Chapter Text
Many locals didn’t expect the sudden rise of temperature in Kamakura after constant snowfall.
The elders assumed the colder weather to be on its way out as the summer season was supposedly approaching. Izuku Midoriya couldn’t be more grateful.
It was relieving for him to kneel against the school's football field and notice that his uniform pants weren’t dampened by the grass’ dew like usual, or when he stepped outside to leave for school, there wasn’t a thick fog that appeared with each breath he took. This morning was warm, sticky, humid and it was everything, everyone in the town was waiting for.
As well as it being very comforting to see Kamakura’s residents not so blue. The tension in their shoulders noticeably fell and it was like a breath of fresh air to witness the early risers getting to their gardening and exercise; hearing the barbaric traffic after so long when no one wanted to drive during the winter. Feeling the back of his school shirt stick to his back from the humidity and stickiness in the air. When he entered through his high school, Yuuei’s gates, Izuku noticed the team’s football players eagerly running onto the field, happy to practice for the next upcoming season when the weather was finally on their side.
That’s why Izuku is here currently, sitting upright on the extremely dry grass; to the point where it’s prickly shards are almost unbearable, and having to tend to adjusting his camera angles differently to how they were last season is something new; realigning them since being on the opposite end of the field compared to last term.
It’s hard to find the right placement, constantly moving around and adding different tones to create impact for the players, neck aching from looking into the lense for adjustments each time. Izuku takes his little role the coach insisted the photography major to have a while back, very seriously. Even though he doesn’t get paid for his pictures, his camera was provided by the school so he’s completely fine with whatever life throws at him. He’s got all he needs right here and now.
It’s not absolutely everything Izuku needs, but peace, solidarity and a decent camera which are given to him are simply enough in Izuku’s opinion.
When he told his mother, Inko, about the opportunity the team offered to be their sporting photographer, the both of them were ecstatic. He was noticed by many peers and the coach that he liked to capture the world when he had the time, and they were more than willing to give Izuku more of an opportunity to do what he loves when he’s great at it.
Now, the playing field is where he sits, on his own, preparing his set up.
The team is slowly nearing and the air surely won’t be as quiet as Izuku’s soft murmurs once had it, instead being filled with booming voices and incoming stomps of passion.
Photography is more than just stop-motion pictures to Izuku, it’s art. Something that can somehow always bring out beauty and the hidden insecurities of the person that’s usually photographed by Izuku. It inexplicably brings out so much joy within Izuku’s soul, deep inside his heart and being, confirming that he’s never actually going to give up on doing this. How could he when he should be appreciating the beauty in the world that he was granted to live in?
Izuku fiddles with his camera as much as he can to get the positioning right where he needs it to be. All players on the team are so jaw-droppingly tall, so it’s important to capture their full bodies in frame properly. Izuku notices a few classmates of his and a few younger students run onto their second home through his camera’s lense, it focuses on them immediately and he impulsively snaps a few shots, simply because of their expressions; finally getting back to a decent standing point after a grueling winter break is such an underwhelming gift to Izuku. Being someone who watches instead of contributing.
There are a few classmates Izuku can recognize easily in the distance, Kirishima, by his large frame, Iida, by his reflective glasses in the sun; the thing is, he usually puts contacts in but somehow he gets away with using his privilege of being the senior representative to get off of mostly anything. Iida isn’t as prissy as he’s viewed to be by everyone at school, it’s more so a front for his role.
Izuku also notices Tetsutetsu, he hasn’t really spoken to him before but from what Kirishima has told him, he’s a decent guy. Kirishima gossips with Denki whenever they’re at lunch and with Denki being in Izuku’s friend group, he’ll join their lunch time hangouts to talk with all three friends, Izuku, Denki and Shouto. And most of the time, all of the boys are allowed to know what drama was shared in the locker-rooms before a game.
Izuku’s thoughts around his friend group continue to roll around in his head, not quite realizing what his eyes are searching for, until they land on Bakugou.
Katsuki Bakugou.
Yuuei’s football team Captain, with bright eyes that seem to be constantly searching for something Izuku can’t figure out. Never seeming to have noticeable bruises or injury, and his tan lines shine in comparison to his exposed pale skin in the shorts they’re now wearing for the summer. He has a bright, cocky, and wide grin to match his personality, and his platinum strands blowing in the early morning breeze. He radiates warmth, and it looks as if you could almost catch on film… if you’re quick enough.
He’s intriguing, and luckily Izuku’s motivation to move never left him, it still shows, just depends on the circumstance, now’s a good example.
Izuku’s hands are moving before his brain can even catch up what he’s doing, the screen lags as he captures a photo and that’s when he registers what’s going on. The photo was taken while Bakugou was stretching. His body moves onto multiple exercises effortlessly, something Izuku wished he could do without struggle.
He really wished, even prayed when he was younger, to be able to do the things he’s always wanted to. After finding out he was an asthmatic, it stopped him from doing a lot of exercise and activities; wheezing after a jog, dealing with a tight chest from laughing too hard. He tried his best to ignore it, but it always manages to come back in waves that affect him when he thinks about all the things he’s missed out on in life so far, though Izuku has always tried his best to maintain a healthy and strong physique despite what stops him because that’s what his body type, as he’s recognized since growing, needs, he got fuller in many places and needed to support of exercise to keep that body as lean as he could get it without strenuous training.
But, choosing photography will be something Izuku will never regret. It distracts him from all his worries and he found something that he was passionate about and actually capable of doing.
“Hey, Bakugou might start to think you’re a creep if the only pictures you’re taking right now are of him.” The boy’s tone was blank, so utterly him and even though it was easily recognizable to Izuku, his shoulders sky-rocketed. He couldn’t stop his head from turning towards his best friend’s voice so quickly in shock that he swore he heard something crack from the scare of someone understanding what was currently happening; what Izuku was doing, performing, capturing.
“Shouto! Don’t do that!” Shouto settled himself down on the grass next to Izuku, not paying any mind to Izuku shivering all his previous jitters away.
“Have you taken any pictures of Iida yet? I wanna keep them for later.” Shouto spoke again, stretching his pale legs out whilst looking over at the field.
Shouto’s shoes are scuffed which is surprising, usually all of his belongings are the neatest, cleanest, even shiniest thing Izuku’s ever come across. He’s talked about not doing as much as his Dad wants lately… maybe he’s not being so pedantic about his Dad and not succumbing to the man’s trivial desires so much.
“Not yet.” Izuku’s still extremely immersed in photographing Bakugou, but trying to hold his laugh back from Shouto’s oblivious use of language. Until Shouto stared at Izuku deadpan and he couldn’t hold his laughter in anymore.
“Yes, I promise to take incredible photos of your dazzling husband… Pervert.” He huffs out. Eyes drawing back to his camera frame.
“Hey, what? Am I a pervert?… I just wanted to look at him.” Is, of course, the only thing Shouto got from Izuku’s teasing.
“Yeah… I think you’re a major pervert, Sho... Stop taking everything so literally.” Izuku was grinning at his best friend again, making sure his words didn't cut deep, and that he didn't really mean them.
“Oh. Okay, well, make sure to send them to me later.” Shouto glances back towards Izuku when he decides he’s done swooning over the field.
“Oh my god…” Izuku mumbled to himself.
Izuku and Shouto’s silence that fills the air is okay, it’s always been okay. Never anything uncomfortable between the two; maybe for others, but never for them, they wouldn’t ever mind. Izuku breaks the peace by muttering to himself over what he needs to do, and what he hasn’t quite gotten done yet. Like taking photos of literally all the other players.
“Shoot. Uh- Sho, I’ll get to Iida soon but can you tell me where everyone else is heading?”
The team members are all separated now and have moved to their positions across the field; last term, Izuku would’ve known exactly where they’re placed but now it being the opposite side for Izuku also means swapped positions across the team.
“Yeah. Kirishima is going with Tetsutetsu to the middle.” Izuku’s camera follows. He snaps one shot of them each and then Izuku lists off the others he hasn’t taken yet. Shouto assists Izuku by letting him know where they all stand.
Their practice match soon starts and just as Izuku thinks it’s alright to set his camera down, he can spot in the distance two bodies tackling each other down to the ground.
He thought he saw some players gathering around in the corner of his eye but he was too busy trying to put his camera away and simply just let it go, until they were pulling at each other's jerseys and pushing each other backward.
Oh.
Of course it’s him.
Classic Bakugou Katsuki. Fighting with someone on his own team.
They’re both blonde, so it’s hard to depict who’s who but Izuku and Shouto assume it’s Monoma? It takes a couple seconds to see if it is who they’re assuming it to be but they eventually gather that no one else besides Monoma would piss Bakugou off that much. Izuku and Shouto are whispering over the team’s tumultuous shouting to each other.
Really, Izuku can’t blame Bakugou because to be honest… He wished he had the chance to do the same to the asshole.
Well, Monoma hasn’t done that much to basically anyone at their school besides Bakugou. All the students at Yuuei sort of gathered that Monoma definitely has some sort of complex and purposely annoys people to feel inferior. That’s why Bakugou is usually his main target. He won’t do it constantly, and he’s not some evil guy who’ll try to ruin someone’s life, he’s just annoying. That’s it. Bakugou can’t cope with that.
Something of the sort must’ve happened because Bakugou’s now on top of Monoma, one hand gripping his arm and the other trying to rip his hair out. Monoma isn’t a strong guy, he’s lanky and shorter than the others, it’s surprising that he was even able to get on the team. It’s frightening to witness because of Bakugou’s obvious physicality and power he has over him. Bakugou has always had that dominance over his peers, always been confident and intense but what’s got him this riled up?
Before anything further can occur, Kirishima is ripping Bakugou away from the other and Bakugou gets up breathing heavily; he’s pissed. He’s sweaty, his hairs sticking up in all places and his hands are shaking in rage. Izuku can see how frustrated and flustered Bakugou is even if he’s sitting on some corner of the large field.
He’s still staring at the players who’ve all gathered around each other after the brawl that just now subsided, his hands seem to move on their own; before he can think about it- and his camera is suddenly shuddering rapidly, taking multiple photos of the disheveled teen.
The sunset behind Bakugou is golden. Illuminating all of his features. The photos are clear, moody and intense. If the reason why Bakugou looked so glorious wasn’t to do with the inappropriate circumstance that had just occurred, then these pictures would be great to send through to the coach.
Maybe Izuku should just keep them to himself for a while.
Izuku’s sitting on his bed, his hair stuck to the back of his neck and palms clammy. He tries his best to bear the heat, fanning himself every couple of seconds but it’s no use. He ends up texting his Mom wondering if she can turn the cooler on, in which she replies with, ‘Of course baby!’ and when he feels the cool breeze enter his room, he feels alright enough to even function and that’s when he decides to pull his camera out of his bag; flicking through the photos he took today.
The amount of photos of Bakugou is in all honesty, obscene, in comparison to the rest. Twenty or so of the boy and barely anything of what’s piled up in his camera roll are of the team. A whopping fifteen.
Admittedly, Izuku didn’t take many photos today, he couldn’t concentrate really, but seriously? Yes he’s a fascinating player- student- person, but Izuku knows that’s too much. Izuku flopped face first onto his bed and buried his face into his pillows from second-hand embarrassment, because god, who does that?
You can’t be weird like this.
What if Bakugou finds out?
Would he be angry? He’d be pissed for sure, he hates that stuff. He doesn’t even like to take photos for the team page.
What would his reaction be?
He would probably be uncomfortable...
His hands are laced in between his curls, tugging the knotted strands from the wind that tangled them today, trying to pull his thoughts away with it, but still managing to be gentle towards his hair. Trying, desperately, to distract himself from the embarrassment of his own actions but still wanting to just pick himself apart piece by piece. He’s sitting up before he knows it, eyes determined and body taut, and he’s reaching for his camera that was haphazardly chucked onto his bed, pillowed between bed covers, pillows and teddies.
Just when he’s about to delete the pictures, his thumb hovering over the OK button, his Mom’s knuckles are rattling against his bedroom door; gently announcing that she’s coming in. Same as she’s always done, it’s comforting and a great way of understanding boundaries they’ve established in the past.
“Hey. You said you were hot before so I brought you some water and fruit?” Her eyes landed on Izuku’s camera in his hands and was immediately filled from head to toe with excitement, eyes widening and a smile forming.
“Oh! How did you go today? Was your first day back good, baby? Show me what you got!”
She smiled brightly at her boy and Izuku didn’t resist showing her with a smile eventually pulling onto his face too. She quickly sat what she brought upstairs onto his bedside drawer and took Izuku’s offering camera out of his hold, sitting down next to him on the edge of his bed, and pulling Izuku into her side as she looked.
The previous solution about keeping the pictures to himself suddenly flew out the window once he realized that she’d see what he’d done today.
“Wait! Actually Mom-”
She was already flicking through them.
“Oh Katsuki! Izuku he’s grown up beautifully! I didn’t know you still liked him?” She said, surprised.
What?
“No- Mom, I don’t-” His brain was reeling. How- What- Why did she think that?
“Aww you’re bright red.” She laughed, “It’s fine if there’s anything going on between you two… but you should always let me know!” Even Izuku himself could feel his skin blazing.
“Hey! No- I- Mom!” Izuku’s voice gave out on him, entirely too flustered over how embarrassing this is, which apparently, isn’t to her at all and just instead self-sabotaging by digging himself deeper the more he reacts.
“Izuku, baby, it’s fine. I always knew anyway… but I thought you guys stopped talking? You haven’t brought him up for a while, not like you used to, but that’s great if you’re still friends! How’s Mitsuki doing?”
“I-I’m not sure-” Izuku stutters out, he doesn’t know what to do, she’s so happy about this but it’s been taken the wrong way completely. He’s never thought of Bakugou like that? What is she assuming?
“Oh, please make sure to ask Katsuki next time you see him. He’ll have to come over.”
Oh no, oh no, oh no.
“Wait- Mom! I haven’t talked to Bakugou in ages, I don’t, I don’t think he’d even want to talk to me?”
“What? Of course he would! You guys were so close.” She says triumphantly.
“Yeah, were, Mama! That was at least, like, ten years ago...” Izuku drawled out, his hands coming up to cover his face out of sheer embarrassment. Sitting on his bed, he was supposed to be relaxing right now, and he couldn’t keep up with this. Shouto’s right, Izuku’s name might as well just be spelt as creep.
“Well, it never hurts to try right? Tell him to come over soon. He can stay the night if you’d like?” She winked at him with a smirk on her face, and Izuku’s stomach dropped.
She winked. Insinuating that Izuku is allowed to bring Bakugou home. He’s allowed to share a bed with him. Since when was it this easy to date someone? He doesn't even want to!
How will he convince her?
“Did you even try to tell her or did you just stammer your way through your entire conversation?” Denki interrogated with a grin, quite invested in Izuku’s embarrassment, like always, because of the potential gossip that he might be able to tell Kirishima; if what Izuku says doesn’t end up being much of a secret, just needing to rant away his thoughts.
“I tried telling her, but what could I even say? There were so many photos of one person. That I used to be best friends with! She thought I still talked to him… God, I didn’t even realize what I was doing yesterday, I just kept pressing the frickin’ button, Denki.”
Izuku laid his head down into his folded arms on their group's table in Art Class, choosing to silently suffer instead of tolerating his friends who are now staring at him with the widest eyes full of interest and curiosity.
“Dude,” Apparently Denki’s developed Kirishima vocabulary too lately, “What the fuck were you going to do with them anyway? Saving them to jack off to later?” He laughed, loudly. Everyone in class looked at the three boys. Izuku jolted, Shouto turned his full body away from Denki, and Denki just continued to laugh harder. Intensifying the embarrassment like it means nothing to him. It doesn’t mean anything to him, and that’s a good thing, that’s why he and Kirishima are so close. They match each other’s embarrassing nature.
“Denki! Don’t be weird. Eurgh.” Izuku grumbled into his arms.
Shouto seemingly bursted out of his thinking bubble and approached Izuku with the question of, “Well… Why did you guys stop being friends?” Izuku stayed still for a while, trying to remember the reason why they stopped talking.
“I… I don’t think there was a reason to be honest. We just, kinda grew apart. I think.” Izuku was sitting up now, cheek squished against his palm and his eyebrow crinkled. Pondering.
Shouto stared at Izuku whilst he said it, eyes sharp and searching… As if looking for a glimmer of a lie or confession shining through.
Surprisingly, since it’s Izuku, it doesn’t actually come.
He doesn’t want to talk about it yet. Not with everyone around.
“Well,” Shouto continued, “You could talk to him again. From what Iida told me, he’s not nearly as bad as he was in middle school. He’s settled down a lot.”
“But! What would I even say? ‘Hey, I really can’t grasp why I took so many photos of you. I think my role for the team just took over, but my Mom saw them and now she thinks we’re dating. Can you let her know we’re not?” Izuku breathed out quickly, overwhelmed and annoyed over the entirety of all of this. Still, he’ll continue to push through it.
“Yes. Exactly that.” Shouto’s face was still but Izuku could see the tiniest shift in his jaw, a sliver of Shouto’s eyes widening in the moment. He was excited, even Shouto’s body language gave that away, for once he wasn’t giving the stoic, nonchalant vibe that Izuku knows deep down is what his friend has only developed due to fear and undefined expectations from his past.
Izuku’s potential word-vomit might not be that bad if the two most honest people he knows are this confident when most of the time they’d be laughing their asses off.
“Honestly, even Eijiro has told me that Bakugou’s pretty chill nowadays…” Oh, first name bases. “He wouldn’t even care if you told him all of that. Exactly that, it was pretty straightforward if you ask me.” Denki said.
“So… Are we just ignoring the fight that happened today or what?” Izuku questioned Denki and Shouto who seemed to have forgotten about today’s news entirely.
“Well, yeah, he might not be great, ‘Zuku, but he’s better than what he used to be like in middle school, his attitude’s gotten a lot better for sure, even if he gets a little pissed sometimes, Monoma’s just a real asshole… like, y’know what he’s like.”
“I don’t know. I’ll have to think about it. I don’t think I can necessarily trust you… Shouto?”
“Dude-”
“Yeah, you should go for it, Izuku. Maybe you guys could even start talking again.” Shouto smiled softly at the confused boy.
Bakugou and Izuku are different now. It’s obvious, they’re complete opposites and it’s hard to believe that Bakugou would even continue to talk to him if his plan ended up being successful. Bakugou never used to be someone who’d go out of his way to make the effort, and Izuku can recognize that. It’s not surprising if he’d throw Izuku across the school, push him around, yell in his face about how stupid of a decision a human could possibly make.
It is stupid. It’s awkward, it’s a cue to ask to be burned, stung, even incinerated, but it’s an Izuku idea all over, because he got himself into this mess, not being able to say no, always has, and probably always will be, a people pleaser.
“Well, anyway, what are you gonna say to your Mom? From what you’ve explained… She seemed pretty excited, dude.”
It’s not hard. He can just tell her after school that he was under pressure yesterday and couldn’t answer her properly so it seemed like he liked someone but he didn’t. He didn’t.
But, he tried to. Yesterday! She just didn’t get it. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, he’s glad his mother is accepting, and he came out to her years ago. The whole situation was welcoming, accepting and warm, Izuku couldn’t ever ask for a better Mother. Ever.
There are just days where she might misunderstand Izuku’s sexuality and interpret that any guy who Izuku might interact with, having a potential crisis in the moment and absentmindedly deciding that Izuku could potentially have feelings for them.
Like when he first started consistently bringing Shouto up in conversations around his Mom when they first started being friends, she was really eager to meet him. When they had their first sleepover, Inko was cooking for the two boys and asked Izuku to ask his boyfriend if he wanted dessert later on in the evening, two were left blushing head to toe and one was a giggling mess after her mistake was corrected.
But, he’s explained it to her and she’s always felt bad immediately after, regretting her assumptions and trying her best to not act that way again whilst apologizing profusely.
There are just times where she gets excited for Izuku and wants him to be involved in something that could potentially bring him happiness. It’s just a little far fetched and they both have recognized that.
Izuku ponders over the situation at hand right now. Taking the opportunity of his friends’ silence to think about what he needs to do.
The only thing that comes to mind is personally asking the only person that could convince her that they’re not dating. A stubborn, but apparently laidback, old best friend.
“You guys are right, it’ll probably freak me out of my frickin’ socks but maybe he won’t judge me. I don’t know… if he’s changed or not, I need to see for myself.”
“Hm?” and “Yes, that’s right.” Are both the responses of approval that were directed to Izuku and this helped him understand that this really is what they wanted him to do. And yeah, it’d probably go great, he just has to build up the confidence to even think of talking to his old childhood best friend one day.
“Okay. I’ll have to ask Bakugou for help eventually... Just, let me think over it first.”
Light filtered its way into Izuku’s bedroom through his thin Yagi Toshinori flag, America’s action movies’ legendary actor. The man who’s been Izuku’s all time favourite actor since he was a young boy, who basically watches him sleep each night as the flag hangs over half of his window, his Mom didn’t like the positioning but suddenly his nightmares he had when he was a kid disappeared so it’s sort of turned into a superstition for Izuku to never take it down.
The slight gap where it doesn’t fully cover the window allows the sun to shine heavily across Izuku’s back each morning and as he’s waking up today, of course it gives his body the undeniable warmth he really wished he could bask in right now, but today’s the one day he can’t and he has to pull himself out of his bed before he can surrender to the bed’s silent persuasion.
His eyes are dry and his nose is sore. He feels disgusting, and really, really represses the urge to duck his head back under the covers and try to at least fall back asleep for a few minutes but he can’t. He has a mission today.
Hoping Bakugou won’t be too weirded out when Izuku asks if he can do the boy a favor after telling him about the photos is almost a guaranteed mental and spiritual offering to be crushed and destroyed. Asking for his dreams to be plagued by grimaces of revulsion, begging for his confidence to be skyrocketed down to where his feet lay, a plea to crush his self-esteem, and, yes, that’s a worry, but today has to be different, and can’t be something to get worked up over, if Katsuki has turned into the formidable horror everyone’s made him out to be then he’ll forget about all of this. If he’s turned into the absolute angel only some are making him out to be too then this will be a joyride, having absolutely no problem!
It’s just the fact that, sometimes, self doubt has to work its way in.
Before he can worry himself too intensely, he focuses on the tight feeling in his chest instead. He sits up on the edge of his bed to blindly reach for the inhaler that sits on his bedside table, fingers fumbling until it’s suddenly found. Izuku uncaps his inhaler, breathes in two sprays and then caps it with one hand because the other is busy scratching, ribs, stomach, then down past his groin. The itch somehow worked its way lower and lower, spreading until the bottom of his foot that was being scratched wasn’t itchy anymore, just ticklish and had to stop the scratching.
He’s just about to get up and out of his warm covers that are laying half across his body when his Mom knocks on his door to briefly throw some pairs of his socks onto his bed, barely even able to acknowledge her because it was so quick, she said something about ‘No more milk left!’, so that means Izuku can’t have his usual hot chocolate this morning. “I’ll buy it on my way home tonight!” She called out.
His door’s being gently shut before Izuku knows it and he’s mumbling a quiet, “Okay.” Not noticing that she probably won’t hear.
Izuku’s finds the courage to get up and out of his bed, but not bothering to fix the sheets since it’s a Friday today and he’ll just be jumping back in it immediately when he gets home from school anyway. He shuffles his way into the bathroom, one that’s basically his own; his Mom has her ensuite and not many people come to visit, if they do, it’s not likely for them to use the bathroom.
Most of Izuku’s supplies stay where they usually are. Each little knick-knack of his having their own designated spot even if it’s a little more on the messier side, it doesn’t matter, because that’s Izuku, and he knows where everything is. It isn’t organized, but it is in a way.
Izuku gets his toothbrush and toothpaste from the little orange toothbrush caddy that sits on his sink, and whilst he’s brushing his teeth he’s looking at himself in the mirror noticing all the little imperfections that have been bothering him lately.
His freckles have shown more since he’s gotten older, he has faded acne scars along his jaw from when he was about fourteen and he has the smallest but noticeable gap between his two front teeth. He complained to his Mom a couple of months back about how he’s changing lately and he isn’t very confident with how he looks anymore but she just dismissed his worries by blaming it all on the fact he’s growing up and turning into a man. She claimed that it’s normal to feel a bit insecure when your body is changing drastically, they talked about how Izuku would go with braces and that’s an idea for the future they’re letting sit just for now.
Izuku’s hair is a mess but it adds to his character. Full of noticeable tangles since he hasn’t brushed it these past two days so he pulls his comb out from the drawer under the sink as well as the floral scented detangling spray he uses only occasionally. Like today, he needs it because there’s no possible chance he’d come out of his bathroom with more than two hairs on his head.
He poofs and pulls at his hair for a little while as he brushes his teeth, after he's wiped his mouth and rinsed his face, he notices his phone screen light up, he picks up the phone from the counter with one hand while the other is still raking through his curls absentmindedly. Denki’s messaged, probably wondering where he is.
[8:29am] kami!!: hey wya?
[8:31am] You: im omw!! if i drive i won’t be late so don’t wait up for me we can walk tmr instead :p
[8:31am] kami!!: okok ig..
[8:31am] kami!!: i’ll see you soon >_<
[8:32am:] [You: liked a message.]
As Izuku’s feet grazed the pavement with each step he took after locking the house up. The crisp morning wind blew over Izuku’s face and it made his nose feel cold. Luckily, he remembered to grab his dark gray scarf that hung from his door handle and wrapped it around himself before he left. It provided the exact warmth he wanted and missed from his bed. He was more excited to get into his car to put the heater on than ever.
Izuku is jittering with excitement to get into his car from the short amount of steps it took him to get to his car from the front porch, he was cold the minute he stepped outdoors.
He wanted to warm up as soon as he could so he swung his car door open after fiddling with his keys and if an excited squeak came in response to the warmth finally filling up the car, then that was only whispered to the cool morning breeze and a lonely car that held the owner of that sound.
When his phone is plugged into his car's bluetooth, and the heater has warmed his car up enough to finally start moving, Izuku decides to call Shouto before he actually makes the move to start driving. Since Shouto would’ve already left his house to start walking to school, he answers almost immediately, only after two rings.
“Hey.” Shouto’s calm voice filters through the speaker. It sets Izuku’s trying to be on time, stress addled brain immediately, making all the fog disappear and instead occupy it with ideas to bring up to Shouto, topics to talk about on their way.
“Sho’, I don’t know… about approaching Bakugou, like, it’s been ages. What do I do? What would I say? It’ll probably be so awkward and embarrassing-” Izuku nearly rattled off all of the possibilities of what could happen during the whole upcoming situation, but is cut off by Shouto, stopping an oncoming catastrophe of worrying.
“Stop overthinking. We know how you are Izuku. And it’s fine. If you’re stressed, then don’t go through with it. Don’t feel pressured to, just give it time, and if your Mom asks again about it, then just explain what happened.” God, he always knows what to say. Everything that comes out of Shouto’s mouth is always exactly what Izuku needs to hear.
“Yeah… Thanks, Shouto! I’ll wait, because, honestly, at the moment it’s too weird, and I don’t- I don’t know, I’ll have to build up the courage first to even try to approach Bakugou…” He pauses for a while, not sure if he should mention something else but Shouto knows he’s hesitating, he won’t respond until Izuku has finished what he wants to say.
“Do you really think… he’s as nice as everyone says he is?”
“Izuku, if he isn’t then that’s okay. It doesn’t matter. You still have us at the end of the day so who cares about what happens. You’re living okay without him now so who says your life won’t go back to that exact way? Everything is fine, and everything will be fine with or without Bakugou.”
“Yeah- Yeah. It will be. I know that. It’s just hard Sho’… He used to be my best friend.” Izuku says.
“I know.” Shouto says. “Did you guys really just stop talking or did something happen?”
Shouto has always had some sort of ability where he can see straight through people. Always recognize the truth hidden behind trivial lies and covers to not make the real stories feel so hurtful when they’re confessed. He knows how Izuku is, they haven’t been friends forever, only a few years. Four next year, but he can never hide anything from Shouto, and neither does Denki really. Denki just isn’t as perceptive as Shouto and sometimes when Izuku may lie, Shouto gets to it before Izuku even dares to tell the truth, eventually forgetting to include him in the details that Shouto might find out. Never purposefully leaving Denki out, they’re an amazing friend group. All so important to each other.
“Mm, Bakugou started treating me not so great… So I chose to leave. We fought and I didn’t like what he said so I got up and left. We didn’t communicate our feelings much so I think it’s a little harder for me now to think he wouldn’t hold a grudge after all of that.”
Shouto’s quiet, just listening, Izuku can hear his footsteps come through his phone's microphone, each step a little reminder that Izuku should keep explaining. Step, step, step, step, four seconds. A breather, a break. He continues.
“I understand if he wouldn’t want to. But I know it’s childish, it’s probably fine, he’s probably forgotten it all. I just regret that we never talked about anything. Our feelings, our problems. It all just built and and in middle school, all we did was just argue.” Izuku focuses on the road ahead, noticing little street lights lighting the way since it’s still dark, front porch lights are on, illuminating wooden rocking chairs and small tables where people would sit and smoke. Looking at the dry pavement and grass, even though there’s a breeze most mornings, the heat will always dry up the environment. It’s getting hot. It’s been hot lately. Izuku isn’t prepared for summer yet.
“Yeah, well, I understand where you’re coming from. I knew there was more to it. You’re a loyal friend Izuku, it takes a lot for you to stop talking to someone.” Shouto said, Izuku could hear the smile in his voice. Izuku laughed along with him.
“Okay… I’m nearly at school since I left a little earlier than you did. You’d be getting here just about now right?” Shouto questioned.
“Yeah, I’m just pulling into a parking spot now.” And Izuku was, Shouto also had a great sense of time and approximation.
Izuku is about to approach Shouto at lunch. After their call this morning, he feels upbeat and relaxed, realizing he doesn’t have to deal with the stress of needing to complete something. He can do it in his own time. He notices the boy sitting next to Iida and they must be quietly talking to each other whilst they’re waiting for the others to arrive.
Maybe it’s because he’s still a little far away from them, but it doesn’t look like they’re talking too loud; they’re sitting close together, under the undercover shading, which is the best place in the school to sit with the heat lately, every other sitting spot is in the sun and to stop themselves from getting burnt, they sit undercover. They’re looking at each other kindly, bashfully but intensely. Maybe in a way where they’d assume no one was looking at them?
Shouto shuffled closer to Iida, and Iida tilted his head to whisper something in Shouto’s ear. Shouto’s skin noticeably flushed, from where Izuku can see; he must be up close.
That’s interesting. He’ll need to ask Shouto about it later.
Izuku always has to initiate the conversations with Shouto where his questioning might contain things to do with Shouto’s love life, and that’s not a problem at all, Shouto’s never been one to boast or show off what might be happening. He just keeps to himself because he thinks that his own life isn’t that important to talk about.
But Izuku constantly reassures him every time he can about how he’ll always listen to what he has to say, or want to talk about. Shouto is his best friend and Izuku will never, ever be uninterested in what he would want to tell him.
Shouto’s been working on his opening up a little more without being asked but it’s hard to feel as if what he has to say is important sometimes. Izuku makes sure he helps him understand that Shouto knows he is important.
So yeah, Shouto and Iida? If something, anything is happening, Izuku will always be the first to know. Not because of Shouto’s urgency to tell him, but because he is an observant one and tends to ask about something weeks before anyone can even start to catch on.
Izuku is first between him and Denki to meet them after the bell rang for lunch, he slumps down into his seat across from Shouto and Iida, and they give subtle smiles and greetings once they notice Izuku, quickly going back to their chatter like Izuku isn’t even there. Somehow they’re not loud even though Shouto rambles just as bad as Izuku when Iida’s there to listen.
Izuku doesn’t mind at all if he’s not acknowledged or included during this moment if he gets to see Shouto like this. It’s rare, he’s never this animated and passionate about what he wants to say, and Izuku’s noticed that when he’s either with Iida, or when Izuku and Denki have made the boy really laugh, they’re the only times he’ll break out of his shell.
Iida can somehow bring out Shouto’s energetic side, maybe because he’s calm and collected too, and that has to be balanced out, but maybe Shouto isn’t intimidated by Iida and feels comfortable to talk about literally anything he’d like, like what they’re talking about right now. Izuku grasped the question of “How would Kirishima dye his hair?”, just as he sat down, Iida contributing at times but he’s focused on peeling Shouto’s mandarin for him, handing him a slice each time it’s satisfiable enough to eat, apparently from Iida’s words. Shouto’s doing most of the talking right now.
“I think he’d sit on the bathroom sink.”
“Hm, he’d probably look from his bedroom mirror.”
“Do you think Denki’s ever helped him?” Izuku asked, and a few confident yes’s came about. Even Denki himself agreed just as he sat down with the others.
“I did so shit, dude. It looked like I killed him, it was so fucking funny. Red was everywhere.” Denki clasped his hands together, trying to further convey his point by putting on a serious act. The others took it as a cue to laugh at Denki.
“Was that the time when he came to school and he had that black patch at the back of his head?” Shouto asked.
“Yes! I don’t know how he fixed it though…” Denki trailed off in wonder.
“I do.” Iida spoke up, handing the last mandarin slice to Shouto, placing it gently in the boy’s palm, fingers lingering a few too seconds long. “Bakugou had to help him fix it in the changing rooms that night after practice. He was starting to cry but then realized how long it took you and how nice you were to help him out and felt really, really bad, he thought he was being selfish. Apparently he didn’t want you to think you did a bad job…” Iida was looking over at Denki while saying his last sentence.
“He made sure no one told Denki about what happened.” Iida added while waiting for Denki to process everything; Denki hid his face in his palms, a gesture that isn’t common for him to do. Seeing all this had Iida smirking with Shouto leaning closer into his side.
Shouto tilted his head more up to look at Iida when the boy eventually came to meet his friends eyes, Shouto whispered something in Iida’s ear and Iida gave a confident nod in return.
“Whispering’s rude y’know.” Denki interrupted.
“But when you’re with Kirishima you’re all over each other spreading everyone’s secrets.” Shouto mumbled out, albeit confidently, though quiet because he still appreciates Denki enough to not have everyone in the school know that he’d likely know their business.
That made the boy a buffering mess. “…‘Zuku! W-What’s gotten into Sho?!” He was surprised, eyebrows lifted and face splitting from laughing, it’s rare to hear a remark from Shouto, especially a snarky one, you have to really get him going. Shouto just smirked and his eyes fell forward to somewhere between his fingers and Iida’s lap.
Izuku leaned in closer to Denki from the bench they shared to talk about how Shouto’s gradually getting more confident the more he’s around Iida. The two turned back into each other's space to not have heard what Izuku and Denki chose to discuss now so they could mention whatever they’d like and it’d probably not get through.
Izuku told Denki about how lately it’s getting obvious that Iida has really brought Shouto out of his shell and it’s wonderful to see. They’re excited for what’s to come, if anything.
Though Izuku also wants to show Denki his options for some camera straps he's been thinking of buying lately. He printed them out, stuck them in the scrapbook and wrote a full analysis on all three to help him decide which would be most beneficial for himself, and his camera.
Denki picks the dark green mixed with black swirls for Izuku because he thinks it suits his personality and style. He eventually convinces Izuku that his one would be the best, simply for its looks, he doesn’t need to worry about the quality, if he likes it, then buy it.
Izuku’s still a little stuck because he really does like the dark auburn and red strap, it’s really cool, but he doesn’t mind, the green is still just as good. He’d rather it match his looks and not clash too so maybe Denki’s right.
His pen clatters to the floor when Denki shakes him out of joy from his choice being deemed acceptable by Izuku. Izuku bends down under the bench to retrieve his pen. It’s near Iida’s foot.
Lucky, it didn’t break, Izuku thinks to himself- his eyes fall forward just as he’s rising up in his seat. Shouto’s holding Iida’s hand.
Iida’s rubbing his knuckles. Thumb swiping each one delicately; treating his hands as if they’re some sort of china you need to be fragile with and cherish if you’re lucky enough for it to even graze your skin, let alone be able to grasp and hold on to.
Izuku’s movements paused when he was under the table for a decent couple of seconds, until Denki spoke and terrified him since he simply forgot who was even there, what he was meant to be doing. Izuku hits his head as he makes his way back up on the edge of the metal table. He squeaks out, partly from the pain but mostly from the unexpected surprise he’s just witnessed.
Izuku’s never gotten flushed over witnessing hands being held but God is that the situation he’s in right now.
He doesn’t want to let them know he saw anything so he just rubs his head where he hit it and when everyone turns to ask if he’s okay, he just nods quickly instead of answering. Knowing his voice will give out on him from the excitement.
He’s trying his best not to grin as Shouto double checks, asking if he’s sure, insistent on saying he’s okay because he really isn’t sore anymore, the excitement took all the pain away immediately, instead filling that spot with an internal rhythm of heart palpitations and desperate jitters to shake Shouto and cheer him on.
Once he’s got his pen back in tow and his fingers can grasp the pen without shaking too much, he writes quickly across his notebook. Helping Denki out since he seems quite confused about this whole exchange.
They’re holding hands!! Is what Izuku scribbles out onto one of the blank pages he finds in his book.
When Denki spots his note, his jaw drops, entirely unexpected and wouldn’t think that could possibly happen between Shouto and Iida, like, ever. Izuku thought it was quite obvious.
Denki pulls Izuku’s chock-a-block full notebook over to write his unsaid words, and reaction for what’s come of this ordeal. Izuku eventually reads, before ME?? wtf?!?!?! In handwriting that’s nearly illegible, Izuku could consider it chicken scratch when comparing it to his own neatly decorated and printed notebook.
Izuku chuffs and smacks Denki gently across his arm. “I can’t believe it.” Denki says and Izuku reassures him that they’ll ‘talk about it later.’ Positively buzzing, immaculately and thankfully, Shouto doesn’t notice. Iida may have but he wouldn’t ask about it. He surely doesn’t stop his coddling so that’s a great sign.
Izuku’s phone screen lights up from where it sits on his bedside table, he put it down to charge before he’d gotten into the shower, an unknown caller is ringing, luckily he just got out in time to answer.
His thumb hovers over the accept and decline buttons, unsure which one to press, but knowing he’d regret it if he didn’t answer, so he does. Curiosity gets to the better of everyone.
It's quiet for a few seconds, the other line unsure if there’s an answer due to no response, but a voice eventually filters through.
“Hello, I am calling from Kamakura’s Women’s Healthcare Center. Am I speaking to Izuku Midoriya?” The lady’s voice was delicate, but professional; what’s she calling Izuku for? It’s a Women’s Hospital.
“Hello, yes, speaking. How may I help you?” Izuku didn’t try to sound as courteous as he did, his manners just took over. Not necessarily a bad thing though.
“Our system has your information labelled as an Emergency Contact for Inko Midoriya since her husband is out of the country. I’m calling to inform you about an accident that occurred at her workplace today. She’s confirmed okay, but she will be needing surgery overnight, due to a fracture in the hip. We’re not sure if you were already aware of this situation but she will be going in very soon and had to let you know as soon as possible just in case.”
It was a lot to take in.
And quite frankly, Izuku couldn’t take it in right now, avoiding all the questions that popped into his mind. Izuku was silent but he had so many questions to ask. He only managed to break through some trance of shock he didn’t even realize he was in when the receptionist spoke again. Well, she didn’t really speak, just gave a knowing hum. Having a reaction like Izuku is normal with sudden news.
“Uhm- Okay, I,” He can’t get his words out, he tries again. “No, I didn’t know about this. A-Am I able to visit her? Is she in an alright condition?” He asks, not remembering if she mentioned it already, but more importantly, is he allowed to come in?
“I’m really sorry to say that we won’t be allowing the visiting hours to open until tomorrow since she’ll be undergoing the surgery throughout the night.”
“Okay, I understand. What are the hours if you don’t mind me asking?” Izuku’s frantic, wanting to receive an answer as soon as he could. Purposely speeding up his own words so he isn’t dragging on the important details that could be coming.
“Of course, hunny. You’re allowed to come in from nine in the morning until six at night since you’re immediate family, if there are any friends or relatives who might want to visit, they will have to wait until twelve in the afternoon, okay?” The receptionist said, her voice is soft. She seemed like an older, caring woman. Like his Mother.
“Yeah- Yes, thank you.” Izuku’s trying his hardest to stay rational, but his mind is racing and his palms are clammy, which are now making his phone slip slightly from his hand.
“Okay, well, thank you for taking the sudden news so responsibly. I’m very sorry over what has happened, and I hope you’re able to visit your Mother tomorrow. Have a nice night, Midoriya.”
“Yeah, thank you… You too.” The call hangs up. What will he do now?
Out. He needs to be out. Somewhere, anywhere.