, and Katsuki secretly loves it— even if it tugs on his heartstrings just a little too much. Lately, he’s found himself wishing it wasn’t just the getting-ready part of the deal he got. He wants the getting-in-the-same-bed part, too.
Izuku is now telling Katsuki about something random that happened to him on patrol, something about a little kid, or a grandma, or maybe a stray cat. He’s not really paying attention.
It’s such a ridiculous scene, honestly, Izuku’s words all muffled by the toothbrush, foam and spit escaping from his mouth and falling all the way down his chin. Katsuki thinks he should be disgusted, but he isn’t. Not in the slightest.
“Ahnd thenh tghe kith lgooks ath me andg saysh: Hero Dekuhg ish sho coolh,” Izuku tries to say around the toothbrush. Katsuki tries not to snort.
Izuku can’t ever keep his mouth shut, not even with a toothbrush in his mouth and toothpaste foaming at his lips, apparently. Katsuki’s heart aches at the image, fondness too great to even fit inside his chest.
He knows he should be used to it by now, it happens every single time, after all, but there’s only so much longing Katsuki’s poor, battered heart can take.
He’s barely even listening to what Izuku is saying now, completely focused on his cute little pout around the toothbrush, the small trail of toothpaste almost reaching his neck, and his plush, wet lips moving this way and that.
It’s an internal battle he’s grown accustomed to fighting, ever since their days in the dorms. The pull towards Izuku, the want, the yearning. Katsuki can’t help but marvel at everything Izuku does— the calm, gentle demeanor he slips into when they’re alone, his cute little antics, the effortlessly captivating rhythm he brings to every little thing he does.
Katsuki absentmindedly spits and flushes, letting out a soft “hmh,” as if he’s listening to him at all, his eyes never leaving Izuku’s mouth reflected in the mirror.
Izuku spits into the sink after him. “Anyway, so that’s what happened. Isn’t it weird, Kacchan?” he asks, blindingly aiming for the towel as he raises his eyebrows and looks at Katsuki’s face in the mirror, expecting a reply.
Katsuki just stares at him through it, his gaze narrowing on a small bubble of toothpaste resting on Izuku’s lower lip.
“Yeah, nerd,” Katsuki replies absentmindedly, unable to resist it any longer. “It’s very fucking weird,” he says as he finally closes the distance between them, losing that never ending battle and pressing his mouth to Izuku’s inviting, foam-covered lips. He can taste the lingering toothpaste on them, and he does so as he swallows Izuku’s soft gasp of surprise like his life depends on it.
And again, it should be disgusting— his first kiss tasting of peppermint, swapping foam instead of spit— but Katsuki couldn’t care less, because Izuku is eagerly kissing him back. He’s dropped the towel in favor of grabbing Katsuki’s pajama tank top, his other hand sliding up to cradle the back of his neck.
Izuku’s mouth devours him hungrily, and Katsuki briefly wonders if Izuku’s been waging the same war all these years. He smirks into the kiss at the thought, and presses his body against Izuku, pushing him against the counter. Izuku hums and accepts it, like he’s always accepted everything Katsuki’s given him. Katsuki feels high with the sensation, his chest heavy with the emotions he’s been trying to keep lodged inside himself for too long.
They inevitably break for air, and suddenly, the spell is broken, and Katsuki is very much aware of what just happened.
Izuku is blushing, looking at him as if waiting for the answers to all his questions, as if he holds the truth to every secret— as if Katsuki has any clue what to say at all, after what he’s done.
His only answer is to clear his throat and look away, letting go of Izuku’s t-shirt along the way.
But Izuku boldly grabs his arm, refusing to let him slip away. They seem to be having a conversation through their eyes alone.
“Kacchan,” he finally whispers, gently but nervously tugging Katsuki closer.
Katsuki lifts his gaze, bashful as he’s ever been. His sudden boldness is gone, and all is left is rawness and fear.
But then Izuku smiles at him, lovingly, as if he understands with just a look. “It’s okay,” he says, his voice trembling a bit.
And Katsuki loves him so much. His love for Izuku has always been too great, all-encompassing. The fear of losing him, of change, remains strong on the back of his mind, but his desire is stronger.
So Katsuki crashes their lips together once more, his hands reassuring, touching everywhere they can. “I love you,” he says after, resting their foreheads together and softly cradling Izuku’s head. “I’m scared as fuck, but I love you. Have for a long time.”
Izuku gently places his hand on Katsuki’s, pushing them even closer. “I love you too, Kacchan,” he says, the tremor in his voice now gone. And Katsuki feels a sudden pang of guilt at the greediness that brews inside him, because for as close as they are, he wants to be closer. He always wants more, when it comes to Izuku.
“You don’t have to be scared,” Izuku says, pulling Katsuki from his thoughts, his words soothing like a balm. He pecks him on the lips and smiles, and Katsuki can still taste a lingering hint of toothpaste on him. "We’ll be alright,” he states, as if it’s the easiest, simplest thing in the world.
And Katsuki believes him, because how could he not?