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The mark on your left outer ankle represents yourself.
The other marks that’ll scatter themselves across your body represent the people you love.
Katsuki has three marks besides his own.
Izuku has too many.
Katsuki knows that Izuku can fall in love with anything, that Izuku has lost and regained marks in his life. And he knows that in the ten years he’s known Izuku, only two of his marks have stayed: his mother’s and his childhood best friend’s.
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“Bakugou! You ready to tell us how many marks you have?”
Mina leaned against Katsuki’s desk. She managed to ask him this question once a week:
“Do you have ours?”
“When will you stop fucking bothering me about that shit?” Katsuki growls.
“I just can’t believe you don’t love us! I, personally, am very lovable.”
Katsuki looks up at Mina with a scowl, which turns into a cruel smile.
“If that were the case, I’m pretty sure more people would have your mark.”
His comment earned the laughter of his other friends around: Sero, Kirishima, Denki, and Jirou, or as they like to call themselves, “The BakuSquad.”
Mina crosses her arms with a frown.
“Okay, that shit was not that funny.”
“It’s okay, Mina,” Kirishima interposes. “I have your mark.”
“Kiri, you have all of our marks,” Sero adds.
“What can I say? I love my friends.”
Katsuki rolls his eyes. He starts to tune out his friends’ chatter.
Who cares about marks, anyway? He already doesn’t like having three; as far as he’s concerned, he only likes his dad.
So, it was almost poetic when Izuku walked into the classroom. He went to his friends on the other side of the room. He laughed and spoke to them, and of course, Katsuki only cares because Izuku is one of the only people bearing his mark.
And he wears it proudly, too. He has no choice–it’s right on the back of his left hand. Despite the years the boys spent without friendship and Katsuki’s bullying in middle school, the mark never left. Katsuki doesn’t understand why. It just makes him angry to see it, and it has ever since the first day it appeared.
Class starts, and everyone settles down into their seats. Katsuki watches Izuku walk across the classroom until he gets behind him. They make eye contact, and Izuku smiles. Katsuki doesn’t frown. He doesn’t scowl, he doesn’t make any sort of ugly face.
Isuku smiles at him, and Katsuki turns away. He held his head in his hand and thought about it.
“Kacchan.”
Katsuki isn’t the type to zone out, so he was surprised by the sudden voice and someone tapping on his shoulder. He looked around to see everyone lining out the door and Izuku standing over him.
He felt passive at first, until he saw that mark on Izuku’s hand.
He kissed his teeth as he stood up, pushing past the other boy.
“Get the fuck outta my way, Deku.”
He felt Izuku watching his back as he left.
“Mina, why are you so excited about marks today?” Sero asks.
The BakuSqaud all sat around a lunch table. Mina, still not over the earlier conversation, kept talking about the “beauty” she finds in marks.
“Because!” She pauses. “Because someone has a new mark!”
“Who!?” Denki shouts.
Katsuki notices a tinge of pink appear across Jirou’s face. He rolls his eyes, but otherwise says nothing.
“It’s a secret,” Mina sings.
“Why would you tell us then?” Sero sighs.
“Don’t you just think it’s so beautiful?”
“I think you should be quiet,” Katsuki says. “Your voice is getting annoying.”
“Bakubro, that’s not nice,” Kirishima says.
Katsuki rolls his eyes.
“He’s just mad you’re the only person with his mark outside mommy and daddy,” Mina mocks.
“That’s not true,” Katsuki utters.
His response surprised even himself. He never spoke about Izuku having his mark, it’d become a bit of a taboo among the group. It surprised everyone to hear him admit it.
“...Right,” Kirishima stammers. “Midoriya has his mark, too!”
“I don’t really see why,” Sero adds. “You’re such an asshole to him.”
“Maybe he’s into that,” Jirou says.
“Midoriya?” Mina questions. She takes a glance in his direction, waving the idea away. “Nah, he’s not the freaky type.”
“It’s probably just a friend mark,” Denki says. “I mean, he has half the class on his body.”
Katsuki’s stomach churns. He hates talking about marks. He abruptly stands and starts walking away.
“Where ya going, Bakugou?” Kirishima calls.
“To take a shit.”
And, of course, that which he wanted to escape showed up right in his face.
His annoyance must have shown, because Izuku desperately avoided eye contact. The way he looked, Katsuki felt people would think he was still bullying him.
He sighed.
He tried to avoid looking, too, but he couldn’t help it. His eyes naturally wandered to that which was familiar to him. He’d seen it thousands of times, that mark and Izuku’s hand.
Sero had a point. Not even Katsuki could begin to understand it. It made his brain hurt. It bothered him to the point where he couldn’t even name his feelings.
Humans fear the unknown, and Katsuki is human. Maybe it scared him, and that’s why he hated it.
Maybe that’s why he instinctively reached for Izuku’s hand when he started to leave.
They stared thoughtlessly as both of them failed to find words. Katsuki had Izuku’s left hand and a question.
“How many do you have?”
Izuku blinked at the boy. He smiled nervously, muttering to himself as he counted.
“I just got Aoyama's recently…” Izuku murmurs. He looks at Katsuki. “Eleven. Why-”
“Including mine?”
Isuku looked a bit shocked, but smiled.
“Including yours.”
Katsuki’s face twisted. He didn’t know what he felt, what emotions that smile invoked in him. He looked at Izuku’s hand.
He’ll call it fear. Fear and disgust.
He lets go of Izuku’s hand. Izuku fiddles with his fingers as if he had something to say. His silence starts to annoy Katsuki.
“What?” the blond snaps.
Izuku flinched. He opened his mouth to answer, but gave up.
“Nothing, Kacchan,” he says.
Katsuki snarls and sighs.
“You’re fucking annoying.”
He leaves the bathroom, but he makes sure not to push Izuku in the process.
Later in the dorms, Kirishima and Katsuki were studying.
More like Katsuki would beat and berate Kirishima until he provides the correct answers.
Every now and again, Kirishim managed to get Katsuki off task for just a few seconds. It has now become his goal to figure out what he can talk about to get Katsuki the most distracted.
“Why do you hate marks so much?” Kirishma asks.
He regretted it immediately. It wasn’t as much an attempt to get off task as it was genuine curiosity, but Kirirshima prided himself on being the type of person to be respectful of his friend. If Katsuki didn’t want to talk about marks, they wouldn't talk about marks. But, considering everything that has happened today, marks just seem to be on Kirishima’s mind.
“What!?” Katsuki yells. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
“Sorry, it just came out! You always get so weird about them, you were especially off today. I was just wondering.”
“I just don’t fucking like ‘em. Never saw the point.”
“Yeah, that’s what you always say, though.” Kirishima starts to doodle in his notebook. “I think it’s more than that.”
Katsuki isn’t stupid, he knows what Kirishima is doing. But he thinks about it. Deep down, he knows the answer already, he just doesn’t like it.
“Is it like what Mina said? Are you sad not a lot of people have your mark?”
“Do I seem that fucking shallow to you?”
Katsuki smacks Kirishima with a rolled-up wad of papers, which makes Kirishima laugh.
“So, what is it, bro? Why do you really hate them so much?”
“Why do you care?”
Kirishima could tell he was pushing it. He chose his next words carefully to avoid upsetting his friend.
“Just curious, man. I’ve never seen someone hate them so much.”
Katsuki frowns. He goes quiet, looking over his notes. He holds his head on the back of his hand.
“...They’re embarrassing,” he murmurs.
Kirishima knows there’s more to that answer than that, but he was surprised to get even that out of Katsuki. He was happy, and in a way, proud that Katsuki could open up even if so little to him. He decides not to push it any further, but feels the need to leave Katsuki with peace of mind.
“I don’t think there’s ever anything wrong with loving someone. I mean, I have your mark even if you don’t have mine, and that’s okay with me.”
Katsuki looks at Kirishima’s genuine smile and thinks back to when Kirishima first showed him his mark on his shoulder. Kirishima was excited, even if Katsuki wasn’t. Kirishima never seemed upset at the notion of them not sharing each other’s marks, but it’s not like Katsuki minded either. Sure, it was off-putting, and he even felt a little pity for the boy at first, but it stopped bothering him, knowing Kirishima’s personality. It didn’t bother him like Izuku’s mark did.
Katsuki sighed and snarled. He looked angrily at Kirishima.
“The next time you try to get me off topic, I’ll blow your fucking face up, Shitty Hair! Now answer this damn question!”
“Jeez, man,” Kirishima laughs.
Katsuki realized that he was off that day, so he made up for it for the rest of the week. He made sure to be extra loud and extra rude. He ignored his classmates when they annoyed him, yelled when they annoyed him, yelled when they didn’t annoy them, made fun of them when they annoyed him, made fun of them when they didn’t annoy him.
He was being his normal self with everyone, so all but one person was oblivious to how odd he was towards Izuku.
It was normal for Katsuki to act like the boy didn’t exist, and when he did acknowledge him, it was never with positivity.
But Katsuki was different this week. He’d move out of the way for Izuku instead of pushing into him, and he didn’t laugh when he got an answer wrong in class.
Kirishima noticed it all. He didn’t say anything; he was much too excited and didn’t want to ruin the moment. But he couldn’t help but wonder what could have possibly changed Katsuki this much.
“I’d hate having Bakugou’s mark.”
The BakuSquad forced Katsuki into the living area of their dorms to play video games. Right now, Jirou and Mina were playing against each other in Mario Kart. Whoever wasn’t playing would start talking about anything, making Katsuki dread the time spent in between his turns.
Denki started this conversation.
“You said that like it was such a bad thing,” Kirishima says, attempting to keep things from escalating. He knows that once Katsuki leaves, he won’t come back.
“I didn’t mean anything by it! I mean, I’d hate to have anyone's mark, and they didn’t have mine.”
“Seriously,” Sero interposes. “That’s so embarrassing. I don’t know how you do it, Kiri.”
“It’s not all bad! I mean, you just love who you love, it isn’t transactional!”
“Preach, Kiri!” Mina exclaims.
She turns around to face everyone else, but ends up driving off the map. She curses, which makes Jirou laugh triumphantly.
“See, Mina agrees,” Kirishima adds.
“Loving someone who doesn’t love you looks so horrible,” Denki continues.
“Or, even worse,” Sero starts. “What if you shared marks but for different reasons?”
“I’d rather die.”
That was Katsuki’s last straw. He stood up, finally reaching his limit.
“This is about the most brain-dead ass conversation y’all have had yet,” he snaps.
“Wait, Bakubro!” Kirishima exclaims.
He reaches up for Katsuki, but the blond snatches his hand away.
“I’m going to my room!”
“It wasn’t like that, Bakugou,” Sero calls.
But Katsuki had already left. Kirishima sighs. He gives Sero and Denki a look of disappointment.
“You guys know he’s sensitive about that!”
Mina ended up losing to Jirou. She yells and swears before turning her attention to the boys.
“Yeah, guys, Kiri’s right. That was hella insensitive.”
“We didn’t mean anything by it!” Denki exclaims. “It’s not like I was talking about him in particular.”
“You started the conversation by saying you’d hate to have his mark,” Jirou adds.
“Yeah, I do feel kinda bad,” Sero says.
“Well, damn, I’m sorry,” Denki sighs.
“Don’t tell us, tell him,” Kirishima demands. “But later, when he isn’t so mad.”
Katsuki was fuming. He didn’t really know what about the conversation bothered him, only that he was bothered. He did notice Izuku walking down the hallway until they ran into each other.
“What the fuck?”
He looks down at Izuku and his face softens slightly.
“Sorry, Kacchan! I wasn’t paying attention.”
Katsuki’s anger went away as he stared at Izuku. He sighs.
“Sorry,” he utters.
They make eye contact, and Izuku smiles.
“It’s okay.”
“Where are you going?”
“Oh, uhm, I was just going on a run.”
“Can I come?”
“Huh?”
Izuku didn’t even try to hide his surprise. He knows Katsuki doesn't enjoy his company, he came to terms with that years ago. But he’s noticed the changes in Katsuki’s behavior towards him, too.
He didn’t mind. Izuku was always open to change, so he figured he could enjoy this one.
“Sure!”
There were no words exchanged during their run, which made Izuku nervous. Katsuki simply followed him, matching his pace and stopping when he stopped.
They’d stopped for a water break. Katsuki crouched down, and Izuku stood next to him.
“Did you ever hate having my mark?” Katsuki asked.
Izuku was taken aback. He was behooved by it all, the suddenness and the sincerity in Katsuki’s voice. He was quiet and soft-spoken, which was rare, and he didn’t look at Izuku. He stared at the ground, and he didn’t rush Izuku for an answer.
So, Izuku scrambled for one good enough for this moment and this vulnerability. He settled for the truth.
“Yeah. It never went away, though, no matter how much I wanted it to. I think it made me hate myself more than anything.”
Izuku crouches down next to Katsuki. They went silent again.
“Do you still hate it?”
Katsuki still never looked at Izuku, so he didn’t see him smile.
“No. Kinda had no choice but to get used to it since it’s right there,” Izuku laughs. “But, no, I don’t hate it anymore.”
Katsuki sighed. He shot up.
“You make me angry.”
“What did I do?”
Katsuki looks down at Izuku, nose turned up.
“You have too many damn marks.”
Izuku laughs as he stands back up, ready to run again. The silence between them was more comfortable now.
The runs became a routine for Katsuki and Izuku. The more time they spent together, the more annoying Kirishima became to Katsuki. He started to act like an overexcited mother.
They were in the dining area together. Katsuki was having lunch, and Kirishima decided it would be the perfect time to bother him.
“You and Midoriya are becoming friends again!”
“Can you shut the fuck up about that?”
“I’m sorry! I’m just happy for you!”
“I can fucking tell.”
Kirishima laughs. “Midoriya is, too, ya know. He talks about you a lot more these days.”
Katsuki knows that Kirishima and Izuku are good friends. They’d gotten close after their mission to save Katsuki from the L.O.V.. He knows that they also share marks.
“Do you really not think it’s a bad thing to match marks?”
Kirishima was surprised. Katsuki never talks about marks, and Kirishima tries not to push him. He never thought Katsuki would come to him about this.
“Nah, man! Is this about what Denki and Sero said?”
Katsuki puts his mouth in his hand to avoid answering, which makes Kirishima chuckle.
“Don’t listen to them, Bakubro, they were being idiots. Some people love and others don’t; there’s no helping that. You can’t beat yourself up over something natural, and you can’t make people love you. I can live with that, it won’t change how I feel about you or anyone else.
“What if two people share marks but for different reasons?”
“You mean like, if you loved someone as a friend but they loved you like a boyfriend? Well, that’d certainly be depressing.”
Katsuki frowns. Kirishima realizes that might not have been the right thing to say.
“But love changes! There’s no guarantee you can’t make someone love you the same way. If they already have your mark, you’re already halfway there.”
Katsuki gives Kirishima a genuine look. He starts to smile back, but then looks serious.
“This… This wasn’t your way of confessing to me, right?”
“Hah!?”
“I’m just asking!”
Katsuki was ready to yell, but something about the sincerity in Kirishima’s voice was funny. Instead, his laugh turned to a smile, and he laughed. He thought about other genuine moments he shared with Kirishima, and he realized how much he valued them. He’d realized how much he valued his friend. Kirishima laughed with him, and he left a familiar tingling right above his inner left elbow, something he’s only felt three times before.
He rolled up his sleeve and pointed his arm at Kirishima.
“This belong to you?”
Kirishima stared hard at his mark on Katsuki’s arm. His eyes start to water.
“Aw, Bakubro!”
He gets up to hug Katsuki, ignoring the blond’s denial. But Katsuki truly didn’t mind, he’d let him get away with it just this once.
Katsuki’s mark count went from three to four.
And by the next day, everyone knew.
It was Denki’s fault.
Katsuki had his sleeves rolled up. He didn’t plan on purposefully hiding Kirishima’s mark, but he didn’t care for telling. Kirishim respected that enough to not say anything until Katsuki did.
But Denki saw it.
“Bakugou, what’s that?” he exclaimed.
He tried to grab Katsuki’s arm for a better look, but Katsuki snatched it away.
“None of your fucking business!” Katsuki yells.
“Is that a mark? You never had that before!”
“Bakugou has a mark?” Mina asks.
She and Sero rushed over.
“I never thought I’d see the day,” Sero says.
“Shut up,” Katsuki demands. “I have other marks, I’m just not a damn mark obsessed idiot.”
“Well, whose is it?” Denki asks.
He tries to grab Katsuki’s arm again, but the blond doesn’t let him.
“Can you stop trying to fucking touch me?”
“We wanna see your damn mark, Bakugou!” Mina whines.
“It’s Shitty Hair’s!”
Katsuki yelled a little too loud. The entire class went silent, but no one had the context to know why Katsuki was yelling.
“You have Kiri’s mark!?” Denki yells.
He was louder than Katsuki, and that’s why everyone in class knows now.
Everyone looks back at Kirishima, who returns a sheepish smile.
“When did this happen?” Mina questions.
“Last night,” Kirishima answered.
“Hah! I knew it! Pay up, assholes!”
Sero and Denki kiss their teeth, reaching sluggishly for their bags.
“You bastards were betting on me!?” Katsuki yells.
“Maybe..” Mina whispers. “It was all in good fun.”
“That’s not nice, guys,” Kirishima sighs.
“It was only on if he’d get yours! I knew he would eventually.”
Katsuki starts to tune everyone out. He didn’t feel bothered enough to give a reaction, and they were only making him angrier by the second. He didn’t like the notion in the slightest; being bet on. Especially since it was about something about marks.
He looked around the classroom, and most everyone had gone back to minding their business.
Everyone but one person.
Izuku was looking at Katsuki with something of a disheartened look. He quickly looked away when he and Katsuki made eye contact.
Katsuki was confused. He scowled and faced the front of the classroom. His day just started, and it was already horrible.
Izuku avoided him the whole day. It pissed Katsuki off even more. When it was finally time for their daily run, Katsuki waited for Izuku by his room.
Izuku walked past with his head down, right past Katsuki, muttering away. Katsuki’s eye twitched; his anger was getting the best of him.
He grips Izuku’s shoulder and twists him around to face him.
“Am I fucking invisible?” Katsuki growls. He was trying not to yell.
“Oh, Kacchan..! Sorry…”
“Did you forget about me or something?”
Izuku looks confusedly at Katsuki. Katsuki closes his eyes and takes a deep breath to calm down. He opens them to look at Izuku with a fake and irritated smile.
“Go put your running shoes on.”
The smile and coldness in Katsuki’s voice sent shivers down Izuku’s spine. If he’d forgotten before, he’d remembered now. He rushes into his room to get ready, leaving Katsuki alone to rethink his life choices.
While they were out, Katsusuki noticed how uncharacteristically reserved Izuku was. They stopped by a bench to take a break.
Normally, Izuku would try to sit next to Katsuki and start a conversation. Today, he stood away from him.
This was Katsuki’s final straw.
He stood up and grabbed Izuku by his collar. Izuku, surprisedly, tried to break away, but Katsuki just gripped tighter.
“What the hell is your problem, Deku!?”
“N-nothing!” Izuku yells back.
Katsuki noticed the attitude in Izuku’s voice. Izuku could be very sassy when he wanted, which only got under Katsuki’s skin.
“You’re pissing me off, Deku. You’ve been like this all damn day.”
Izuku pouts a little, looking away.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he grumbles, his attitude not letting up.
“Can you quit acting so fucking passive aggressive? What the fuck is your problem-?”
“Why do you always ask me about the marks I have?” Izuku yells.
Katsuki’s grip loosens. He raises his eyebrows, taken aback by the question and the emotion behind it.
“W-what?”
“You know I still have your mark, you can see it every day! Uraraka’s, Iida’s, and Todoroki’s are visible, too!”
Katsuki looks at the two marks on his right arm and the one on his right leg. If he looks close enough, he can even see a mark poking out from his sock on his right ankle, and one on his left collarbone that he can see because of the way he’s holding his shirt. He doesn’t even know which mark belongs to what person.
Then he stares at his mark on Izuku’s hand. It is there, clear as day, like it has always been.
“Why does any of it matter to you?” Izuku continues. “I’ve never even seen a mark on you until today…”
Katsuki frowns. He doesn’t really understand, but if he’s right, Izuku must hate having his mark right now. He wouldn’t like it either. Unrequited love would hurt anyone, familiar, platonic, romantic.
Katsuki lets Izuku go. He puts his hands on his hips and stares, watching his eyes get wet. He sighs.
He takes a step back.
“Deku.”
“What?”
Izuku wipes his eyes before looking up at Katsuki.
Katsuki lifts up his shirt and adjusts his pants. On his hip is a mark Izuku had seen many times before: his mark.
Izuku looks up and down between Katsuki and the mark.
“Been here since we were five,” Katsuki says. He was quiet. “Had it well before you got yours.”
Izuku looks at Katsuki with bewilderment.
“Has it always been there!?”
Katsuki nods, “Never left.”
He fixes his clothes, covering the mark once again. He found Izuku’s face funny, but otherwise had nothing else to say.
For today, at least, he had nothing else to say to Izuku. He spoke the first part of his truth: for the past ten years, despite the way he acted, the way he treated Izuku, and their unstable relationship, he’d worn Izuku’s mark on his hip. But unlike Izuku, he wore it with some shame. He still would, even though it was very freeing to have told Izuku.
“I told her.”
It’s been three days since Katsuki’s confession. He and Izuku have been avoiding each other.
Actually, Katsuki was avoiding Izuku, but he’s much too prideful to admit it.
The entire BakuSquad was outside today, sitting on a blanket and enjoying each other’s company. They’d fought really hard to get Katsuki to join them, and he was starting to regret how soft he’s become towards his friends.
Jirou confessed to the group about gaining Yaomomo’s mark and admitting her feelings to her.
“Finally!” Mina exclaims. “What did she say? Did she have yours? Does she like you the same way?”
“Calm down, Mina,” Sero sighs. “Give her a chance to answer.”
Mina stops talking, but the excitement is clear in her eyes.
“It was on her back,” Jirou says, her face getting red. “She… she liked me, too.”
Mina and Denki squeal excitedly.
“Oh, my god, yay!” Mina exclaims.
“So, you guys are dating, right?” Denki asks.
Jirou sheepishly nods, which makes the two of them squeal again..
Kirishima and Sero laugh.
Katsuki couldn’t care less. Sure, he was happy for his friend (at least he was deep down, he’d never say that out loud). But he could have seen this outcome from a mile away. He watches his friends squeal and yell, and he starts thinking about his own marks.
His whole life, he’s only had three; they’ve never changed. Only recently has the amount increased. He hated marks so much, he’d gone crazy to see Kirishima’s appear.
But it just happened. It was natural, and it didn’t feel bad because Kirishima had his for the same reason.
He thought about why it took him ten years to tell Izuku he had his mark.
Katsuki liked Izuku the moment they first met. It didn’t take long for Katsuki to gain Izuku’s mark. Like he told Izuku, he gained the mark before Izuku gained his. That’s why he didn’t tell him at first, it was embarrassing to Katsuki even then: an unrequited love.
Why didn’t he tell Izuku after finding out Izuku did love him back? Even when Izuku was so proud to have Katsuki’s mark?
The answer is simple.
“We’re happy for you, Jirou,” Kirishima says.
“Except Bakugou,” Sero jokes, “who looks like he’d rather be anywhere but here.”
Katsuki shoots Sero an angry look before rolling his eyes and looking at Jirou. His face softens.
“I’m happy for you, too.”
The silence deafned Katsuki.
“You know what?” Katsuki yells. “You all can go fuck yourselves!”
The group laughs.
“We just didn’t expect you to say that!” Jirou explains. “Thank you.”
Katsuki has never been a cowardly person, but being vulnerable was new to him. He didn’t like it. He couldn’t look Izuku in the eye anymore.
This was becoming hard because it seemed like Izuku was everywhere he went.
He didn’t want to say anything else to Izuku, but that wasn’t the case for the other boy.
Izuku was trying very hard to get to Katsuki. He felt they needed to have another conversation, and he didn’t appreciate the way Katsuki ran away. He had some words for him.
But every time Izuku got close, Katsuki would run.
Izuku was getting frustrated.
He saw Kirishima and decided not to give up this opportunity.
“Kirishima!” Izuku calls.
“Hey, Midoriya! What’s going on?”
“I know this is gonna sound weird, but I really need your help.”
Kirishima was acting weird, Katsuki could notice it from miles away. It was especially easy since he was stuck in Kirishima’s room.
Kirishima had practically begged Katsuki to come with him to his room, but never provided a good reason. Katsuki only agreed to get him to shut up. Now that they were here, Kirishima kept checking the time.
“Are you gonna tell me what the fuck you want, Shitty Hair?”
“Ah, uhm… Just…” Kirishima checks the time again. “Just wait one moment!”
Kirishima gets up and rushes out the door without giving Katsuki a chance to ask questions.
Katsuki kisses his teeth.
The door opens again, and instead of Kirishima, Izuku walks in.
He stepped inside and waved. Katsuki and Izuku sat in silence before Katsuki stood up without a word. He silently walked to the door.
“Kacchan, wait!”
Izuku grabs Katsuki, pulling his arm around from the door.
“Let me the fuck go!”
Katsuki tries to push Izuku off, but that just makes Izuku grip harder. This turns into something of a wrestling match, a loud one. Izuku had Katsuki’s right arm and leg in a hold, and Katsuki had one hand on the door and another handful of green hair.
“I can’t believe I let that ginger asshole trick me!” Katsuki yells.
“He did it for me, Kacchan!” Izuku explains. “I wanted to talk to you, but you were avoiding me!”
“That’s fucking worse!”
The boys start to fight more. Katsuki was trying to refrain from getting too violent, but his patience was wearing thin, and Izuku had a good way at pushing his nerves.
“Why did you never tell me you had my mark?” Izuku questions.
“Because it’s fucking embarrassing!”
“How do you think I felt?”
That made Katsuki stop. He could imagine how shitty Izuku would feel to have to always see the mark of his bully. Izuku couldn’t ignore it or forget it like Katsuki sometimes did.
“I don’t see what that has to do with me,” Katsuki utters.
“Everything, don’t you think?”
Katsuki scowls hearing the sass in Izuku’s voice. He gives Izuku an angry look, which is met with a smile. Izuku lets go of Katsuki, holding his hands in the air.
“Can we talk, please, Kacchan?”
Katsuki frowns. He kisses his teeth before settling down on the floor, sitting away from Izuku.
“You have three minutes,” he orders.
Izuku scoots his way towards Katsuki, but doesn't sit too close, as to not upset him. He found it hard to start this conversation.
“Was it embarrassing because you hated me?”
“Does it look like I hate you?”
“Uhm… Is- Is that a trick question?”
Katsuki frowns. He couldn’t get mad, Izuku had a point.
“I obviously don’t hate you.”
“Then what was it?”
Katsuki stared at Izuku. He had all the answers to all the questions Izuku had, but he didn’t feel ready to face the truth. Katsuki sighs. What could he possibly have to lose?
“I got my- your mark before you got yours.”
“You said that-”
“You interrupt me one more time and I’ll blow up this entire room.”
Izuku snickers. He promptly quiets himself.
“I didn’t tell you because it was embarrassing to have yours when you didn’t have mine. I was gonna tell you the day you showed me you had mine. But then… then you said that stupid shit you said!”
Iuku looked confused. Katsuki figures he doesn’t remember, which hurts just a little, considering it was one of the most important days in his entire life. It makes him feel a bit stupid.
“You said you had my mark because I was your best friend.”
Izuku’s jaw drops. His nose scrunched up as his bewilderment became anger. That was what had Katsuki upset all these years? Being called his best friend?
Katsuki could easily read the look on Izuku’s face.
“That wasn’t why I had your mark,” Katsuki explains. “It was never the reason, it’s still not the reason.”
Katsuki, for the first time in a while, makes eye contact with Izuku. He has such a genuine look in his eyes.
“I was in love with you.”
Izuku’s jaw dropped again. He moved it in an attempt to find something to say, but he just gasped and struggled.
“Wait-”
“That’s why I started bullying you.”
“Kacchan, hold on-”
“It hurt to know you didn’t feel the same way. And it made me angry that I had to be reminded of it every day.”
“Kacchan-”
“And no matter what I did, I still saw that damn mark on your fucking hand! I thought that if you lost it, I’d lose yours. But you’re just a fucking idiot!”
“Can I talk?”
“I mean, what kind of masochistic bastard still loves his bully? I-”
“Kacchan!”
Izuku got loud. Katsuki stopped in surprise. Then he got angry.
“I said don’t fucking interupt me!”
Katsuki grabbed Izuku’s collar. Izuku retaliated by cupping Katsuki’s face in his hands. He’d grown tired of Katsuki’s word vomit.
“Can you shut up for a moment?” Izuku exclaims.
“What did you say to me!?”
“Hush!”
Katsuki looks befuddled, but he quiets down. Izuku takes a deep breath.
“Kacchan, that’s a lot to drop on someone all in one breath.”
Katsuki shrugs, which makes Izuku sigh.
“Do you… still feel the same way?”
“Your stupid fucking mark is still on my hip.”
Izuku’s face got hot and red. That makes Katsuki smile.
“Can you let go of me now?”
Izuku complies, still flustered.
“Did you get what you trapped me in here for? Are you satisfied?”
“No! Not in the slightest! I told you this was too much to just drop on someone.”
“Well, I don’t know what you want from me, Deku!”
Katsuki leaves, and this time, Iuku doesn’t try to stop him.
That was the second weight off Katsuki’s shoulder. He is in love with his childhood best friend.
Kirishima asked Katsuki what happened between him and Izuku, but all Katsuki did was call him a traitor.
But Kirishima could see that something good had happened. He could see it when Katsuki would smile at Izuku (deviously, but a smile nonetheless), and Izuku would blush and look away. Katsuki would hang out with Izuku. They’d plan days to spend together, they’d laugh, and you could see they were enjoying each other’s company.
Before, if you asked them about their relationship, Katsuki would angrily say he hated Izuku, which made Izuku look a bit odd when he would say they were childhood best friends, as if they still were.
Even Kirishima, being friends with both Izuku and Katsuki, didn’t understand their relationship.
But they were closer than ever now, and everyone could tell.
After class, the BakuSquad gathered around Katsuki’s desk.
“Bakugou~” Mina sings. “You wanna hang out with us later?”
“Can’t,” Katsuki says. He points behind him. “Hanging with this nerd.”
“That’s not nice,” Kirishima says. “He has a name.”
Katsuki looks up at Kirishima with a scowl.
“You and Midoriya have been hanging out a lot,” Denki says, leaning on Katsuki’s desk.
Katsuki gets up from his seat to sit on Izuku’s desk. He looks at Izuku, then back at his other friends.
“Maybe I like him more than you guys.”
Izuku’s face gets hot. He rubs his face and looks away to hide the red, but Kirishima caught it. A light bulb could be seen over his head.
“That’s so mean!” Mina says.
“You know, Midoriya,” Sero starts, “it’s okay to tell us if he’s bullying you again.”
“Ex-fucking-cuse me?” Katsuki yells.
“I’m just saying.” Sero puts his hand in the air.
“Oh, shut the fuck up.”
Izuku laughs.
“You think that’s funny?”
“Just a little bit,” Izuku responds.
Katsuki smiles a little.
That’s when Jirou saw it. She looked at Katsuki’s soft smile, then Izuku’s genuine eyes. She double- and triple-checks. She gasps and smiles. She looks over at Kirishima, who has the same look on his face. He knows, she knows, and they know they know. Jirou starts to laugh.
“Guys, I think we should leave them alone,” she says.
“Jirou’s right!” Kirishima adds. He starts to usher his complaining friends away. “We’ve all got things to do!”
He makes sure no one is looking before turning around to wink at Katsuki and Izuku.
Izuku couldn’t forget about it, Kirishima winking at them. It made him think not only about the current development of their relationship, but also the dynamic of their old one. There was one thing Izuku needed to understand clearly.
“Kacchan?”
Katsuki looked up from his notebook at Izuku, then back at it.
“Was that… really why?”
Katsuki frowned. “'Really why?' What?”
“That you bullied me so much. Was it because of how you felt?”
Katsuki stops writing. He doesn’t look up again, hovering his pencil over the paper, searching for something to do with it. He struggled to find anything to clear the disarray in his mind. He dropped the pencil and held his head in his hand. He stares at Izuku.
“I’m sorry,” he says. It was the first thing he could get out. Maybe it’d be the most important thing he’d ever say. “I… I couldn’t stand the idea of me being in love with you, and you only just loving me. It just- it didn’t fucking feel nice.” Katsuki paused. “I just told myself that if I could get you to hate me, I wouldn’t care anymore.”
“I don’t get that,” Izuku whispered. He met Katsuki’s gaze. Thinking that you hated me, it made me sick. You couldn’t possibly know how isolating that is.”
Katsuki shrugs. “Probably.” He picks up his pencil and starts doodling. “Yeah, you’re probably right. But I couldn’t even fathom that with how fucking small I felt. Like I wasn’t good enough to be seen as- to be more to someone. You were the only person I knew–besides my parents–that had my mark before that damn ginger. So I never felt enough.” Katsuki sighs. “My poor regulation of my emotions and my insecurities made you suffer. So, I’m sorry. You never deserved that.”
Katsuki never thought he’d have this conversation with Izuku. He doesn’t know when it became something he wanted, but he knows now it was something he always needed. He’d run away from the vulnerable parts of his life, but he’s sitting with them now.
He couldn’t look Izuku in the eyes.
“Kacchan.”
He didn’t look up, staring at nothing at all.
“Kacchan, you never asked what your mark meant to me.”
Katsuki raises an eyebrow. He finally looks at Izuku, but annoyance is all over his face, which makes Izuku laugh.
“I love you, too, Kacchan.”
Katsuki stares blankly at Izuku. Silently, he gathers his things and stands up to leave.
“Where are you going? This is your room.”
Katsuki ignores Izuku. He continues to make his exit.
“Kacchan, wait!”
Izuku stands up and grabs Katsuki tightly from behind, keeping him from leaving.
“No, fuck you!” Katsuki yells. “I never said ‘I love you,’ so I don’t like how you said ‘too’!”
Izuku can’t help but laugh. It makes his grip weaken.
“I don’t know why you’re angry,” he gasps in between laughter.
“Because! Now let me go.”
“No! Kacchan, please.”
Katsuki gives up. He looks down at Izuku, his lips curled up and clear aggravation on his face.
“Are you done now?” Izuku asks.
“That attitude will get you in trouble.”
Izuku smiles. He lets go of Katsuki, and they settle back down. They don’t say anything for a while.
“I wasn’t lying,” Izuku says.
“I’d have fucking killed you if I thought you were,” Katsuki responds.
They sit in silence again.
“Why?” Katsuki asks. “I mean, how? It doesn’t make sense to me.”
“I don’t know.”
“That’s a really shitty fucking answer.”
“I mean, I really just don’t know! I’ve known you for forever. Ever since we were little, I thought you were amazing. I’ve always seen it, even when you’ve done your best at hiding it. I’ve always looked up to you.”
Izuku looks at Katsuki, even though Katsuki doesn’t look back.
“I was always excited to see you grow. You’ve changed a lot, and I’m happy I was there for it.”
“I don’t think that’s enough.”
“Enough for what?”
“Enough to be forgiven. By you.”
“I want to forgive you. Is that not enough?”
Katsuki looks Izuku in the eyes. They stay like that for a moment.
“I’m sorry, Izuku. For what I’ve put you through.”
Izuku’s smile was wide. He didn’t know what was craziest about this moment or what he liked the most, but he figured it was hearing his name come from Katsuki for the first time in a while.
“I forgive you.”
Katsuki no longer hated marks. How could he? Every day, he saw the mark of his best friend on his arm. The mark of his father was on his stomach, and the mark of his mother was on his thigh. Over time, of course, he’d get marks on his back and his legs. But most importantly, he had the mark of his love on his hip.
He didn’t hate them because when he saw his mark on Izuku’s hand, he knew Izuku loved him too.