Chapter Text
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Izuku could feel his regret bubble up as he set foot on campus; why did he have to choose student accommodation? The train from his place to here was a measly thirty minutes, which is entirely reasonable. His face fell harder with every bump in the path, leaving him to readjust the bags sitting on his back. Maybe if his mother was here he would be happier, maybe even rushing to get into the building and settle down. Izuku ignores his phone as it begs for his attention; he is focused on making it up the stairs without being pulled down by the weight of his bags, proving unfeasible the more he had to hike.
It took Izuku three trips down the wrong hallways and four hikes up the wrong stairs to find his room. They were stupidly labelled. He couldn’t fathom how the rest of these people were already flowing into university life. Izuku couldn’t help the jealousy that was injecting itself into the veins of his thoughts. After attempting to fish his keys out of the wrong place for ages, he was suddenly very aware of how he looked, hair messier than normal, clothes creased, his jeans hugging him tighter than they should and his busted red shoes with marks no amount of cleaning could hide. A couple pairs of wandering eyes stood chatting idly outside of dorms stared in what was either confusion or pity, as Izuku’s struggle surged through the atmosphere with his muttering. Finally wrapping his keys round his fingers, he awkwardly entered his dorm room, slamming the door shut in a hurry to be out of sight.
His forehead pressed against the door with a whole body exhale, hand still wrapped tightly around the doorknob. Panic so intense that he hadn’t even registered the dorm lights on, and the sound of quiet music playing in the background. All the background noise halted after he had been noticed, setting his anxiety to a new peak.
“Izuku?” A feminine voice rang through his ears which was honestly even more terrifying because why was he sharing a dorm with a girl? Fuck. He can already see himself being branded as a pervert. He whipped his head around, body trying to come with him but ultimately stopped by his bags clashing against the door.
“Ochaco?!” Izuku immediately relaxed, his dimples softening his face significantly. Ochaco scurried around the room to give him something as close to a hug as his bags would allow, squeezing his shoulders tightly.
“What’re you doing here? Are you my roommate?” His hesitance was clear as he looked away almost immediately.
“What? No! I’m helping my friend move in. I haven't seen you in so long, I can’t believe I didn’t know you were coming here!” Ochako tried to take his bags but she was immediately rejected, throwing a pout in Izuku's direction.
Izuku wasn’t ready to put his bags down just yet because he wasn't even sure what bed was his. He's not been given the quiet time to lie down before his roommate appeared like he had hoped; his roommate's things were already starting to be displayed across the shared space.
She let him pass, Izuku’s feet shuffling on the wooden floors to his side of the room.
It was a moderately sized dorm— two twin beds sat wedged in a corner, a nightstand hardly separating the two. A dinky kitchen loomed on the opposite side, consisting of just the necessities. A nearby door led to the bathroom. Separating the beds from the kitchen was a couch, leaving enough room for just two chairs.
The music from before lulled in the background, Ochakos humming occasionally within earshot. He didn’t want to prod too much about who his roommate was. He began planning on how his collection of All-Might action figures are going to be arranged. He had spent hours in his room deciding which figurines to bring. He stored away all of the original boxes for the figurines, anticipating his move. He wanted to take more, but he understood how unreliable the living situation was. For all he knew he could hate it, and move back once the term finished.
Izuku decides he should commit to moving in, at least for the term. First, he neatly displays his figurines and then starts working on the posters. Izuku felt relaxed and eased into his new life so far. He was in the middle of balancing himself on his bed to hang up one of his limited-edition All-Might posters. When the clash of the door against wood hollered throughout the dorm, capturing his attention but then processing that it was his roommate. Izuku turned to give a warm welcome, until his blood ran cold after catching a glimpse of who his roommate was.
Katsuki fucking Bakugo. Ochaco is friends with this guy?
Holy fuck . Izuku’s world started to spin; he could feel himself losing his balance on the unreliable surface. He felt like a deer in headlights. Bombs began going off straight into Izuku’s face. The pin in his hand fell.
Fuck.
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Katsuki wondered if his stuck-up roommate was unpacking, because he could not deal with the bullshit of being asked to help. His face cringed at the thought, grip tightening around the box from Ochakos room. The trip pissed him off.
He was constantly reminded about his reputation, how utterly recognisable he is, and how he’s just like his mother, which was only adding stress onto his already shitty day. This is the day his life changes, Forever . He shrugs the thought off, ready to put his brand-new posters on display (that, truth be told, he was a little embarrassed about buying). He decided that this big of a change deserves a change in his attitude, too. He could hear Ochakos music through the door as he props the box up on his hip and under his arm, fumbling with his keys and kicking the door open with all his might.
Katsuki doesn’t register the man in front of him until he is taking up all of his vision. Why is Izuku Midoriya standing in front of him hanging up All-Might posters?
Was this a nightmare? Was he genuinely being tormented by whatever cruel celestial being there is out there? No way this was happening. He must be dreaming.
Izuku stares back at him blankly. Though thats not what bothers Katsuki. What bothers him the most is that Izuku is hanging up the exact poster he has kept in pristine condition, unopened for years for this day. He hung it up like it wasn’t an insult to his worth, casually displaying an irritatingly impressive amount of All-Might figures.
Screw this guy.
Katsuki resigns himself to ignoring Izuku. He occasionally looked at Ochaco and noticed how tense she was. Ochaco seemed as dejected as Izuku did. He feels helpless, but how was he meant to tell Ochaco that? She trusts him blindly. He’s not going to tell her how weak he feels because of the small man side-eyeing him every chance he gets, like prey watching the predator.
Except Katsuki felt like prey too.
