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The door to the 3A dorms opened and slammed shut, causing Hanta and Shoto to look up sharply. Denki and Eijirou were too engrossed in their game to do more than glance over. Everyone knew that Izuku was out on a first date with some girl from the business course; Hanta thought she was a year below them, but he wasn’t entirely sure. Little hangouts and dates had become fairly common as they were coming up on the end of their last year at UA and Izuku, with his cheerful smile and friendly demeanor, had received more than one confession. The gossip mongers of the class, Mina, Toru, and Ochako, were absolutely fascinated by not only the amount of times he’d gotten asked out, but also with getting all the details of why none of them had lasted beyond a single date. Hanta… well, he was more invested than he should be, but he’d had a crush on the green haired powerhouse since the beginning of their final year.
After everything had settled into a quieter normal in their third year, Izuku had pulled out his notebooks and worked with everyone in the class. Hanta had watched him help Denki with his short circuiting issues, he’d worked with Fat Gum to give Momo, Eijirou and Rikido better diet plans for their quirks, and he’d helped Koji when he’d gotten overwhelmed with the mental feedback he’d started getting.
As much as Hanta appreciated the help Izuku gave (he now knew he could change how sticky his tape was and had even been able to make it stronger to use as a proper capture item), seeing how eager he was just to help, to be a hero in small ways as well as big ones, watching the way he practically glowed when one of his suggestions truly helped their friends… well, it was hard not to gain a crush, honestly.
He could totally understand why so many people were interested in him, but damned if Hanta could honestly figure out why none of them seemed to maintain his interest. Because it was always the same reason; Katsuki had bitched at more than one group study session about the ‘nerd being fucking picky’ and how he was going to end up alone if he didn’t loosen up his criteria a bit. It had always amused Hanta, if he was being honest; Katsuki had no interest in romantic relationships, but he was certainly worried about Izuku’s. If they all weren’t extremely aware that the two viewed each other as siblings, he’d be tempted to say Katsuki was nursing his own crush. However, when it was suggested (just once, by Denki), the maniacal laughter and immediate call to the ex-One for All user dispelled that rumor before it could gain traction.
The human bomb in question had apparently met Izuku on his way back from training, and their conversation was not quiet in the least. Hanta tried to look interested in the game that Ei, Denki, and Shoto were playing, but he couldn’t deny to himself that he was listening avidly as the two bickered.
“Okay, but seriously… you just walked the fuck out without even saying anything? Since when are you so dismissive? I’m supposed to be the rude one, Zukkun.” Katsuki threw his hands up a little, glaring at the shorter teen in exacerbation.
“Kacchan, she literally said that Endeavor was a great hero and deserved to be number one!” Izuku’s voice was hard, that stubborn lilt to it that usually ended up with half the class heading to the other side of the training room during Hero Studies. Hanta usually just found it hot.
It might be a psychological issue…
Shoto snorted from next to him, making Hanta glance over with a smirk. “Deserved,” he muttered in that low, monotone voice of his, nodding with approval before turning back to the game.
“Okay, fine, she’s an idiotic extra. But what about that third year from gen ed? What was wrong with him?”
Izuku’s eyes narrowed and his fists clenched slightly before he forced himself to relax. “He said he didn’t know how I could stand to be friends with you.” He huffed, visibly releasing the tension in his shoulders that had appeared at just the thought of someone badmouthing his psuedo-brother.
Katsuki’s mouth opened with a rebuttal before it snapped closed again, head tilting a little. “Okay… valid.” His voice was still annoyed, but it had softened a little, begrudgingly pleased at the reasoning. After a couple of seconds, he shook his head. “Still… you can’t base the success of your dates all on hero knowledge and obscure facts. Not everyone is a nerdy little stalker like you. You’re gonna wind up alone because you can’t just let things go.”
Hanta had to bite his lip to stop the snort that threatened to leap from his throat. Katsuki Bakugou, the king of held grudges and stubborn pride about being the best, was trying to tell the equally stubborn Izuku Midoriya, king of going overboard just to prove a point, to let something go? That was going to end in a fight, and maybe property damage.
Sure enough, Izuku drew himself up to his full height, only a couple inches shorter that Katsuki, and stared him down. “Kacchan, I refuse to be with someone who holds stupid, ignorant opinions. I also won’t be with someone who belittles others to make themselves sound better. I don’t expect people to know all the stuff I talk about, but I do expect someone who can hold an actual conversation with me, about stuff I’m interested in. If that makes me picky or whatever, so be it.”
Katsuki growled softly, thumping his fist almost gently into Izuku’s shoulder. “You’re an idiot. But whatever. Your disaster love life is not my problem. I’m going to shower and go to bed.”
Izuku just chuckled to himself, shaking his head as the blond walked off. “Goodnight, Kacchan.” He turned and wandered fully into the common room, unaware or uncaring that everyone there had heard their sibling-like squabble. “Hey, guys,” he chirped, moving to flop onto the floor behind Hanta and Shoto.
“Izuku.” Shoto’s greeting was quiet, but he leaned over to bump their shoulders together. “Was the food at least good?”
Green eyes danced a little, obviously understanding the dual-quirk user’s silent thanks for not defending his father. “The bread was good at least… I left before we actually ordered anything.” He grinned at the soft huff of laughter his best friend let out before glancing at the tv. “Don’t let me distract you, Sho.”
Hanta watched their exchange out of the corner of his eye before taking a deep breath. He had one chance here… With a firm nod to steel his nerves, he turned to look at Izuku. “Have you ever heard of the underground hero, Zipline? She can produce steel from her wrists and figured out how to make cables with it. She uses it to move around.” At Izuku’s wide-eyed, fascinated stare, he flushed slightly, ducking his head. “Uh… last week she, uh… she used it like airline cable to stop a hijacked tractor trailer…”
Izuku leaned forward, unconsciously resting his hand on Hanta’s knee in his excitement. “An underground hero? That sounds like such a useful quirk, but how did you hear about her?! It’s so hard to find information on unders, obviously, because secrecy is their whole thing and there’s only ever a few clips once in a great whileandI’dlovetohearmoreaboutherlikewhereisshebasedhaveyoueverseenherwhatelse-” His rambling was cut off by Hanta’s sheepish chuckle and he flushed, ducking his head. “Sorry, sorry, just… how did you know?”
Pushing his black hair out of his face, Hanta turned all of his attention on Izuku. “She’s actually my aunt. She’s only a couple years older than us, and just turned pro about a year ago. If, uh… if you want, I could tell you more? Maybe, umm… maybe over dinner sometime?”
Freckles disappeared under Izuku’s blush, his mouth opening and closing a couple times as he processed Hanta’s words. “D-dinner? Like… like just… dinner, or… a date?” He snapped his mouth shut on the squeak at the end, but there was a smile playing at his lips.
“Yeah… like a date. I mean, if you don’t want to, I could just tell you, but-”
“No! No, I mean, yes, I’d.. I’d love to go on a date with you. Hero knowledge is an extra bonus, but uh… I’d really like that.” A sheepish hand scratching the back of someone’s head shouldn’t be so cute, but really, Izuku was a conundrum like that.
Hanta grinned and nodded. “Then it’s a date. I’m free tomorrow night if that works?”
Izuku giggled and nodded, bouncing in place for a second before leaning over and wrapped the thinner teen in a quick, slightly awkward hug . “Tomorrow works great! I can’t wait!” He shot to his feet, hurrying out of the common room. Most likely to Katsuki’s room, if Hanta knew him at all.
Shoto stared at Hanta with a little head tilt. “Did you just ask him out with obscure hero knowledge?”
Hanta laughed softly and nodded, a little shell-shocked. “I… yeah. I did.” Eijirou and Denki were both laughing at him now, game abandoned as Hanta fell onto his back and screamed quietly into his hands. “Holy shit, I just did that…”
“Get ‘em, tiger!” Denki cheered, which set the group off with laughter.
And if Hanta took some extra time to research heroes before their second date, no one could blame him. After their fifth, Katsuki gave him a rather threatening shovel talk. Denki, Eijirou and Mina gave Izuku one that had him spluttering and flushing. On their one year anniversary, Izuku surprised him with a key to a shared apartment. Yeah… maybe Izuku could base his relationships, at least the start of them, off obscure hero facts. Worked out pretty well for both of them.