Archive of Our Own ^beta

Contrary to popular belief, Katsuki Bakugo is not heartless. No. Sadly, he does have a functioning emotional side of his mind, that is constantly nagging about being tired, sad or angry. Mostly angry.

He’s learned to deal with it, though.

The anger used to be his whole personality back in the day. Now, whenever he looks back, he just rolls his eyes at his younger over-the-top self. Not to say he’s not still the Bakugo everyone has come to know and love, he’s mostly the same. Grumpy, dry-witted and with a perpetual resting-bitch-face just half-hidden by the high collar of his suit whenever he’s doing hero work.

What’s changed is that he’s not uncontrollably angry all the time. Now it’s under control, and can selectively come out whenever he needs to blast some bastard back to hell.

Perhaps related to his reconciliation with emotional maturity, Katsuki now has friends. Genuine friends. Not ‘those extras I let talk to me’, genuine profound friendships.

The clarity that comes with getting your shit together really hits Bakugo, it turns out. For one, it gives him a newfound purpose to be a hero (it’s no longer just to be the best, but to help people too). Extras aren’t all extras anymore, and he’s a little less explosive with those he knows are trying to help.

Hell, Katsuki finally admitted to himself he did want friends. Not a lot. A couple. Five max. Which is what he has. Plus the other extras he talks to on the daily but he does NOT count them as friends. For reasons. Okay, maybe Half-n-Half.

However, with this whole clarity thing, came an earth-shattering realization…

See, one of his six friends is none other than Izuku Midoriya. And a few months ago, Bakugo realized that maybe, just maybe , he wants a little more from his bond with Izuku than just friendship. To put it frankly…

Katsuki has been slowly testing the waters to see if Izuku would be okay with a relationship.

He knows he still has a lot of things to change, okay? It’s not like his bad temper or pathological competitiveness have faded in seven years. But things have been going great. For everyone. They’re pro-heroes now.

Izuku has remade his life and is really passionate about teaching and his students. Hard to believe he started off just shadowing Aizawa and grading everybody’s papers in school, and now he’s in charge of his own class.

For once after the war, everyone feels like they can move on with their lives. Bakugo has stopped having daily nightmares, Izuku has stopped staying up all night “just in case”. The old hag has stopped calling every two seconds to see if he’s still alive.

Back when the war had just happened, they healed basically in the same room (after Bakugo planted his ass in Izuku’s room and refused to leave). They held hands whenever they had to go outside, dealt with each other’s panic attacks and even slept in the same bed when shit got too bad. They’d take turns sleeping just to reassure the other that nothing bad would happen. Those were their first two to three years.

Now? Now they’re nearing 22, against the universe’s relentless attempts at killing them, and Katsuki wants to do something about this feeling of ‘butterflies’ tearing through his abdomen every time he and Izuku so much as look at each other. It’s happening way too often.

Not that Bakugo’s complaining.

Their collective group of friends is rowdy and maybe a little codependent, so they hang out at select spots like two times a week. At least .

In other words, they all have ample time and opportunities to have quality time with each other. Yep. Except for the explosive blonde himself, it’s more like continuous contact with the one person that can make him feel these uncomfortable and annoying things.

Not to say it hasn’t been great. It’s brought them even closer than before. But the fact of the matter is, keeping his feelings hidden is bordering on unbearable now.

Regardless of their chemistry, though, Katsuki hasn’t made a move just yet. He wants to, definitely. And his friends have been nagging him for months about it, always doing their best to convince him he has a shot. That’s not what it’s about, is the thing.

See, Katsuki doesn’t want to stress Izuku out .

He knows big decisions with even bigger stakes are something his (traumatized) best friend doesn’t appreciate. Lately he’s obsessed with “getting things right”. Which sounds innocuous, right?

But then you find Izuku at 3 am re-checking the papers he just graded to “get it right”.

Or taking half an hour to order food on a new restaurant because he wants to “get it right”.

Or refusing to play a sport before he’s watched enough videos and how-to commentary on it to “get it right”.

Perfectionism doesn’t even begin to cover it. Izuku’s absolutely terrified of making mistakes. It’s what happens when a bunch of inept extras decide you’re gonna have to save the world at fifteen and that weight has to rest on your shoulders. That shit sticks with you, it turns out. The feeling never really goes away for Izuku.

So what freaks Katsuki out isn’t the idea of getting a ‘I’m not feeling the same thanks’. No. What freaks him out is that he could go “be my boyfriend” and then Izuku would barricade himself in his room for months until he figures out if it’s “right” or not.

A testing of waters is necessary .

The goal’s fairly simple: see if the vague idea or reference to something more makes Izuku freak out or not. If he doesn’t freak out after a few tries… Bakugo can go for it. If he does freak out, the options are: slow down or get over it. Simple.

Having decided he’d do this, Katsuki wasted no time. That very next week, the perfect opportunity presented itself.

Mina had been so excited to go to some fair and waste her money on shitty food and trinkets. Everyone else thought it was the best idea she’d ever had, so now here they are. Smelling that oh-so-delicious scent of burnt oil and body odor.

They’d come here with Kirishima, Mina, Sero, Todoroki and Denki. Ochako came too and then disappeared the second she caught a glimpse of some blonde.

Shitty Hair and Pinky disappeared shortly after two, because it was their anniversary. A year ago, Bakugo would’ve complained about it. Today, though? After having hear how Kirishima was stressing over this anniversary gift he bought and how nervous he was that it wasn’t good enough? He found himself genuinely hoping those two have a good night.

See? Katsuki knows their names now AND he can empathize. Progress .

It’s eerie for Bakugo to find himself empathizing of all things. But whenever the red-head describes how he feels about his girlfriend, all Bakugo can think is that it’s bizarre that he’s having such a generic love-response. And believe it or not, despite how awkward that is, it has brought them closer as friends.

The rest of them sad single men were wandering around, looking for something fun to do when out of fucking nowhere , Sero, Denki and Todoroki just decided to run off, and Katsuki lost sight of them too quickly. Dammit.

Izuku tripped and Bakugo barely caught his ass before it slapped against the concrete- and just as they’re righting themselves, they notice they’re alone.

In the distance, he catches sight of IcyHot’s hair getting swallowed up by the crowd.

“Those bastards!” Bakugo huffs, turning to quietly rake his eyes all over Izu’s body to make sure everything’s okay.

Midoriya dusts himself off, “I’m sorry! I swear there wasn’t a step there a second ago!” The pout the idiot throws at the concrete he nearly kissed is hilarious.

Dismissing the complaint, Bakugo asks, “You okay? You think you can turn your eyes back on so we don’t have to rush you to the hospital?” He’s mostly being an asshole, he knows, but he has a visible smirk on his face, signaling there’s no real heat behind his words.

“Well, alright, Katsuki!” Izuku huffs indignant, “No need to be like that!”. The blonde snorts at that. “Ready to roll?” the green-haired man adds, rolling his shoulders. At the questioning look Bakugo gives, he clarifies, “Race you! Whoever catches ‘em first wins!”

Bakugo grabs his friend by the collar just as he starts running and pulls him back, “You almost brained yourself just now walking , dipshit, and you wanna run through a crowd now?! You have a death wish?!”

Frowning, Izu sighs, “But our friends-!”

“Let ‘em go!” Katsuki shrugs, releasing the bunched up shirt in his hand. “Bless the silence”.

Izuku chuckles, fixing his hoodie, “You sure?”

At that moment, both their phones start buzzing in tandem. The three idiots were blowing up the group chat.

>> ElbowTape: Bakubro!

>> ElbowTape: Dude!

>> Pikachu: You’re gonna love this!

>> ElbowTape: There’s a spicy ramen contest!

>> IcyHot: People want money for decimating their tongues.

>> IcyHot: You should do it

It’s honestly tempting. Spicy ramen is probably the most decent meal he’s gonna find around here, but at the same time… he still hasn’t made a move. He’d hoped he and Izu would get to walk a little behind, maybe get a conversation going just the two of them, but they’ve all been attached at the hip tonight. This is the first moment alone they’ve gotten in the last three hours.

So he’s not exactly wanting to go back to the other idiots just yet. Izuku didn’t say much about the proposition. He just smirked down at his phone, and turned to look behind them, to the bright neon lights announcing an arcade. Moron Deku looked so resigned…

“Let’s go, then” Izuku says, trying again to walk off as he types.

>> Izuku: Where?! Where are you?! We’re near the arcade

>> Pikachu: Walk straight to the giant red ramen sign dude, ya can’t miss it!

>> ElbowTape: We’re gonna be rich!

Katsuki once again stops Deku before he can go too far, “Who says I wanna go?”

Looking at him with concern, Izu scoffs, “It’s ramen, Kacchan. And it’s spicy. Why wouldn’t you go?” He has a point.

See, at this point in the conversation is when Bakugo starts thinking about what his move is gonna be. It has to be subtle, just testing something out. A move that can be shrugged off if it’s too disturbing, but also one that makes a clear point about where he stands.

Why did he not think about this beforehand? He did. He has been thinking about only this for fucking months !

Faced with this conversation, though, he has to come up with something. “I already ate” he shrugs, nonchalant.

“That’s a lie!” Izuku points accusingly, “You were complaining a second ago about how stupid fairs don’t have real food!”

Dammit. “Fine!” he huffs. “I just don’t wanna go, okay?!”

“Why not?!”

This is where it hits him. The perfect way to make a subtle point here, is to not be subtle at all. Be transparent and direct. See what happens. “I’d rather just be with you, you idiot!” he shoots back, his voice immediately lowering, “Is that so hard to get? We can go in the arcade and eat something later”.

Seemingly not getting it in the least, Izuku narrows his eyes, “Really?” His voice drips with sarcasm, “You’d rather be here with me than with our friends eating spicy ramen and getting paid ?”

Is it wise to be so idiotically transparent? Maybe not. But he does it anyway. “Yeah” he replies sincerely, not backing down.

The dry reply leaves Izuku dumbfounded for all of a second. And then he chuckles, “I forgot you were kind of a nerd, too! We used to love going to the arcade together!”

They did actually. But Katsuki takes offense, “A nerd?!”

“Tell you what” Deku suggests, walking towards the blue neon sign, “Whoever wins less tickets pays for any dinner the winner wants”. Oh, that offer was perfect .

“Your funeral” Bakugo smirks, cracking his knuckles.

Excitedly running inside, Izu chants “Yes, yes, yessss”.

Just as he’s about to get some change to play, he remembers he needs to tell the extras he’s not gonna show up. Because empathy . See? He’s getting good at that whole thing.

<< Bakugo: No can do jerks

<< Bakugo: I’m showing this nerd who’s boss at stupid little games

<< Bakugo: If you need us we’re at the arcade

>> Pikachu: We already bought a ticket to compete!

>> ElbowTape: Ah, shit!

>> ElbowTape: Seriously?!!

>> IcyHot: I’ll take videos. This is gonna be hilarious.

>> Pinky: Send them on here

>> Red: Denks, bro, please tell me you’re not competing

>> Pikachu: Spice is like electricity! Kinda! Right?

>> Pikachu: RIGHT?! 

 

Two hours later, Half-n-half would send a video from the emergency room, with Denki smiling wobbly at the camera.

>> IcyHot: [Video]

>> IcyHot: Wrong

 

Idiots.

On their side, Bakugo and Izuku spent gods know how long in that arcade. Whenever they counted the tickets it was always either exactly the same or a difference of one that neither counted as a significant difference, so they went back.

Somewhere along the way they found a Guitar Hero set up where they could play in pairs and it was all of their childhood rock songs. Half an hour later they were even singing the songs and pretending they were guitarists and drummers in the same band. It was a fucking great night. Really.

By the end of it, though, they forgot to ate. Both of them. And now all the food stands were closed, while they had to walk what felt like an infinite amount of miles to go back home to raid Bakugo’s snack cabinet.

Not only that, it was getting cold as shit.

Bakugo anticipated as much though and was toasty under two different jackets. His quirk depended on him being super warm so he took layers seriously. However the oblivious nerd had decided to come along in a t-shirt.

Just that.

“I’m n-not c-cold! I’m just t-tired!” Deku protested for the billionth time.

The teeth-chattering wasn’t really helping his case. “You’re shivering, dumbass”.

This whole argument started because Bakugo, being the EMPATHETIC badass that he is nowadays, wanted to offer one of his jackets and asked ‘you cold?’. Gods fucking forbid. Noooo, Izuku I’m-a-strong-independent-woman Midoriya had to INSIST he’s not cold. It could fucking snow any second now, but the bastard is not cold. He’s just naturally blue, surely.

“I’m-m n-not sh-shivering!” Deku insists, offended.

Rolling his eyes, Bakugo shrugs “Fine, whatever. Here I was gonna let you burrow one of my jackets if you were cold…”

Big grateful eyes stare back at him like he brought down the moon and stars themselves. “You were?!” he smiles in relief.

But now Katsuki wants to be difficult. “Since you’re NOT cold, though, I guess I don’t have to” he shrugs, sticking his hands in his jacket pockets. Izu pouts. “Right? You said you’re not cold, didn’t you?”

If Bakugo’s sin is arrogance and anger, Izuku’s sin is stubbornness. He simply nods, trying to suppress actual shivers in complete silence. This bitch is so proud he won’t admit he’s cold . Taking pity on the bastard, he takes both jackets off to give to Deku the one that’s warmer. Or more like, throwing it in his face.

Turning surprised, Izu stares. Katsuki just huffs, “Proud little fuck”.

Putting the jacket on quickly and sighing in relief, the freckled-idiot clears his throat. “If… If hypothetically , I say thank you… that doesn’t mean I’m admitting I’m cold, right?”

Bakugo actually cracks a smile, “Shut up”.

“It doesn’t, does it?” Izuku presses, smirking as he bumps their shoulders together. “I’m not cold, I’m just thankful!”

So, first day testing the waters: Honestly, not bad.

Izuku didn’t run away, he wasn’t creeped out or disgusted. He took the subtle message in stride.

Did the nerd love it? That was still unclear, but at the end of the day, it wasn’t that blatant a gesture.

He told Izuku he’d rather be with him than with all their friends. That’s it. He’s just grateful Deku didn’t reject it or insist they go back or say something like ‘ it’s weird being together just the two of us’ .

For now, he’d count this as a win.

But he needed more testing of the waters.

A lot more.

So next time he got the chance, he seized it with a lot more boldness than he’d meant to.

It’s nearing Valentine’s Day, and shit’s getting intense for Izuku. He wants to do the best for his kids, always, and UA is allowing the celebration this year. So, in Izu’s obsessive brain, ‘giving his students the best’ includes bizarre shit like handcrafting the best decorations and getting the best candy for that day.

Tiny problem? Izuku has no time to put everything together himself. Idiot dreams big, but has like fifteen minutes a week to himself. So he enlisted some help.

Who could say no to big green eyes, huh?

Clearly not Bakugo, because he offered his own house so they could paint all these huge unnecessary decorations and shit.

To make a long story super short: things are going smoothly. Everyone is being productions and helping out. Things came together quite quickly, actually, and the last big thing is the one he’s currently in charge of. IcyHot is helping Bakugo paint this gigantic heart thing, and they’ve been bantering back and forth all the while.

It’s almost done. The thing’s red. But IcyHot figures maybe they should ‘ paint on another layer’. He can go fuck himself, that’s what Bakugo thinks. And he makes it abundantly clear.

An argument sparks from that, because of course. God forbid one says ‘no’ to the red and white baby. In his infinite honesty/little-shit-ness, Todoroki remarks “Would you gift this mediocre heart to your crush? Midoriya doesn’t deserve that”.

That’s when Bakugo loses it a little.

Just a little.

By that he means he throws a bucket of red paint on Todoroki. And then huffs amused and says “Heh, now you’re all red”.

That was the wrong thing to say.

Three minutes later there was a paint war going on and all Bakugo could think was ‘ thank fuck I put down a gigantic plastic tarp that covered everything’.

The fight stopps when, just as Bakugo grabs the last bucket of blue paint, Izuku walks in. IcyHot dodges the blue explosion and Deku’s quite literally bathed in blue paint. Soaked to the bone. His eyes must be blue now.

Izu gasps, wipes some blue of his face, and turns an annoyed glare at Katsuki, “You’re making all of us Katsudon for this”.

Even as Bakugo tries to refuse, he knows he’s gonna end up doing it anyway. That annoyed glare was oddly intimidating for some reason. Plus, he incidentally started a pain fight in his own house and now everyone was covered in paint. Stupid empathy would dictate he owes them dinner if they’re gonna have to go back home like that. And they’re gonna have to. He refuses to let just anyone use his good bathroom, they’re gonna stain it.

He arms everyone outside with as much wet wipes as he can find in his cleaning stuff cabinet, and then he gestures for Izuku and IcyHot to follow to his room. Mostly because those two were soaked with paint and his bathroom was the only way they’d get that all off.

Half-n-half apparently had a some spare change of clothes, so it was fine. Izuku on the other hand would probably have to burrow. That didn’t bother Bakugo as much as he thinks it should…

So a few minutes later find them crammed in his bathroom. Half-n-half is in the shower, in his underpants which are surprisingly not red. Bakugo is hurrying him up from the sidelines, and Izu is sitting on the toilet, bemusedly scrolling through TikTok.

“This is all your fault” Bakugo grumbles, staring a hole through IcyHot’s stupid big head.

Unimpressed, Todoroki points out, “You threw the paint first. I had to defend myself”. That’s a load of bullshit.

Katsuki huffs, “Don’t act all innocent, you know what you did!” It’s one thing to have all his friends know he has feelings for Izuku but another very different one to be teased about it. The only suicidal fucker that does it is Half-n-half. Although, to be fair, he’s always so earnest about it that it’s really hard to tell if he’s teasing or he’s just that fucking clueless.

“I just said it was a mediocre heart to give to your crush” IcyHot states calmly. The reminder of those words with Izuku in the room makes the blonde panic slightly.

Naturally, Bakugo tries to reach out to grip Todoroki’s throat, but Izu pulls him back by his soaked shirt. “Behave, Kacchan. We god enough of a mess to clean up already”.

Bakugo obeys. Not because he’s a weak man, but because Deku sounds genuinely tired. He doesn’t need more shit on his plate than he already has. See? Empathy . Still, instead of validating his achievements in self growth, IcyHot smirks at him knowingly.

That stupid smirk is implying something the blonde really doesn’t like. “Watch it” he warns, “Not a word”.

Todoroki’s eyes drop to where Izuku’s hand is still grabbing onto his shirt, and he hasn’t let go yet. “You’re really not gonna do anything tomorrow?”

Tomorrow? On Valentine’s? HA! Hell no. First of all, he’s original. Not like those generic bastards falling in love over a fabricated holiday. And second of all, he really sucks at homemade chocolates for some reason. So he refuses. “Not yet. I need a bit more time”.

It’s odd, but IcyHot has this way of just looking at him that immediately makes Bakugo open up. Even if he doesn’t want to. Maybe it’s the trauma in his eyes.

“More time for what?” Izuku chimes in, not looking up from his phone.

Clearing his throat, Katsuki pretends like he hasn’t noticed Izuku’s hand still hanging onto his shirt and his fingers sometimes reaching out to touch his back. “I’m saying I’m gonna take my time to kill IcyHot. I’m gonna make it slow and painful”.

Izuku chuckles and gets once again sucked into his TikTok feed.

Once Todoroki deems it safe again, he adds, “You’re taking too long”.

Maybe. But it’s all for a good reason. Unlike OTHER idiots with feelings. “Oh yeah? What’re you doing tomorrow with Turbo-boy, then? Hurry the fuck up already”.

Halfie chokes on the paint-water streaming down his face, and eventually grumbles, “Let’s stop talking about this”.

“Thought so”.

Eventually, Todoroki deems himself clean enough, and he steps out. He gratefully takes the towel Bakugo provides, and even thanks him when he says ‘ keep the damned towel ’.

After that, he gestures for Izu to take his shower first, since he was still dripping blue paint on his bathroom floor. Gods, he was gonna have to take a whole weekend to clean up this mess thoroughly.

“I never get what you guys are fighting about” Izuku shakes his head with a fond smile.

They don’t fight. They communicate in passive and/or active aggressiveness. It’s different. “What’s there to get? He’s an asshole”.

Deku huffs, “Right…” He starts taking his clothes off, and it catches Bakugo so off guard his pulse starts racing. “And you’re what? An angel?”

He’s seen Izu literally naked, Jesus Christ, why is he having such a lame reaction to this?! The guy is BLUE! “D— uh…” he can’t even get a word out.

Unaware, Izuku continues, “Seriously, all I ask is that my two best friends don’t kill each other, you know? What can’t you two be like I am with Kirishima-kun, huh?! We had coffee the other day and we ended up crying about videos of rescued kittens for like half an hour” he relays proudly.

Okay, so, not so sure if he should be proud about that.

Wait a minute, “You had coffee with Red?! When?! You guys didn’t tell me!”

“We’ve both told you like eleven times that we get together whenever he gets a Wednesday off” Izuku rolls his eyes, “And guess what? We didn’t have to argue once ”.

No arguing? And they cried about cats? Boring.

After a little grunting, Deku sighs, “Dammit, it’s gonna take forever to get the paint off my hair…” he complains. Shit, now Bakugo actually feels guilty.

He can see the nerd trying to maneuver tufts of dried paint and hair but it’s as if it’s all moving as a mass. Katsuki didn’t let IcyHot grab his shampoo because it felt weird. Like it was crossing a line. But Izuku was different. “Grab my shampoo”.

Opening his eyes under the spray, Izu smiles, “Really?!” The guy doesn’t even wait for a reply, he just grabs it, “Woah! You use the fancy stuff!”

“Fancy?”

Studying the bottle, the nerd seems in awe, “I use the three in one my mom gets me”.

Three in— what?! “Does Auntie not love you or something?!”

“Hey!” Izuku defends, “It’s convenient!” Convenient?! Convenient is having something that’s gonna clean your hair without absolutely destroying it!

Convenient his ass. “They’re three different products for a reason! Would you mix hand soap, bleach and window cleaner and then try to wash your hands with that shit?!”

Seeming to get his point, Izu curls in on himself a little, “But it smells nice…”

Sadly, Katsuki can’t argue that. He’s caught the eventual not-at-all-perverted whiff of his friend’s freshly washed hair, and it smells… nice. Really nice.

“Mine smells better” he retorts.

It makes Deku chuckle, “Yeah, well, I can’t come here every day and shower, dummy”. Except he can. If he ever accepts the whole relationship thing, that is. It’s an overwhelming thought. Bakugo accidentally catches his reflection in the mirror, and he sees the flustered excitement clear on his face.

After not enough time to recover, Izu pulls back the curtain that had been halfway drawn, “Done!” As soon as his stupid face peaks around the curtains, Bakugo contains a snort. His face is crusted over with plume paint, still, how does he not notice?! It’s probably way too stuck if it didn’t wash off just like that. So Bakugo makes a split-second decision.

“Stay there” he instructs, moving to one of the drawers by the sink, to grab some cotton pads. He also catches sight of that ‘cleanser’ thing Mina left here three weeks ago. If it’s goon enough to take off makeup, maybe it’s good enough for this.

Watching him coming, Izuku frowns, “Did I miss a spot?”

Instead of answering, Katsuki just gently guides him to sit on the toilet again.

“What is that?” Deku pries, staring at the blue bottle in his hand.

“Cleanser or some shit. Raccoon eyes uses it to get off her seven inches of make up every day so I figure it could help on your face” he explains.

Without even trying to check how much paint is actually on his face, Izuku just smiles, “Smart”.

Bakugo smirks, “I am”.

He pauses though. At this moment, he’s aware he has to reach out to touch if he wants to clean Izuku’s face correctly. But he figures he can either do it impersonal and clinical… or he could test the waters again.

…Test the waters it is.

Tenderly, he brings up a hand to cup Deku’s cheek, gently moving his face to the side and applying the cotton pads in circular motions. The hand holding the nerd in place, though, had a bit of a wandering thumb that every so often would move back and forth. Too slow to be an outright caress, but still present.

Izuku’s eyes widened and remained like that for a few moments. Just reflecting surprise and confusion. After a while, he snaps his eyes up to meet Katsuki’s, and studies his face with overwhelming interest.

Doing his best to not get defensive, the blonde keeps his features as relaxed as possible. Whatever Izu’s looking for by staring like that, he should find it.

“How come I can use your shampoo and Todoroki-kun can’t?” Izuku asks after a while.

That’s an easy one. “His weird Half-n-half hair is gonna ruined my drain.

Unamused, Deku huffs, “That’s bullshit”. It’s odd to hear him cuss, so this must mean something.

“He got all the paint out, no problem. He didn’t need it” Bakugo explains.

“Yeah, but you didn’t even let him use your soap” the nerd points out. Unsure of why this is so fascinating to the freckled bastard, Katsuki shrugs. “And you didn’t give him a decent towel”.

Well, yeah, but that’s just basic cleanliness. “Sharing soap is wrong, dipshit. And I only have two decent towels anyway, and I gave one to you”.

“You didn’t even offer him a change of clothes!” Midoriya exclaims, as if he’s indignant.

Is this idiot seriously upset about this?! “I. Don’t. Like. IcyHot” he punctuates every word, “‘S that clear enough for you?” He can’t make that any clearer without confessing right fucking here.

Seeming to be picking up on the completely and utterly OBVIOUS context clues, Izuku frowns, “But you gave me a towel. And you let me borrow your soap. And shampoo”.

“I don’t remember letting you use my soap, you filthy psycho!” Christ, now he’s gonna have to throw that thing. Paint is gonna render it useless.

Ignoring him completely, Izu grabs his wrist, locking eyes with him, “Does that mean you like me?” It was an innocent question. But the weight of it was rendering Bakugo completely silent.

Instead, he runs his thumb over Izuku’s jaw a couple more times, before moving away, “There. You’re done. Get outta here”.

Smiling brightly, Deku checks himself out in the mirror, “Thanks!” Standing up, he ends up staring at Katsuki for a little too long, before shaking his head. “Right. Need to get out”.

Once the door closes again, Bakugo sighs. That was way more intense than it needed to be. Regardless, he manages to snap out of it and start undressing.

The door opens again though, and a familiar mop of green hair pokes inside, “Oh, by the way, Kacchan, can I—? Uh…”

By this point, Bakugo was already naked except for his black underpants, and he was walking under the spray, “Can you what?” he asks, rubbing at his arms and chest to get the big chunks of paint off, “Borrow clothes?”

When silence stretched for a little too long, Katsuki lifts his head. From his vantage point he couldn’t see Izuku directly but he had a little mirror in the shower that was built in before he moved, and from there he caught the way Izuku’s eyes were wide and avidly raking every inch of his body.

Damn did it feel good. He went as far as to peek his head out to smirk knowingly at Izuku, “Nerd?”

Shaking his head, Izu mumbles “Hm?”

“You wanted to borrow clothes?” the blonde smirks.

As if just now remembering, Deku starts “Uh- Yeah! Yeah. Sorry, I just…” he trails off.

“Stop drooling and grab whatever you need” Bakugo instructs, “Lemme shower in peace”. At this, Izuku blushes ten shades of red before shutting the door again.

As soon as he was left alone, his cheeks started feeling hotter and hotter. Was Izuku really checking him out? Was he just startled by the semi-nudity? Was he thinking about something else? They all seemed like viable alternatives so, in truth, he couldn’t conclude much of anything.

It felt nice to be able to touch with no filter for a second, though. Izuku took the almost-caressing well, too. Well- the guy just let it happen. It’s not like he was enthusiastic about the contact. But Bakugo couldn’t let that bring him down just yet.

He had to keep testing the waters.

Just… maybe not tonight, though. Not when Izuku’s using Bakugo’s clothes and is gonna end up falling asleep accidentally on Bakugo’s bed. That’s… it’s all just too much too fast.

Bakugo will bide his time though.

He can take it easy, one step at a time.

It’s also convenient that going this glacially slow makes him feel like he can stomach doing all this change.

The next time Bakugo gets an opportunity, it’s a bold move to take it. But dammit, he’s invested now, and no way was he saying no to an almost-date that doubled as mutual comfort.

>> Izu-Nerd: Guys! Bowling, right???

>> ElbowTape: That was today?!

>> IcyHot: I can’t today, I’m on patrol until midnight.

>> IcyHot: Iida is too

>> Pinky: Same :(

>> Izu-Nerd: Aw, we’re gonna miss you guys!

>> Cheeks: Not to be an asshole…

>> Izu-Nerd: Nooooooo

>> Red: Not to be a double asshole…

>> Pikachu: I’m sick

>> Pikachu: Seriously I’m throwing up like crazy

<< Bakugo: This is what happens when you people don’t know how to organize your goddamned schedules

>> Pikachu: I can’t schedule a cold!

>> Izu-Nerd: Don’t be mean Kacchan, some things just came up!

>> Izu-Nerd: So who could actually go today?

To that, there’s silence for five whole minutes. Bakugo witnesses it, shaking his head disapprovingly at his phone. He’s on his way back from a stupidly long patrol, and he was actually kind of needed some distraction. Being alone today felt wrong.

>> Izu-Nerd: I’m not saying Kacchan’s right

>> Izu-Nerd: But I hate all of you

>> Cheeks: We’ll make it up to you!

>> Pikachu: Move it to Saturday! I can totally do Saturday!

>> Red: That super works for me!

>> Pinky: Saturday it is!

>> ElbowTape: Midobro?

>> Pinky: Send a pic of you smiling or we’re going to your house!!!

>> Izu-Nerd: [photo]

>> IcyHot: The world is back in balance

Well, that’s bullshit.

[Private chat]

<< Bakugo: That pic is from four days ago

<< Bakugo: You wanted to show me they cleaned your teeth or some shit

>> Izu-Nerd: Don’t tell them!

<< Bakugo: They know you’re mad, Nerd, you have a right to be

>> Izu-Nerd: It’s some stupid bowling night, Kacchan

>> Izu-Nerd: And we’re going on Saturday

<< Bakugo: So?

>> Izu-Nerd: So?

<< Bakugo: Why’re you still pissed?

>> Izu-Nerd: I’m not

<< Bakugo: I just finished 16 hrs of patrol, dipshit, don’t make me get it out of you

>> Izu-Nerd: I just wanted to go today is all

<< Bakugo: Because…?

>> Izu-Nerd: Today’s the anniversary

<< Bakugo: Shit…

Today’s the anniversary of the end of the war. You know. The day Bakugo stopped breathing and his heart literally stopped beating. The day Izuku broke his everything to save the world. The most traumatic day of their lives .

The most ironic part about it is that, to everybody else, this whole week is something to celebrate . It’s a goddamned holiday, the third weekend of the month.

There’s blimps and giant nondescript hero balloons. Everything is decorated with bright colors and messages of hope are written as far as the eye can see. One would think it’s a nice time for the town, but everyone on class 1-A knows… it’s the worst weekend.

They used tp get together at and get drunk even before they were allowed to. Just to cope. Nowadays, most of them act as if it’s another weekend, nothing special about it. But those first couple years? Both Bakugo and Izuku dreaded this anniversary.

They couldn’t be apart during that weekend. They got irritable and upset easily, they would lash out or be unable to stop holding hands. Even the old hag had to ask if they were dating back then and they both jumped in embarrassment, because it wasn’t like that! It was just the pure terror of having a constant reminder that all of that shit happened.

The nightmares always ramped up around that time. Bakugo’s heart always acts up during this month, just from the trauma his body endured. It remembers. And Izuku? He used to get the worst panic attacks, he got agoraphobic all of a sudden, his hands were constantly shaking…

They’ve gotten better, a lot better, but this weekend still sucks. And it sucks even more when Izuku reminds him every year of the exact date the war happened on. Not the weekend everybody celebrates, the actual date. Which is today .

Maybe that’s why he refused to get off patrol ‘til his feet started seriously dragging from exhaustion. Makes sense. And now that he thinks about it, his heart has been acting up a little today.

Seeing both an opportunity to not be alone, and an opportunity to get in some alone time together and keep testing the waters, Bakugo sighs and texts back.

<< Bakugo: Get ready. I’ll pick you up in twenty

>> Izu-Nerd: We can’t just go the two of us!

Katsuki physically stops walking.

<< Bakugo: Why not?

>> Izu-Nerd: Seriously???

>> Izu-Nerd: You’re gonna take me out bowling?

>> Izu-Nerd: Alone????????

It did seem a little odd, didn’t it. They didn’t do that anymore. Going out just the two of them had started feeling a bit too much like a date years ago, so they preferred hanging out with other people, too. Not that they didn’t sometimes run errands together or walk places together, but going out and doing an activity alone? Yeah, that kinda sounded like a date. Was that what bothered Izu?

This is the perfect time to just try something out, though, and see if they enjoy it. If it’s too awkward or weird, they can always turn back around and go play videogames remotely like they usually do.

<< Bakugo: You scared you’re gonna lose or what? I’m ready

He picks up his pace to get home quick.

>> Izu-Nerd: No!

>> Izu-Nerd: Stop! You said twenty!

<< Bakugo: On my way

>> Izu-Nerd: KACCHAN WAIT IM IN PJS!!!!

<< Bakugo: If I get there and you’re not ready I’m blasting your door down

>> Izu-Nerd: ITS UNLOCKED

<< Bakugo: Don’t care

Bakugo arrived twenty minutes later, even after pretending like he was already on his way. Everybody knows that if you want the nerd to be ready on time you scare him into hurrying.  Otherwise you’ll be waiting forty minutes with constant texts of ‘I’m so sorry’ ‘I think I’m almost done’ ‘This took a lot longer than I expected’

When he knocked on the door, a disgruntled Izuku slammed it open and glared. It got a genuine smirk out of Bakugo. “What’s with the black turtle neck?” he asks, containing a chuckle. It looked unfairly good.

“I grabbed the first thing I saw, okay?!” Izuku huffs, cheeks reddened. “I had to get ready in like two minutes because someone threatened to blow up my door!”

Katsuki snorts, “I took twenty minutes, dummy. Why’d you keep it?”

As he locks his door, Izu pouts, “It looks nice on me, okay?! Sue me!” Damn right it looks nice. Fuck .

“At least this time you’re not gonna steal my jacket” Bakugo teases. They start walking down the stairs shoulder to shoulder.

Averting his eyes guiltily, Deku mumbles, “Shoot, I still haven’t washed it”. Good. He can keep the jacket. They get to the street, and the crisp cool air chills their cheeks immediately. Izu stares down the street where they should be walking and sighs, “…We don’t have to do this…”

Fuck. Okay. So maybe Bakugo finally pushed too far. Taking a single step back and keeping his cool, he asks, “You’re not okay with it?”

It’s best to just talk shit straight, that’s what he’s always said. “It’s not that, exactly…” Izuku shrugs, bringing a hand up to scratch the back of his neck.

“If it feels too weird to go alone with me, we can just—“ the blonde started, but was quickly interrupted.

Dumbfounded, Deku speaks over him, “Weird?! It’s not weird, Kacchan, it’s selfish !”

Wait. “Huh?!”

Wiping his face with an open palm, Izuku takes a deep breath and tries to explain again, “You just got off a 16 hour shift…” Okay, that explains literally nothing. Noticing Bakugo’s confusion, the nerd adds, “You’re tired and you’re still trying to humor me! And I get you’re trying to be nice, but I’m not a baby. I can take being at home alone for a night”.

Oh. Looking down at his smart watch, Katsuki bemusedly notes his heart is going haywire. Obviously, he was scared shitless just a second ago. “I know that, you idiot” he huffs, “Did it occur to you that I wanna go?” Izu’s face told him all he needed to know. “You think I just worked 16 hours straight because I love to jump around from building to building?!” He does, but not that much. “I know what week this is. I just didn’t remember the exact date was today, but it’s still been a shitty fucking week”. Sighing, he adds a little lower, “I didn’t wanna be alone any more than you did”.

Letting a small smile overtake his features, Izuku tries to make sure, “So you really wanna go?”

Don’t smile back like an idiot, don’t smile back like an idiot, don’t smile back like an idiot- “Yeah” Bakugo says, smiling back like an idiot.

Finally letting excitement course through him (or maybe it’s just anxiety), Deku gasps, “We could bowl all night! Or ‘til the place closes! We could have those caffeine slushies we used to get, remember?!”

Yup, the blonde remembers. He remembers his doctor begging him not to take those if he didn’t want to have another heart attack. “You couldn’t sleep for a week after one of those, Deku, you’re not getting one”.

“But it was the best week of my life!” Izu protests, “Who cares?! We can find so many cool things to do! Come on!” Grabbing Bakugo by the wrist, Izuku starts running and pulling on him to get to the bowling rink faster.

Katsuki will deny it to his dying days, but he blushed at the contact.

The night is honestly the best distraction Bakugo could’ve asked for. Really. It was fun, competitive, and exciting. They talked about all the stupid shit they could think of, showed off different moves as if they knew shit about bowling, and when Bakugo inevitably won three times in a row, Izuku dared him to use the kid-friendly ramps and win like that.

They behaved like stupid idiots, is the point.

It was glorious. The best part being when they started walking out and Izuku tried to fumble for his card and Bakugo got to tell him it was taken care of. It’s the nerd’s fault for taking way too long in front of the bathroom mirror. What’s he doing messing with his hair? It’s perfect already.

As they walk back, though, Bakugo can feel himself growing nervous at the thought of being alone the rest of the night. Their night stroll is quiet. Eerily so. On their way, they can see decorations and memorabilia relating to the end of the war and shit, so it’s a little difficult not to think about it.

Noticing Izuku is shivering every so often by his side, automatically Bakugo starts taking off one of his jackets again.

“No— no!” Deku yelps as he notices the movement. “I’m not cold! I swear! I have my own jacket!” He demonstrates by putting it on.

That’s when it clicks for Katsuki. His friend isn’t shivering because it’s cold, he’s shaking because he’s extremely anxious. His hands are trembling again, and that just brings back awful memories.

They were both freaking out slightly.

It’s par for the course. Last year, the exact date was during the holiday weekend so they were with friends. But before that, whenever the anniversary rolled around, they spent the night together. Either with friends in one single house, or alone together. Sleepovers were common.

The company always made it a little more bearable. And the years have made it a lot more manageable, too.

That in mind, Bakugo swerves from their path and wordlessly walks them to a convenience store that was open 24/7. Wordlessly, he starts grabbing some snacks and spicy ramen, and some stuff for Izuku as well.

“Kacchan?”

Picking a couple packs of spicy ramen, he frowns at the labels, “You like spicy too?”

Izuku blinks, “What? What are we doing here?”

Deciding ramen without spice is just lame noodles, Katsuki shrugs, “I’m bringing you spicy. Pick a couple bags of chips”.

Chuckling in confusion, Deku seems lost, “Why?”

“Maybe get one of those slushies, too” he suggests, “We can share so I don’t die”.

Stopping Bakugo by the arm, the green-haired man lowers his voice and asks, “What’re you doing?!”

Midoriya has always been extremely oblivious, hasn’t he? “I don’t wanna spend the night alone. Obviously you don’t either” Katsuki points out, gesturing vaguely at the way the hand currently around his bicep is shaking, “So I’m sleeping in your couch”.

Instead of questioning it, or trying to pretend he doesn’t need it, Izuku immediately melts with relief, even going as far as to rest his forehead against Bakugo’s shoulder. “Thank you…” he sighs.

Resisting the urge to pull Izu into his arms in the middle of a convenience store, the blonde clears his throat, “Yeah, yeah, pick some snacks already”.

“Right…” he nods, smiling gratefully up at Katsuki. “Are we gaming or…?”

That could work. “Yeah. Video games is fine”. Neither of them particularly excels at any of the videogames they have, but they enjoy themselves well enough.

Pensive, Izuku stares at a bunch of bags promising cheesy filth inside. “If I bring those cheesy puffs thingies, you gotta promise to eat ‘em with chopsticks” he warns, grabbing a big bag.

“What?! I’m gonna look like an idiot!” Bakugo protests. Who the hell grabs puffs with chopsticks?!

Deku, however, was unmoved, “You’re not touching my controllers with cheesy hands, Kacchan, so help me god”.

Rolling his eyes, Bakugo huffs “Whatever. Just pick something”.  That said, he starts walking to the register, but a green mop of hair dashed past him, hurriedly handing out his credit card and turning to stick his tongue out.

“Ha!” Very mature. 

“You think I won’t start grabbing the expensive shit now that you’re paying?” Katsuki smirks, placing his stuff over the counter.

Izuku snorts, “I’m poor and you know it”. What they both know is that he’s only ‘poor’ because he insists on buying a billion action figure he doesn’t need. Who even gets obsessed with merch of their own friends?!

Regardless, they pay and head out, feeling a lot more at ease knowing they won’t be alone tonight.

As they’re nearing the nerd’s place, Izuku speaks up, “Thank you, Kacchan…”

“Hm?”

It’s only a questioning hum, almost a dismissal of sorts, but Deku clarifies “For understanding…”

Please. “I’m not doing you a favor, jackass” Katsuki grumbles, checking his heart rate for the billionth time tonight and seeing it a little too high. “This fucks me up, too”. Izuku’s face changes to something darker, so the blonde shoves him “You’re not supposed to think about it, nerd, this is supposed to distract us”.

“Right…” Izu sighs, thoughtfully staring at his shoes. “How’s your heart, though? Did you have a check up recently, or…?”

Rolling his eyes, Bakugo replies “I sent you the results from a month ago, remember? You begged for ‘em”. Their eyes meet, and Katsuki tries to smile a little, “I’m fine, you moron. Stop thinking about it”.

Izu nods for all of two seconds before frantically getting his phone out, “Oh yeah! You really sent them!” Obviously. “Was that… too weird?” Deku asks, turning back to him, “To ask for your medical stuff?”

If anyone had asked? Yeah, it would’ve been hella weird. His heart is his own damned business. But Izuku’s not just anyone. “I sent ‘em, didn’t I? Now stop ruining the fun, we’re already at your place”.

Turning to stare up at his apartment building, Izu exhales sharply, “That was so fast”.

“Come on”.

Was it the funnest night of Bakugo’s life? No.

Every so often they’d both remember what today was and feel weird about it. Like they were on the verge of crying and screaming but it never really came. They were on edge; Bakugo kept bouncing his leg and biting his nails and Izuku’s hands couldn’t stop shaking.

But they were there for each other. And that meant more than Bakugo could put in words.

At around 6 am, Izuku was going to work (with a homemade bento under his arm) and Bakugo was just now leaving to go to his place, shower, eat and head back out for more patrol. They slept around two hours total, but it made the blonde feel at ease to be out there.

As they were parting ways, Izuku grabbed his arm to stop him and his chest moved up and down dramatically as he took a deep breath. “We should do this again… sometime…” he suggests.

Deku’s pointed gaze felt like it was trying to tell him something but Katsuki didn’t know what it was. “Do what again? Relieving childhood trauma and pretending to be okay about it?” he jokes.

“Going—“ he cuts himself off, “Spending time together. We should do it some other time” Izu shrugs. “Maybe when it’s not the anniversary of a war or anything.

His eyebrows raise slightly, genuinely surprised by how good this ‘test of waters’ went, “Deal” he agrees. “Next time I drop by unannounced you can’t complain”.

“I won’t” Izuku grins, and with one last squeeze of Bakugo’s forearm, the nerd just bolts and runs off for no real reason. He wasn’t even late for work. “Bye Kacchan!” he yells from the other end of the street.

Scoffing, Bakugo replies a low “Bye” that goes unheard.

The tiredness and the exhaustion from overworking himself to the bone wouldn’t let Bakugo properly process that little moment beyond what he’d felt: hope . A glimmer of it, sure, but it was something.

He’d meant to explore the feeling further that weekend as they played bowling, but they ended up just going to Bakugo’s and drinking like they usually do on end-of-war weekend. There wasn’t much of a chance to be alone with Izuku.

Next weekend they finally went bowling… and shortly after they arrived, it all went to shit. Not catastrophically, thank fuck, but for their plans, it all went to shit.

The bowling place was packed to capacity and people were starting to be rude and shove everyone as they saw fit. Bakugo thought it was kind of annoying but he was engrossed in a conversation with Kirishima, and then all of a sudden the panicked voice of Pink Cheeks cut through the murmur of the crowd. “HOLY SHIT!”

“I’m fine, Ocha! Really!” Izuku reassured. But just as he did so, many more people starting gasping near them, so alarms immediately went off in his brain.

Izuku had been helping some workers with some boxes they needed to return somewhere and then one of the three guys carrying a box full of bowling balls was shoved hard . The bastard toppled over, the other two couldn’t keep the box of literal bowling bowls from falling, and the box was suddenly dropped to the ground. Izuku’s hand had been right there, trying to get a kids little leg out of the way.

The staff was apologizing profusely by the time Katsuki made his way over. As always, Izu kept insisting he was fine and it had just been an accident.

“What’s going on?!” he demands, immediately making the worker that dropped the box curl in on himself in shame.

Instead of explaining, Ochako turns, holding the injured hand up and traumatizing everyone around them. “Tell him he needs to go to the hospital!”

Well, the hand is huge, purple, and looks like a baseball mitt. And all that swelling is from the last minute alone.

“I’m fine, Kacchan, really!” Deku insists.

Those goddamned words were the bane of his existence. His eye twitches as he gestures, “Come on”. He grabs Izu’s backpack and guides the idiot outside with a hand on the small of his back.

But of course, Izuku Midoriya HATES making things easy. ”Nononono- I’m serious! See-?!” the idiot tries, shaking his hand, only succeeding in perturbing everyone around him. Again. “Totally fine!” he assures in a strained high pitched voice.

“I’m not fighting you over this” Bakugo warns, “You’re either coming or you’re coming unconscious”.

Kirishima cuts in just them, “I don’t think we should add concussion to the list of things we need to get him to the hospital for”. True, but Bakugo refuses to spend three hours trying to negotiate with this big-eyed moron just to have him get his way in the end like always.

Trying to sound reasonable, Izuku walks closer, “Look- we just got here! We can finish off our round and then-“

“And then your hand will have fallen off!” he yells, gesturing at the deformed hand currently looking like a blackberry.

Being obtuse, Deku huffs, “You’re being dramatic!”

Even Ochako clocks how much Izu just fucked himself over with those three little words. “Oop” she yelps, chuckling to herself and trying desperately to hide it.

“Excuse me?” Katsuki asks as a warning.

Immediately, Izuku changes tactics, “Kacchan…” he pouts, “Everyone’s here ‘cause I insisted! I don’t wanna-“

Before the rest of that manipulative statement could even be uttered into existence, IcyHot makes his way over with the rest of their group, “I just talked to the owner. They’re gonna replace our round later so you can go to the hospital. And they’re gonna give us food and drinks for free”.

Ochako smiles “Really?!” Girl really loves her free stuff.

Todoroki nods, “They said they want you to leave for now though” he says to Midoriya, “Your hand looks creepy and it’s scaring away costumers”.

The comment makes Izuku pout, hiding his hand a little. “Come on” Bakugo says, smirking.

“We can wait at the park nearby” Red suggests.

Katsuki nods, “See ya there”.

It’s a short walk to the hospital and a long wait before they’re acknowledged, but they spend it together looking at Bakugo’s TikTok feed and laughing at nonsense.

At some point Izuku just readjusts and lays his chin on Bakugo’s shoulder, and for a second it feels like they’re really getting closer to being that something more.

Still, Bakugo doesn’t dare lay his head against Izuku’s just yet.

By the time Deku is admitted and the x-rays are done, his hand looks like it’s gonna fall off. Plain and simple. The swelling is ridiculous.

Doesn’t help that Izu keeps poking it and grimacing when it hurts. “Stop touching it!” Katsuki chastises under his breath.

“It’s cold…” the nerd comments, gently rubbing at the bruised skin.

Rummaging through Deku’s bag, the only thing he finds are the old Dynamight gloves he asked for because they double as boxing gloves. Taking them out, he offers them, “You think these would fit?”

Izu chuckles, “Don’t think so, no”.

Well. If there’s nothing they can do to sort of heat up the hand, there’s one other thing they could try. “My hands are sweaty and disgusting but I could…” Katsuki shrugs, approaching with his hands extending to cover Izuku’s.

Midoriya gulls and nods, smiling a little as Bakugo carefully encases his hand. It takes a second before the idiot shakes his head, “Wait- who told you your hands are disgusting?”

“Nobody. I’d kill ‘em” the blonde replies simply. Izu stares at him, confused. “Everyone knows sweaty hands are supposed to be disgusting” he states, matter-of-factly.

Huffing indignant, green eyes lower back to their hands gently placed together. “It’s not disgusting. I don’t mind” is all he shoots back.

The comment makes Katsuki smile.

Bakugo stays right there as a nurse enters to give Izuku something for the swelling. An hour later his hand was hand-sized again, and the doctor was prepping the stuff for a black cast.

Izuku wasn’t crazy about the idea, but he knew he healed quicker than most. He also had access still to the UA’s old nurse so she’d make quick work of it. In the meantime, though, cast it is. Bakugo keeps Izuku talking and distracted enough, and even asks the doctor questions about how long is the cast supposed to be on and shit like that.

Finally, they’re just supposed to wait on a nurse to remove the IV, so Bakugo runs to the bathroom. As he walks back, he overhears a little interaction.

“—look way younger than that!” comes the voice of an overly sweet nurse.

Izuku chuckles awkwardly, “Heh, I guess I’ve always had a baby face”.

“It’s okay, hun” she reassures, “Us girls would kill for a pretty young face like that, you gotta own it!” The comment makes Izu laugh. Bakugo had been about to walk in when he overhears, “It’s true, too! You have a handsome boyfriend that thinks so!”

His watch starts buzzing alerts that his heart rate just randomly spiked.

Izu sputters a little, “I- Boyfriend?”

“He was so nice, bringing you here and holding your hand!” she points out.

“No! No, that’s not— see you probably got confused— I- He’s not—“ the frantic stammering was alarming. The sheer panic Izuku sounded like he was in had Bakugo barging in.

The woman coos, “See? He doesn’t leave your side for too long! That’s so considerate!”

Bakugo raises an eyebrow, “All his friends would do this for him, he gets hurt all the time”. It sounds casual enough that Deku immediately relaxes. His shoulders sag and his nervous smile relaxes into something more subdued.

“Ah! Cuties!” the nurse smiles, just as she’s picking up her stuff.

“Just go away you old hag” he grumbles, watching as the giggly brunette disappears behind the curtains. “Come on, you’re free to go” Bakugo gestures, helping the nerd stand up and rearranging his sling with clinical precision.

Izuku was flustered as they walked out, but didn’t say much.

Katsuki on his part was kind of hurt…

If the idea of him being the boyfriend made Izuku so uncomfortable then there really was no point in testing the waters further, right? Up until now the results had been neutral or mildly positive, but the way Izu just panicked today was alarming.

Mina caught his subdued demeanor from a mile away. Literally. So as everyone fawned over Izuku and his little cast, Racoon eyes pulled him to the side and asked what happened. Bakugo told her. Of course he did. That woman has helped through so much already, if anyone can know where to go from here it’s her.

Her perspective, though, was completely opposite. “He got flustered, Blasty!” she chuckles, “That’s great!”

“What?”

Pinky huffs, “Are you dense? He got flustered ‘cause he wishes you WERE the boyfriend!”

Holy shit. “You’re delusional” he replies.

She scowls. “Oh really? How would you have reacted if the roles were reversed?”

Bakugo imagines himself exploding a nurse and blushing wildly as he yells it’s none of their goddamned business. “What’s your point?” he huffs back.

“The point is this is a good thing, dummy! He likes you back!” she enthuses, “You need to make a move already!”

Bakugo could’ve laughed, “Hell no! I can’t just do that to him, I need to be sure! He needs to be sure!”

Having heard this argument a million times, Punky sighs, “Just ask him point blank, dammit, he can take it!”   

Can he?! ‘Cause he nearly had a heart attack today just because a nurse assumed they were together! “I need to be sure BEFORE I ask!”

“Ask indirectly then!” she suggests, “Like ‘ hey, would you hypothetically be into relationships? And what of hypothetically your boyfriend was blonde and grumpy?’ And then you work up to ‘ Hey, you wanna not-so-hypothetically make out?!’ And that’s your happily ever after!” Mina argues.

Bakugo scowls, “You’re clinically insane. Take your goddamned meds”.

“Fine” she huffs, “Do it your dumb way and take months to find out what I could’ve found out in one night”.

As they walked back to the group, Izuku locked eyes with Bakugo in an instant and smiled wide his way. So he wasn’t so weirded out by what happened before, at least.

Later that night the nerd even not-so-subtly said his hand was cold again, just loud enough for Bakugo to hear. Even in spite of his gnawing fear, the blonde offered to grab Izuku’s hand again and keep it warm, right there where it hung in the sling.

…They held hands the rest of that night.

You heard that right. It’s not that Izuku’s hand was limply receiving heat from Bakugo’s hand. No. Izuku laced their fingers together and refused to let go.

And suddenly, that’s enough.

Enough doubts, enough uncertainty, enough hints and mixed signals.

Bakugo’s had more than fucking enough . Mina is right. He’s had his time to overthink this and he’s run his tests… it’s time to just be direct.

It still takes him two weeks to ask.

They went to that rich-people club again this time to play basketball. Momo invites them over from time to time. This time, it’s because Bakugo and Kirishima have been obsessed with playing basketball and following their favorite teams and such.

Yes. They’re sport nerds.

Regardless, it’s a riot when all of class 1-A gets together for stuff like this. Feels like the good ol’ times.

They managed to book the court for a few hours, and Momo waved her card around as she asked what everyone wanted to eat and drink. It was a good day, indeed. At least the chefs in this place really know what they’re doing.

For the most part, though, they play. They made teams and made up their own rules, allowing quirks to play a part within reason. It gets interesting after that.

Their game has been going on for an hour and a half already, when a time out is called. Bakugo approaches a bench to plop his ass down and take a breather. Perhaps not-so-coincidentally, Izuku approaches to rest on the same bench.

“Y’know, it’s not fair to explode opponents” Deku comments, eyes closed and head thrown back over the headrest.

Katsuki chuckles, “Show me the rule”. He chugs his entire bottle of water and magically, a new one appears near him.

Izuku scoffs amused, “You could’ve hurt Denki!”

Please, Pikachu is immortal. They all know it. “I didn’t, look at him”. The idiot is making his idiot face at Jirou, who is barely containing her laughter. “Same idiot as always”.

“You’re unbelievable” Izu shakes his head disapprovingly.

Oh, come on! “You’re on my team! Stop complaining if I’m making us win!”

“Yeah, well” green eyes briefly side eye him, smirk on his face, “ I like to win fair and square, so…”

“Bitch—!” Bakugo sits up.

Izuku covers his face with his towel, giggling from underneath, “Waitwaitwait!” He slides down on the bench, “Jus’ lemme breathe properly ‘fore you chase me down”.

Katsuki scoffs, “‘S what I thought” he grumbles.

They chat idly for a while and then their food arrives, so they decide to sit around on the benches and eat, taking a moment to also breathe before their next half of the game. 

He and Izuku remain on their same bench, talking about Izuku’s work, the kids under his charge, and such… Deku mentions he has a couple of students that he suspects have feelings for each other and it’s sort of adorable and awkward at the same time to see them interact…

Bakugo briefly wonders if Aizawa ever knew… Not that the blonde would’ve admitted he felt this way, but he knows this feeling maybe goes all the way back to their first year at UA.

That thought alone makes him blurt out: “What do you think about that?”

“About what?” Izuku lays back again, placing the towel carefully over his eyes and his hands over his full stomach.

“Relationships” Katsuki suggests.

The question takes Izu by surprise, “Uh…” he shrugs, “I dunno, if they like each other I guess that’s fine. I just think fifteen is a little too young to understand what you’re getting into-“

“I meant like for people our age” the blonde rectifies, holding his breath.

Clearly uncomfortable now, Deku takes a minute, “Oh… Relationships are fine, I guess”.

Well, this isn’t going great. “You guess?” he pries.

“I’m not allergic to ‘em, they’re beautiful and nice and- I mean-  I just think they’re… complicated” Izu replies, his hands now restless over his abdomen.

Trying to press a little further, Bakugo tries “A lot of good things are complicated”.

Izuku sighs, “A lot of bad things are complicated, too…” Shit. Okay. “I know relationships aren’t exactly a bad thing. Or a good thing. They’re… like using a slot machine!” he proposes, “The machine itself isn’t bad or rigged. But winning big is like one in a billion chances”.

The metaphor is eerily reasonable. “So you think relationships have one in a billion chances of working?” He wouldn’t be wrong in thinking that, is the thing. Bakugo just stubbornly decided one day this could be his one in a billion.

He’s realizing now it’s not that simple. “Sorta…” Izuku admits.

“…So you’ve never wanted to be in one?” Katsuki pries. The question was a little too direct, so he couldn’t stomach just staying still there, staring at Izuku’s profile. Instead he turned and caught Todoroki’s eyes. The guy clearly had an awkward radar or some shit.

Taking the towel off his face in the periphery, Deku stares at him bewildered. In front of him, Kirishima goes by and nods at him, and the blonde nods back with a small nervous smile on his face. “Have you ever wanted to be in a relationship?” Izu asks.

Well… he sighs, his eyes following Shitty Hair as he smiles. “Yeah. For a while now. It’s just… complicated”. He wasn’t lying, he just didn’t want to get into it right now.

“Wait- wait-!” Izuku’s breathing picks up imperceptibly, “Am I going crazy right now?! You’re saying you wanna be in a relationship? With who?!”

Fuck, did Izu put two and two together? Is this it? Eyes still stubbornly trained ahead, he gulps, “Isn’t it obvious?”

The silence stretches for far too long, and it forces his eyes to go back to Izuku. What he finds… is the exact opposite of what he’d hoped for. Deku is panicking. Not dramatically, but internally he can tell. “Since when?? When did that happen?! Why didn’t you tell me?!”

Not knowing what to respond to that, Katsuki tries to reassure, “Calm down, Izu, I didn’t mean- I was just-“

“No!” Izuku stands up, “Sorry, I just… I’m being an asshole, I know. I just thought…” he shakes his head, “I need to leave for a moment. I think I’m gonna go home”.

What? What?! Bakugo positively panics, “Izuku, no- you don’t need to—“

“It’s fine!” Deku insists, moving away when the blonde reaches out. “It’s fine. I’m fine. I just got overwhelmed, I’m fine. I’ll see you later, okay? We can… we can talk about this later. I’m sorry” and with that, he literally runs out of the basketball court.

“What?” he mutters to no one. The word was just punched right out of him right then. Kirishima approaches along with Sero, staring at him with a little concern.

Red spoke first, breaking him out of his shock, “Bakubro?”

“What’s wrong?” Plain face asks, “You guys fighting or something?”

Fuck. “I…” This is exactly what he’d been trying to avoid. This. “I told him…” he admits, feeling shame pour over him like hot honey, thick and uncomfortably warm.

“Told him?” Sero prods.

But Kirishima is already realizing what he means. “Fuck…” he turns to the door where Izuku disappeared. “Bro, I’m so sorry, do you—?”

“Save it” Bakugo shakes his head, eyes on the ground. “I’m going home”.

He tried so fucking hard to understand if he had a chance or not, if he could find a way to break the news that wouldn’t completely freak Izuku out. He never dared to consider that even after all the signs he thought he was seeing, Deku wasn’t interested in him in the least.

Now here they were…

Maybe he still sucks at this whole empathy thing. 

************************

[Izuku POV]

Finally , he can breathe again. All it took was running home and slipping under his bed for thirty minutes. A therapist told him it could come in handy. She was right. But now that his priority number one wasn’t oxygen, everything else came into focus, and a he could feel his eyes starting to sting.

How did he get things so horribly wrong? He’d tried to be so   careful …

Obviously Kacchan hadn’t been trying to deceive him, but it’s just… All the things they’d been doing these past couple months, they’d felt like they meant something. Truly. All this time, Izuku would fall asleep with a smile on his face thinking ‘ any day now’.

‘ Any day now’ Kacchan would make a move.

‘ Any day now’ Izuku would jump at the chance to accept.

‘ Any day now’ they could become a proper couple. Boyfriends…

Gods, that nurse really did jinx it.

Turns out, not only did it all mean nothing to Kacchan, but all this time he’d been focusing on somebody else. Somebody that’s already in a relationship. How could he miss it?!

Kacchan was staring right at Kirishima-kun with this look on his face… like he was helpless and desperate… It broke Izuku’s heart right there. Twice! Because not only did he have to suffer through unrequited feelings, but Kacchan too.

Midoriya was upset, anxious, angry… he’d been greedily accepting all these small gestures and deluding himself into thinking they could be together. He feels disgusting now. Like he did something wrong. Like he violated Kacchan’s trust or something.

“Mido-bro?” Kirishima-kun’s voice comes from inside his apartment.

Izuku tries to sit up immediately, but forgets he’s still under the bed and hits his head hard. He crawls out embarrassed and trying to rub at his forehead. It’s a blessing that he doesn’t have that godawful cast anymore.

“What were you doing under your bed?” the red-head asks innocently.

Darn. “I, uh… forgot something” he tries.

Kirishima-kun nods, “Right” is all he says and extends his hand to help him up. They both sit on the bed. “You need anything, bro? You look…”

The trail off is enough of a description. “I know…” he lowers his head, “It’s fine”.

“It’s not fine, dude” Eijirou says, keeping his voice low and reassuring, “What the hell happened back there? You left running”.

Well. Yeah. Because his childhood friend and the man he’s been in love with for years just told him he has a crush on someone else. Not just anyone, the very person sitting right here in his room. “I don’t really feel like a heart-to-heart, Kiri” he replies honestly, “Why’re you here?”

He never thought he’d think this, but maybe it was a mistake to give him spare keys, too. All his friends have them, but still. “I saw what happened, dude. I was worried about you” Kirishima-kun replies, genuinely concerned.

It’s no wonder Kacchan fell in love with him, he’s really kind.

Gulping, Izuku dodges the question, “Did you talk with K- Bakugo?”

Even Eijirou feels the weight of that switch-up, “‘Bakugo’?” Izuku just shrugs. “Yeah. I did. He looked shocked that you ran off”.

He was probably a little concerned, but nothing beyond that. They all know good old Deku is unstable from time to time, right? “You should talk to him” he advices Kirishima-kun, “I can’t tell you much, but I feel like there’s important stuff Kac- Bakugo needs to talk with you. Not like- right now, but eventually, you know?”

It’s gonna be so awful when Kacchan pours his heart out, knowing he’s gonna be inevitably rejected because Kiri loves Mina. It really hurts to even think it. But sooner or later, they need to talk about it. If anything, Izuku is learning that feelings aren’t something that you should keep a secret. It’s better to get them out early, get rejected and move on.

Looking at him puzzled, Kirishima-kun tries to get some clarity, “Can you, uh, tell me like what exactly made you run away in a panic? You know you can trust me, dude, I’m just worried about you”.

What the hell, right? “I’ve been… thinking all this time that Kacchan and I were getting closer” he admits. Now, it definitely sounds delusional. “I was happy about it” he shrugs, “Because I really like him”. His voice goes a little rough on those last few words.

The red-head just blinks, eyes wide.

“I like like him, you know?” he gulps, “I think I’m in love with him”.

“Then—!”

Before Kiri-kun can intervene, though, he’s already talking again, “But today I learned he likes somebody else”. This shuts the red-head right up. “Yeah. You really should talk to him eventually. Or just… be careful around him. Okay? I know he looks really tough but he has the softest heart you could ever—“

“Woah!” Kirishima exclaims, “Why’re you crying bro, it’s okay”. Oh, shoot, he really didn’t mean to cry. “This is great news, bro! You love him?!”

Great news? “It’s on me, I guess. I let myself think a lot of silly stuff…”

It’s as if Eijirou wasn’t listening to him, though. “You should be the one talking to Bakubro! Like right now! I can call him—!” he says, going as far as to get his phone out.

“NO!”

Confused, Kiri sighs, “Bro, listen to me” he starts, thinking for a minute before adding, “I can’t just go around telling you stuff I’m not supposed to tell you but you’re getting this all so so wrong!”

How could he? He saw Kacchan with his own two eyes. “You weren’t there, I saw him”.

“I saw him, too! Just after you left!” Kirishima-kun insists, “He was heartbroken because  you ran out when he was telling you something really important!”

The emphasis catches Izuku off guard, “Heartbroken?”

Kiri nods frantically, “He is! Right now he’s so gosh darn heartbroken man! You need to understand…”

“Why would he be…?”

Izuku was just not getting it. So Eijirou was forced to be a little more direct, “Bro… Whatever you think happened, think again. Just go through it right now and tell me if maybe, just maybe , you didn’t realize he was talking about liking you and not somebody else.

His face goes from disappointment to fear, to considering, to understanding, to downright terrified. “But he wasn’t looking at me!” he tries to argue, “He… he said ti was complicated! And he was looking at you !”

Kirishima-kun blinks, confused, “Uh, again dude, I don’t know the specifics. I just need you to figure this out without me having to be a bad friend to Bakubro and spell it out for you”.

So… so he was actually talking to Izuku?! He’s… Kacchan wants a relationship?! Wait- Kacchan wanted a relationship and in response Midoriya up and left in a panic?! He’s not one to curse very often but…

FUCK!

He jumps up and grabs his things, turning determined eyes at Kirishima, “Can you take him back to the basketball court? I’ll empty it out. Tell him he’s meeting you”.

Kiri grins wide, “You got it bro”.

There is no way, absolutely no fucking way Izuku is letting this happen.

No way.

He’s gonna make this right. If Kirishima is right, which it appears he is, then… then everything Izuku’s been fantasizing about is minutes away from becoming the truth. And all he’s gotta do is beg for forgiveness. Easy.

As long as Kacchan doesn’t start exploding stuff, they’ll be fine.

Walking into the court, Kacchan calls out, “Sending Mina out to pick me up is a low fucking blow you shitty haired coward”. His voice sounds rough, low and subdued. And when Izuku starts coming out of his hiding a little, he can see that the blonde didn’t even change from this afternoon.

He must’ve been really mad. Or sad. Or both.

“Red!” Kacchan yells, “I’m walking out in the next second if you don’t—“

That’s when Izuku makes his surprise appearance. “Hey…” he tries, with a wobbly smile, his heart going a mile a minute.

The reaction is immediate. Kacchan’s eyes go wide, his eyebrows pinch in fear and he immediately turns around and tries to walk out. Izuku runs as quick as he can and blocks the door, but it hurts to see Kacchan just lower his face to hide it instead of squaring up and threatening to blow things up like usual.

“Move. Please” he says, barely above a whisper. “Don’t do this to me”.

Gods, this is ten times worse than a heartbreak. “Give me a minute. Please ” Izuku begs, “I need to explain myself”.

Kacchan closes his eyes, “I don’t need it, Izuku. It’s fine, I’m fine”.

He’s so not fine, and it’s seriously moving Midoriya to tears. “Please, Kacchan” he begs again, “ Please ”. Silence, and then, “I really need to say this”.

Instead of a response, Kacchan just remains there. Unmoving. Hands stuck on his hoodie pockets. He even lets himself be handled and tugged towards the bench they were using earlier. It’s eerie to see him like this.

Izuku has it all prepared already. Their bench, the towel and a conveniently placed mop bucket. It’s all part of the plan. “I don’t think you know what happened earlier”.

This immediately deflates Kacchan, “I was there, Izuku, I don’t need—“

“Let me explain! I’m begging you!” Izuku tries, still holding the blonde’s arm gently in place. Kacchan sighs but remains seated. “See, I was right here” he says, placing the towel over his eyes, “when we started talking about my students. I told you about the little couple and then suddenly you asked about relationships”.

Kacchan huffs and stands up, “This is ridiculous”.

Grabbing onto his sleeve, Izuku keeps going, “AND-! And-! I was terrified, you know?! ‘Cause I didn’t wanna give anything away!” Kacchan turns to look at him, a mixture of pain, anger and mild confusion. “I was flustered, Kacchan, I didn’t wanna seem overeager!” he admits. Thankfully, Kacchan flops back on the bench, confusion having calmed him a little. “I just gave sort of neutral answers and whatever”.

“Overeager?”

Ignoring the question like only a seasoned teacher could, Izuku keeps going, “And then I said the thing about the slot machines and you went ‘ so you think relationships have a one in a billion chances of working?’ And I said sorta. And you asked ‘ so you’ve never wanted to be in one?’ And I panicked!” he pauses to breathe, “What was I supposed to do then?! Just tell you I’ve wanted a relationship with you since forever? That I think you’re my one in a billion? Was that too forward? Too cheesy? I didn’t know!”

Kacchan’s face goes completely lax. His furrowed brows and set jaw completely relax and his eyes only reflect pure shock, “You…”

“I was just so confused ‘cause I know our friendship’s been changing and we’ve been slowly getting there, you know? But you never said anything explicit so I was never really sure what all those little gestures meant… so I asked if you’d ever wanted to be in a relationship… I took my towel off and what I saw was…” he stands up and goes behind Kacchan, gently maneuvering his head to stare at the mop bucket.

“What is-?”

Izuku sighs, “What I saw was that you were looking at Kirishima with this look on your eyes, like you were nervous and flustered… like you felt stuff…”

Trying to move his head and being unable to, Kacchan yells, “He has a girlfriend!”

Well yeah! “That’s what I thought! But then you just sighed and said ‘it’s complicated’ and when you asked if it wasn’t obvious who you were in love with all I could see was you looking at Kiri like that and my mind sort of ran with that!” His hands that had been holding bakugo’s face in place from behind fall by his sides.

Immediately turning, Kacchan looks horrified up at Izuku, “I never meant Kirishima!”

“That’s not what it looked like! I just started thinking how stupid I was for thinking maybe you were talking about me” he sighs, “I dunno, it seemed more believable that you liked your best friend”.

Standing up, Kacchan looks him straight in the eyes, “ You’re my best friend. I like you, dumbass, I’ve been trying to slowly work up to telling you for months!”

Ah, the sweet release of the truth. “Was that so hard to say?” he teases, chuckling at how stupid this miscommunication was.

“I didn’t mean to—  The one thing I was trying to avoid was sending you into a panic! That’s why I was trying to take it slow!” Kacchan admits, and isn’t that sentence alone something to swoon over.

“Note how I’m definitely not panicking and I’m super happy about it?” he offers. It’s true, though. He’s been so ready for this for so long. Every inch they got closer felt simultaneously like heaven and not enough.

Kacchan huffs a laugh, “Fuck off!” He climbs the bench between them and lands on the other side, just inches from Izuku. “I was trying to be careful…”

Izuku smiles, “I like you, too”. The words echo in the empty court, “ So much”. They both smile at each other, “And if you’re not too mad at me after everything, maybe we could go on a date?”

This takes Kacchan by surprise, “A date?”

“I may or may not have planned some stuff before you came around” Izuku shrugs, a little nervous even when he shouldn’t be.

Kacchan nods, unable to hide his smile. “Yeah… okay…” he replies, eyes darting all over Izuku’s face, as if he was trying to commit this exact moment to memory. “Just… we can take it easy. I don’t mind. We can go at your pace. We don’t have to do anything weird all of a sudden…”

Oh, is that right? “You sure?” Izuku smiles gratefully.

“Yeah” the blonde nods.

Crossing the scant few inches between them, he cups Kacchan’s cheek and leans in to kiss him long and hard, pressing their chests firmly together, while his other arm hooked around the blonde’s torso to hug him close. As he pulls back, he says to a breathless Kacchan, “Thank the gods! I like you so much, but your pace is glacial !” He chuckles, lacing their fingers together, “Come on! Stop number one, the movies!”

It takes a while before Kacchan can speak again.