Work Text:
The day before the hero rankings came out was chaos.
To prepare Pro Heroes for questions from the press, they could look up their rank in their offices. Only problem— they spent most of their time on patrol, far away from any computers.
When shifts ended, they ran straight back to their agency. Many Pros wanted to talk to Izuku, kind as he was, but they cut off their conversations with him as soon as their shifts ended with a quick “bye.” Then, swoosh, they were gone.
The only person Katsuki had seen unaffected was Shoto. Then again, Shoto didn’t usually have any fucks to give, especially about hero rankings.
Izuku, however, had an extra energetic walk today. This would be his first time seeing his hero ranking; he’d been in the field for a meager three months now.
Debuts so long after the war didn’t usually start with a high ranking. Still, Katsuki rooted for him. He was so passionate, spent so much time going on photos with children, signing a fan’s notebook, or charming the press after gracefully apprehending a villain.
Katsuki was bedazzled by him, and he couldn’t imagine how anyone else wouldn’t be.
And maybe, just maybe, he felt a thrum in his chest when he thought about seeing his own new ranking. A speckle of excitement.
Maybe he cared again.
He glanced at Izuku, who was rattling about some hero theories and Quirk analysis. His green hair blew in the wind, his eyes had that sparkle. His once-empty smile was filled with joy.
His cheeks only went rosy when he was truly happy. Don’t ask Katsuki how he knew that.
Nobody had to know that he paid so much attention to Izuku he would count his freckles until he knew exactly how many he had in Winter, and how many would show up in Summer.
When the clock struck 6, as marked by the ringing of the bell tower a few streets away, Izuku turned to Katsuki with an excited grin.
“Come on, Kacchan!”
He grabbed his hand- okay, they did that now, sure, Katsuki was definitely not gay enough to give a shit - and led him down an alleyway.
The day still had to come where this meant he’d press Katsuki to the wall and-
… Katsuki was very much gay enough.
But for now, they just used the occlusion to launch themselves into the air and walk over roofs to get back to their agency. Their hands were still linked together. Katsuki should send his costume designer a gift basket for making those gauntlets of his less bulky.
Their gloves looked so similar, almost united as a pair. Katsuki had adjusted his to look more like Izuku, as a tribute to Deku, the hero who saved the world.
But then again, also as a tribute to just Izuku. Katsuki wasn’t sure if putting “just” in front of Izuku’s name should be illegal, though; Izuku was more than a ‘just’. He was his childhood friend, his best rival, so very special to him.
If he’d gone into politics, he might’ve made a law for Izuku that forbade any ‘justs’.
But running hand-in-hand over rooftops as heroes, with the setting sun warming their backs, wasn’t that bad either, not bad at all.
Because they were fast after years of training and honing their skills, it didn’t take them long to reach Bakugo’s new agency.
Izuku had already been here several times, but his eyes still widened in wonder at the chandelier made from red, orange and yellow crystals.
“So cool, like your Quirk!”
“You comparing me to some cheap rhinestones, Deku?” Katsuki quipped.
“What? No, of course not, your explosions are way cooler and- “
“Just kidding, nerd.”
Teasing Deku was so unapologetically entertaining.
The rest of the agency was decorated with hints of green and black. There was a small waiting area before the reception; the building had, like all agencies, limited access.
Katsuki checked them in, and they walked past the lunch room and the changing rooms into a small paper room, furnished with three desks placed next to each other.
The agency was only built for a limited team: secretaries; dispatchers; Katsuki’s stressed out PR agent who deserved a vacation from all of Katsuki’s crap.
But despite its limited size, his agency was made for more than one hero. It was designed for Katsuki’s dream to be alongside Izuku as hero partners.
Bye-bye, dream.
Izuku stripped off the top part of his suit, leaving him in a shirt. Then, he practically dove into one of the desk chairs, punched in the guest login code, and spam-clicked the first search engine he saw until it opened.
“Holy cow, I’m so excited!” he exclaimed, pinky repeatedly tapping against the desk.
“You don’t say.”
But his own fingers were trembling as he logged himself in and looked up the Hero Commission website, which provided access to the hero portal-
“OH MY GOD KACCHAN!”
“What?!!”
Katsuki jumped off his chair and clambered over the back of Izuku’s seat to peer over his shoulder.
“You’re fourth in the rankings?”
“YES!”
Katsuki gave a good-natured clap to Izuku’s shoulder. “I knew it was in you.”
“Now you, Kacchan!!”
Katsuki retyped his password, doing his best not to get distracted by Izuku breathing down his neck.
The page loaded for a second, which felt more like a decade to Katsuki’s frozen brain, and then Izuku started screaming.
“The neighbors! I can’t have another noise complaint, Izuku!”
“Kacchan,” Izuku shook Katsuki’s body in his chair, “you,” another shake, “ARE NUMBER FIVE! THAT’S A RECORD, RIGHT?”
“Huh?” Katsuki had heard the question about a record or whatever, but his brain still felt overloaded because how was he number five?
“… Hawks jumped from number 17 to number 6 once, I think.” was what he could say.
“Next time, we’re gonna join right behind Todoroki, Kacchan, I just know it, I am so proud of you.”
Proud.
Izuku was proud of him.
Izuku’s arms wrapped around Katsuki’s body, so he was hugging him from behind. Katsuki rested his hands on Izuku’s arms and absentmindedly caressed his skin.
He was just beginning to consider the thought of spinning around in his chair and wrapping his arms around Izuku’s waist, resting his head on his stomach, when a call came in.
“Oh fuck, typical.”
A villain robbing a jewelry store.
“Are you ready, Kacchan?”
“We better be, since we’re the number four and five heroes now.”
Izuku grinned. “Yeah, we are. Should we get dinner after?”
“I’ll cook.”
“Wow, it’s fully decorated now!” Izuku said,
Katsuki didn’t think to mention that he only now had the means. All his hero posters, plants, and throw blankets had been bought in the last seven months. He even had a built Lego set, the bonsai tree, displayed on a corner table that Kirishima had made him work on.
Sue him if it was fun and he had bought another set, which now lay half-finished in his office. He’d work on it in his next free days.
Izuku’s eyes zeroed in on the joke poster Kaminari and Sero had bought him; it displayed Hawks, with ‘Daddy’ displayed in bold red letters across the top.
“Thought it should feel more like home,” Katsuki said to Izuku. He caught Izuku muttering something about “Because daddies make you feel homey, huh?”.
No comment.
He headed over to his fridge to take out his eggs and chickens and put them on the counter.
“You wanna dress the table?” Katsuki asked.
“Sure!” said Izuku.
“Good, bottom left cabinet.”
Katsuki was excited to have someone to eat at his dinner table with. It was better than scrolling on his phone and going over the news in silence.
“Everything still good with the suit? Anything you noticed?”
“It’s perfect, Kacchan! It’s got so many possibilities and features, and it feels so seamless.”
Katsuki let himself smile. Izuku was happy, like he deserved to be. That’s all that mattered to Katsuki.
“I talked to Todoroki, he kept his ranking, I’m really, really proud of him. And Uraraka moved up five spots, so she’s in the top twenty now. I should call Iida tomorrow morning.
“You going to dinner with them, too?”
“Maybe some lunch.” Izuku fell silent. Bakugo’s gut feeling said that he shouldn’t interrupt that silence. He started to cut the egg whites and checked the simmering chicken and onions when Izuku spoke up again.
“So that night when Todoroki became the number two hero and we went out to celebrate, I panicked.”
Katsuki laughed, but his stomach felt pulled taut. He’d spent many nights staring at the ceiling, mulling over not feeling special to Izuku. He’d known how much that would hurt, but that hadn’t properly prepared him for the pain.
Like a stab in the gut. Multiple stabs.
“You panicked?” he asked Izuku.
You said that thing about treating special people like they were special, and I- I blanked. And I guess I never expressed how much you mean to me then, but the look in your eyes when you waved me goodbye was just… I couldn’t.”
Katsuki had so many questions now.
Izuku continued, “So, I ran after Uraraka that night. She’s special to me too, of course! But I’ve been thinking, and I never showed you that I found you special.
“But why didn’t you tell me? Why was it complicated?”
“You’re you.”
“You better hope so.”
“And I thought maybe you wanted a break from me after that agency talk.”
Katsuki had considered more than a break. Izuku brought up a lot of feelings inside of him, and he’d gotten too skilled at running away from himself.
If he’d run from himself, he’d run away from Izuku.
The reason Izuku hadn’t seen his apartment with decorations was that Katsuki had taken some distance, but to be fully away from Izuku seemed unbearable.
And who was he to hurt Izuku? Again.
He couldn’t punish Izuku for choosing who was special to him.
But lo and behold- now he said that Katsuki was special to him, too?
Forgive him for needing some time to adjust.
“I get it, with the agency,” he started. “You want to be free.”
“Well, I just didn’t want to be your sidekick, I want to be right next to you.”
Wait, what’d he say now?
“My fuckin’ sidekick? Who said anything about sidekicks?” he turned around, checked his simmering pan, and decided it was safe to sit down at the table next to Izuku without burning their dinner.
“You-“ Idiot, Katsuki was going to say, but he knew his communication could be improved royally, so who was he to judge Izuku for misunderstanding?
“I wanted to start that agency with you.”
Izuku’s mouth dropped open so fast Katsuki was, for a moment, afraid that it would knock the dining table to the ground with it.
Izuku took some time to recover. “Oh shit. I rejected you?”
“’S what it felt like.”
Izuku sank to the table and hid his face in his arms. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. Oh god, you must’ve thought- “
“It’s fine, Izuku, you don’t have to apologize. Think about it, though. Offer’s still open.”
“I’ll be considering it!”
“Good. We’re already right behind each other. I’ll take that four spot next, though.”
“Excuse me?! I won’t let you.”
“You better fight me on it.”
Katsuki still had questions, but he decided to let Izuku take a breather by finishing dinner and serving it.
“Oh my gosh, Kacchan, this is amazing, I’ve never had anything this good!”
“Thanks. Eat instead of talking, you’ll taste it more.”
“Mean!”
“You know me.”
They small-talked during dinner. When they were finished– Izuku took two servings, very good for Katsuki’s ego, Katsuki just plopped their empty plates in the sink to wash up later.
Usually a cardinal sin to him, leaving these household tasks, but he had to talk to Izuku.
“Move over to the couch.”
The soft cushioning and full set of All Might designer pillows might make Izuku feel more comfortable. Indeed, Izuku hugged one of the pillows in his lap.
“So, what was this about seeing the look in my eyes?” Katsuki asked.
“You’re really going to ask me to explain?”
“I am.”
“Well, maybe I’ve been seeing you and um.”
“You started holding my hand and giving me hugs at every turn?”
Izuku nodded. His eyes went wide, then narrow, then rinse and repeat. With one last twitch of his frowny eyebrows, he spoke again. “I have.”
Katsuki shuffled closer to him, “And you want to kiss me?”
“I do. Do you? I can leave if you don’t want that- “
Katsuki had wanted to eat dinner at his place precisely to give Izuku a chance to retreat and remove himself from the situation if he didn’t want to talk, but… not now.
“You could also kiss me instead of leaving.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“Really?”
Bakugo rested his hand on Izuku’s shoulder, where his thumb was just large enough to reach up to his cheek and stroke it.
“Really.”
“What is tonight?” Izuku exclaimed. His voice was all breathy now.
“Something good.”
Katsuki waited for Izuku to lean in first; their first kiss was short, a first taste.
“Good?” Katsuki whispered into the narrow space between their faces.
“Mhm, really good.” Izuku leaned in further until their chests were pressed together. Katsuki doubted even a hairpin could be squeezed in between them. Izuku fisted his hands into the fabric covering Katsuki’s arms, like an anchor.
Katsuki leaned in again. This kiss lasted longer. Katsuki was fixated on the feeling of Izuku’s soft lips against his, but he also noticed the bumping of their noses, the brush of hair against his thumb.
He couldn’t get enough of Izuku. The kiss lasted and lasted- with every brush of their lips, Katsuki wanted one more, and then one more.
Izuku pulled away, looked at him for no longer than a second, and collided with him again. He traced Katsuki’s scar and ran it over the side of his throat. Katsuki was hyperaware of where he trailed his finger, which went on to follow his collarbone and stop just below it. His other hand was in Katsuki’s hair; to Katsuki, it was like he could feel every individual strand of his hair move with Izuku’s movements.
It took them another long, long while, but then they pulled away.
“Are you sleeping here tonight?”
“If you don’t mind?” Izuku asked.
“I’d like you to stay.”
“Then I’m staying.”
“Feeling inspired, huh?” the news reporter said.
If only she knew.