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Midoriya Izuku has always been good at analysis.
He reads people like novels—highlighting patterns, underlining habits, memorizing all the little moments between the big ones. That’s what makes him a great hero.
And it’s also what makes him very good at falling in love.
Correction: strategically managing being in love.
Which is why, for the past three weeks, he’s been executing a flawless, precision-engineered plan to get Bakugou Katsuki to ask him out first.
It starts simple. Casual. Smile at the right time. Sit next to Kaminari in the cafeteria. Let Shoto hand him things, slow and calm, while Deku thanks him with too-soft eyes and a grateful smile.
It’s all so… harmless.
Until Katsuki starts losing his goddamn mind.
⸻
He notices first in the common room. Deku’s sitting on the floor beside Todoroki, laughing at some half-deadpan story about a villain who tripped over a dog.
“You’re funnier than you think,” Deku says, bumping their knees.
Todoroki blinks. “I wasn’t joking.”
Deku beams. “Exactly.”
Behind them, Katsuki shifts. Loudly. Grunts. Stands like the couch insulted him personally.
“I’m going to the gym,” he snaps.
“It’s ten p.m.,” Kirishima says.
“So?”
He stomps out.
Deku hides his smirk behind his water bottle.
Step 1: Trigger mild jealousy? Check.
⸻
Over the next few days, the jealousy ripens. Deku doesn’t even have to try that hard.
He walks to class with Shoto. Offers to spar with Iida. High-fives Kaminari like they’re besties .
And every time Katsuki sees it, he looks like he’s about to combust.
“What the hell are you doing lately?” Katsuki demands one day during patrol scheduling.
Deku blinks innocently. “What do you mean?”
“You’ve been acting weird. Laughing at everything. Clinging to extras like it’s some romcom audition.”
“Are you jealous, Kacchan?”
“I— No! ”
Deku shrugs. “Shame.”
Katsuki turns red. Deep, furious tomato red. And storms off.
⸻
Step 2: Escalate the jealousy?
Let’s just say the movie night invitation was not accidental.
Deku throws it out at dinner like it’s no big deal.
He says it casually. “I’m picking the movie tonight. Shoto, Kaminari—you guys in?”
He doesn’t even glance at Katsuki. But the fork in Katsuki’s hand bends like it’s made of foil.
Kirishima coughs. “Dude—”
“I’m fine.”
He shows up first.
When Deku walks in and sees him already sprawled on the couch, arms crossed and jaw tight, he knows. The endgame is close.
Everyone settles in. Cheesy love triangle playing. Popcorn. Blankets. Deku sits between Todoroki and Kaminari, legs stretched out, smile soft and warm.
He leans into Shoto’s shoulder just a little.
Katsuki snaps.
“ What the fuck is going on?! ”
The room freezes.
Deku turns around slowly, blinking. “What?”
”You—this—them! Why the hell are you glued to everyone like it’s a damn romcom audition?!”
Deku tilts his head. “You’ve been watching me?”
“I— no! I mean—I’m not—shit, fuck , I don’t—”
“Just say what you mean, Kacchan.”
And then—it happens.
Katsuki doesn’t mean to say it. You can see the exact second it slips out, raw and too fast, like his own mouth betrayed him:
“ I fucking like you, okay?! And I can’t stand seeing you that close to anyone else—it drives me fucking insane! ”
Silence. Frozen, stunned, all-consuming silence.
Katsuki blinks. Realizes. Regrets.
“I—shit—I didn’t mean—I mean, I did, but not like that—fuck—”
“Oh,” Deku says.
Katsuki backpedals, steam practically pouring from his ears. “Forget it. Fucking forget it—”
“No.”
Katsuki freezes.
Deku’s already standing. Stepping forward. Eyes soft, lips twitching, voice lower than anyone’s ever heard him.
“You think I just started acting like this out of nowhere?” he says. “That I suddenly became the friendly, flirty type?”
Katsuki doesn’t respond. He’s stuck—frozen in place like he’s still buffering.
“I planned this, Kacchan,” Deku says, stopping right in front of him. “I wanted you to feel it.”
“You’re such a shithead,” Katsuki mutters, voice hoarse.
“And you’re in love with me.”
“Shut up.”
“You are.”
“I swear to god , Deku—”
“You gonna kiss me if I keep talking?”
Katsuki grabs him by the collar and does . It’s messy, impulsive, and so stupidly overdue it feels like they’re making up for years . Deku melts into it, fists curled in Katsuki’s shirt, grinning even as their teeth clack once in the rush of it all.
By the time they break apart, Katsuki’s face is crimson.
“You really planned all this?” he mutters.
Deku hums. “Every step.”
“I hate you.”
“I know.”
“Say it,” Katsuki mutters, voice rough. “Say you meant it.”
Deku’s grin softens. “I like you, Kacchan.”
Katsuki blushes all the way to his neck .
“You kissed me first, you know.”
“Shut up,” Katsuki growls—and pulls him in again.
LATER THAT NIGHT
They’re alone now. Common room abandoned. Movie long over.
Katsuki’s sitting on the floor, back against the couch. Deku flops beside him, shoulder pressed to his like it’s the most natural thing in the world.
It’s quiet. Not awkward—just full . Warm and charged and new.
Deku hums softly. “You’re really cute when you’re jealous.”
“Don’t push it.”
“I mean it. That little vein in your forehead? Adorable.”
Katsuki scowls. “I should’ve kissed you just to shut you up.”
“You did kiss me to shut me up.”
Katsuki mutters something unprintable under his breath.
Deku snorts. He leans in just a little, voice dropping to a low, playful murmur. “So how many points do I get for making you confess in front of half the class?”
“You’re lucky I like you.”
“Oh?” Deku smirks. “Is that what you called it when you explode with feelings in the middle of a romcom?”
“Fuck off.”
Deku grins. Then—soft, sly, full of mischief—he says, “You know, I was thinking… ‘Kacchan’ doesn’t really suit a guy who just kissed me in front of everyone.”
Katsuki’s eyes narrow. “What dumbass thing are you about to say now?”
Deku grins, eyes bright. “Maybe I should call you something else…”
A pause. A smirk. And then, with infuriating sweetness:
“Katsuki.”
Katsuki flinches like he’s been physically stabbed .
“Don’t call me that,” he mutters, voice low and hoarse.
Deku tilts his head. “Or what?”
Katsuki turns toward him, red to the tips of his ears—and pulls him in for another kiss.
This one’s slower. Softer. Like a challenge and a promise and a yes, all tangled into one.
Deku smiles into it. Of course he does.
Because this?
This was always the plan.