Chapter Text
Everytime Katsuki saw Deku use One For All, he couldn’t help but stare. The way his body lit up flashing a beautiful green, his eyes flashing even greener than they should be. It was breathtaking and he always caught himself staring longer than what could be considered normal.
That was the case, then he fought against All For One.
So when he stood next to his bed in that sterile hospital room with Izuku telling him with a smile on his lips that he was quirkless again, he regretted everything. He regretted that he didn’t tell him how beautiful he was when he clenched his fist by his side as he projected himself in the air to throw himself at the villain floating in the air.
He regretted it when he remembered when they got back to the dorms together after a mission. Katsuki would snap at Izuku as he rambled about the villain and other heroes from their mission that day. Then Izuku would turn his head, his eyes still glittering, then gush out “Ah Kacchan! We should watch that All Might movie that was released last year tonight!” Then as he bent down to undo his shoelaces, he grinned widely at him with a flash of One For All in his eyes before he jumped and raced him up to his room.
But everyone knew that he wasn’t chatty. Especially not with his feelings. So, Katsuki kept his lips shut. All throughout the war, all throughout their recovery together, and now, his lips stayed shut as he watched him train without One For All.
He missed the way his body would flash with green lighting. The way his confidence grew stronger with every strike. The way his lips were spread in such a large smile that he could barely hold back one of his own as he watched Deku win his fight.
“Yo Bakugou, what's got you so pouty today?” Kirishima called as he approached him from his side where he sat against the grass, gently patting his left shoulder. Even though his left arm was fine, maybe even stronger than it usually was from the double work.
Katsuki clicked his tongue and turned his head away from him. “I’m not pouting.”
He laughed to himself with a small “Yeah okay, sure dude.”
“Even if I am, you don’t have to worry about me.”
“I know, but I want to make sure you’re okay and that we’re all here for you, that’s what friends are for.” Kirishima landed another gentle pat before his hand slipped away and landed back to his side.
“Yeah.” Katsuki sucked in a deep breath. “Thanks.” He huffed under his breath, but Kirishima heard him anyway.
“Anytime man.” He smiled before leaving Katsuki who still sat watching Deku.
Their classmates were all outside doing ‘gentle training’ as Aizawa called it. Everyone got to choose their own pace and they could take breaks when needed.
But because Katsuki pulled the short end of the stick, he was banned from any kind of training for the next months ahead. From direct orders from his doctors, he was not allowed to work himself up in any sort of way. He now had a heart monitor that would beep obnoxiously if he yelled too hard or looked too long at Izuku.
Speaking of, Izuku was not allowed to train hard with his arms, his doctors told him to try to refrain from using them at all. But, Izuku still threw a few punches at Shinsou who griped at him gently as he blocked the attacks.
Sitting out at first was fine, even he found it hard to deny that he was worried about his heart. But now with Izuku putting his hands on someone else, laughing brightly and praising them, Katsuki’s anger and need to go back to training was slowly rising.
“Alright!” Aizawa’s voice cut through his thoughts like a knife. “Everyone back to the dorms to get yourself situated, I expect to see you in the classroom in half an hour.” Aizawa was more lenient after the war, his voice was always sharp and demanding when he asked his students how their physical therapy was going.
Aizawa gazed over the field before they landed on Katsuki. His eyes returned back to the rest of the class and dismissed them with a tilt of his head and walked towards Katsuki who was now pulling himself up from the ground. His teacher clapped his back gently before walking past him and towards UA.
Katsuki stood still for a moment as he let his mind run back and forth as it thought about Izuku, about his new fighting style and how their future would look like with it.
“Kacchan!” Izuku cleared his thoughts of the future as he approached him with a bright smile. His shirt was dark with his sweat, his green hair sticking to his forehead. “Want to walk back with me?” He asked as he pointed to the locker room.
Katsuki blinked at him, his mind running slow from his daydreaming. “Yeah, sure nerd.” He shrugged and started their small walk back to the large building.
Izuku brushed his shoulder and looked up at him with a colorful, caring smile. “You looked out of it today, is everything okay?” Izuku asked after a beat of silence, their shoes brushing against the grass.
“I guess it’s just different seeing you without using One For All.” He paused and looked over to Izuku who nodded as a solemn frown pulled against his lips. “I wanted to be a hero with you.”
Izuku paused, his fingers twitching against his side. “Well, I still have the embers, it’s not like I can't still be a hero!”
Katsuki shook his head and sighed. “It’s just different now.”
“Yeah.” Izuku sighed. “But don’t worry Kacchan, we’ll figure it out together, for the rest of our lives, right?” He grinned up at Katsuki.
“That’s right nerd, for the rest of our lives.” Katsuki grinned and knocked their shoulders together. He will never get used to this feeling, the way his skin buzzes at it meets Izuku’s, the way a smile erupts on his face.
The air around them was comfortable as they reached the locker rooms, Izuku opening the door for them as he rambled on about Shinsou’s quirk and how he could improve it.
“He really is strong, and he’s gotten much stronger, I just wish that he would realise that! Having a great mindset is a part of being a hero!” Izuku beamed as Katsuki walked in the room first, his head turned back to watch Izuku as he led himself in the empty room and to his locker.
“And now that I’ve been training without One For All, it’s much harder to counter his attacks!” He kept speaking as he pulled his shirt over his head with one quick motion and threw it on the floor.
Katsuki blinked and tried his best to keep his eyes from wandering further down his back. Izuku kept speaking as he rummaged through his locker to find his uniform, his back muscles rippling with each movement of his arms. His watch beeped angrily.
Izuku froze and whipped around, his eyes blown wide with fear as he looked Katsuki up and down. “Kacchan are you okay?” He gasped.
Katsuki ran a hand down his face as he mumbled out a long strand of curses. “Yeah, I’m fine, don’t know what happened.” He lied as he turned his attention to a corner of the wall.
But instead of dropping it, Izuku walked closer to him and grabbed his shoulders. Katsuki tried to pull back, but Izuku grunted and pulled his cheek so he would look him in the eye. “Are you sure? You’re red.”
“Goddamn, maybe it’s because you’re pawing all over me.” He bit back, his ears growing redder as his watch beeped angrily at him again. Realization hit Izuku like a brick as he threw himself back against his locker.
He whipped back around and mumbled apologies as he threw a shirt over his head and quickly removed his shorts then threw on his trousers. The room grew silent as Izuku pulled his red shoes over his socks and threw his tie around his neck. He grunted as his fingers fumbled with the tie and Katsuki sighed.
“Turn around, let me help you.” Izuku sighed in defeat and turned around to meet Katsuki’s eyes. “I can’t believe that this year you completed your quirk and killed the most powerful villain, but you never learned to tie on your own.” He teased lightly as he took the fabric in his hands and wrapped it around his neck.
Izuku blushed and averted his eyes away from his red gaze. “Well, completing One For All took up most of my time.”
Katsuki grinned playfully back as he finished his work with a single tug of the fabric. “I guess that means you just have to keep me around to keep tying ties for you, huh?” He pulled the red tie towards himself so Izuku could stumble closer to his chest. The beeping of his watch dimmed down.
He cleared his throat. “I didn’t plan on ever getting rid of you Kacchan.” They looked at each other, their chests now touching as Katsuki pulled his hands off of his chest and let them run down his back until they landed on his hips.
“Good.” Katsuki sighed. “I don’t want to ever get rid of you either, Izuku.” Their foreheads knocked together and Katsuki sighed in content as Izuku’s hands found their way around his neck.
They swayed together and Katsuki pulled his forehead away and instead pushed it against the top of Izuku’s shoulder. His left hand ran up and down his back as his right hand squeezed his hip. Izuku let out a shaky breath as he moved his arms off of his neck and down to his back so he could engulf him in a hug.
“I can’t wait to spend forever with you Kacchan.” Izuku sighed as he pulled him closer to his chest, his breaths ragged.
Before Katsuki could process Izuku’s comment, the door to the locker room opened slowly with a creak as Denki waited behind the opening door.
The two jumped off of each other, Izuku facing his locker quickly fixing his tie that got loosened when Katsuki pulled him closer to his chest as Katsuki pushed his attention back to the corner that he was gazing at before.
“Woah, did I interrupt something?” Denki laughed as he walked to his locker to grab his jacket that was left behind.
Katsuki clicked his tongue and turned away from Denki’s gaze. “Just fuck off man.”
Denki grabbed his jacket and grinned at the two of them. “Sorry for interrupting yours and Kacchan's moment Midoriya!” He called over his shoulder as he exited the room with a short laugh.
Izuku turned around with pink still dusting his cheeks and bent down as he grabbed his bags and heisted them over his shoulders. “I think there’s only a few minutes until we need to get to class.” He told Katsuki as he started walking away from his locker and back to the door.
“Yeah.” Katsuki coughed as he picked up his own bag and followed after Izuku who kept the door open for him. The two walked together back to UA with their shoulders brushing yet again.
Izuku opened the door to their classroom with a short pause in his explanation on how the feeling of what One For All felt like when he activated it.
“Izuku, you don’t need to tell me, I had One For All for like ten minutes before, remember?” Katsuki sighed as he walked into the already bustling classroom.
The other man paused as he remembered their experience back in their first year. “Oh, yeah.” He looked at Katsuki who smirked back at him.
Izuku tossed his bags to the ground and Katsuki grunted at him. “Hey.” He stood next to his desk, his hand out like he was waiting for the other man to give him something.
“What?” He asked, his head tilting to the side as he eyed Katsuki up and down.
“My bag?” Katsuki huffed and Izuku lit up as he remembered the extra bag he slung around his shoulders only a few steps out of the locker room.
Izuku turned around to the other side of his chair and pulled it over his body and then slid it against the floor so it waited at the foot of Katsuki’s desk. “There, now you don’t even have to lug it at all.” He grinned as Katsuki frowned.
“I’m supposed to be a hero, Izuku, I can carry my own bag.” He grunted.
Izuku sat up in his chair. “I know Kacchan, but if you strain your heart and arm now, then it’ll be harder to be a hero again!” He grinned at him. “That’s why I’m here to help you with heavy lifting until you’re released to kick ass again!”
“You’re not even released to ‘kick ass’ yet.” Katsuki shot back as he slid into his seat in front of Izuku with a huff of annoyance pushing past his lips.
Aizawa pushed open the door and quickly started their lesson leaving Katsuki brewing in his own thoughts. Ever since the end of the war, Katsuki was forced to limit the use of his right arm because of the amount of damage done to the limb, so Izuku took it on himself to take care of Katsuki and his use of his right arm.
Was it maybe because he felt responsible?
No. If he did, he shouldn’t. Everything that happened to him he wanted. He would die for Izuku. Time and time again.
But Izuku was not allowed to die for him. Katsuki would lose himself, what would he do without Izuku? What will Katsuki do when the embers eventually go out and Izuku is left with no quirk again? Will Izuku still try to be a hero? Will Izuku leave Katsuki? Will Katsuki live his life without Izuku?
”I can’t wait to spend forever with you Kacchan.”
Katsuki’s ears turned pink. Izuku did say that he wanted to spend his whole life with him.
But what if he meant it as Katsuki will be his best man at his wedding? Or he would be the first to call if he needed a babysitter?
Katsuki wanted his whole life with him. He wanted to have an agency with him where he could teach the brats all about Izuku and how he was the best hero in the world. He wanted to carry his last name, or Izuku carry his so they never have to be away from each other again. He wanted a house with him where they could have their friends over with their brats while they drink afternoon tea when they’re not being heroes.
He wanted it all. He needed it all.
Katsuki just needed to find a way to get Izuku his quirk back, or a way where he can be a hero without a quirk.
Class let out and Katsuki was still in his own world, searching for people in his mind that he knew that could take on such a burden. There was All Might during the war that had that support gear. Izuku needed something like that.
“Kacchan?” Izuku asked as he approached his desk, his hand falling against his left shoulder gently.
Katsuki jumped, his heart skipping a beat, making his watch beep angrily at him again. “Fuck, Izuku.” He groaned as he ran a hand through his hair as he took long deep breaths to calm his thumping heart. Once he felt grounded again, he looked up to his friend that stood cautiously next to him. His cheeks were dusted pink and Katsuki blinked up at him in confusion. “Why are you blushing?”
“What?!” Izuku jumped back and looked away from his gaze. “I’m not!” He looked back, and his cheeks were now a bright pink and spreading to his ears.
Katsuki laughed to himself and shut his notebook and quickly pushed it into his bag. “Whatever nerd.” He zipped it up and stood with a deep sigh. “Movie night in my room?”
Izuku lit up and nodded. “Can we watch that documentary about Hawks!” They walked out of the room with Aizawa’s gaze carefully following the two boys from the front of the room.
“Sure, I wouldn’t invite you over if I didn’t wanna watch nerdy shit.” Katsuki huffed and Izuku lit up as he hooked his right arm in Katsuki’s left as they walked down the halls, out the door, and into the dormitory.
Izuku toed off his shoes and left them at the door, his mouth still running as Katsuki struggled to keep his bag on his shoulder and use the same hand to untie his sneakers. Without opening his mouth, Izuku bent down and slowly untied Katsuki’s laces all while still explaining Hawk’s quirk in detail and how he was doing now without a quirk.
“I heard that now that Toyua is doing better, they’re meeting up to speak about the good times and bad times in the league. It helps Toyua cope better and it makes the heroes see how they were bad—but misunderstood.” Izuku kept on rambling, then tapped on the back his ankle to make him lift his foot up as he slid it off with one quick motion.
He then got to work with the tightly knotted shoelace. “And I heard from Shouto that he’s doing a lot better because of it. Also now that Endeavor is out and away from them, he can be more at peace.” He again tapped his ankle and slid off the shoe. He took the pair and pushed it against his own red ones on the mat.
“So now that the family is reunited, except Endeavor of course, Shouto is doing a lot better himself. He seems like he’s getting better every day. I really can’t wait until we’re all pro heroes together so I can see how much he has changed since our first year.” Izuku sighed like a proud father as he fiddled with Katsuki’s keys (when did he get those??), unlocking his door.
Izuku opened the door for Katuski and led him inside his own room. “But what about you Kacchan, how are you? You haven’t really been talking much today.”
Katsuki dropped his bag and shut the door behind him so they stood right in the mouth of his room. He turned towards Izuku and ran his hands against his shoulders so his bag also hit the floor.
Izuku’s head tilted to the side, but didn’t question him as Katsuki took his hand and led him to his closet. “First, I’m perfect ‘Zuku. Second, we’re going to take a shower and get changed into comfy clothes so we can, third, watch a movie together.”
Izuku grinned and instead of following Katsuki’s instructions, pulled Katsuki towards his chest and pulled his arms up so they rested against his hips then took his own and wrapped them around Katsuki’s.
“We were interrupted before.” Izuku stated like that’s what Katsuki was wondering. They swayed gently, Izuku’s green eyes on Katsuki’s red.
“You know what I’ve been wondering lately?” Izuku asked, gently cutting the silence.
Katsuki hummed, clearly content with their dancing and touching.
“What’s going to happen after this?” Izuku wondered out loud and Katsuki’s mind clicked back to where it was earlier that day. “I don’t know how long the embers are going to last, and once they go out, I can’t be a hero anymore.”
Katsuki’s head shot up, his eyes now bright and alert as his hand squeezed Izuku tightly. “No.” He demanded. “No, we’ll find a way, I don’t know how, but we’ll be heroes together Izuku.” His eyes were watering now as he is reminded of that day in the hospital, the wound still just as fresh, and he pushed his head against Izuku’s shoulder, his arms tightly winding against his waist as he hugged him completely.
Izuku paused their swaying in surprise, then pushed his hand in Katsuki’s hair and scratched his scalp gently as warm tears pooled on his shoulder. “Even if we can't, I won't be mad Kacchan.” He pushed his cheek on top of Katsuki’s head. “I’ll still stay with you, and that’s all that matters.”
Katsuki sobbed heavier, his body wracking against Izuku’s, his arms squeezing, then letting go to give time for the sting in his right arm to go away, then squeezing him even tighter.
Izuku smiled lightly then pushed his lips against Katsuki’s head, leaving a light kiss against his hair. “I’m so grateful to have you in my life Kacchan.” He ran his hand down his back to help his body stop shaking.
Then quieter, where Katsuki could barely hear him, Izuku whispered into his hair. “I love you, Katsuki.”
Katsuki shot up from Izuku’s shoulder, tears still running down his cheeks as he looked deep into his eyes. “Say it again.” He demanded as Izuku looked at him in fear.
“I’m not sure what you mean, Kacchan.” Izuku tried to defend himself but made no move to get away from Katsuki, his hold just as tight against his body.
“Izuku.” Katsuki demanded, his nose pushing against Izuku’s, old tears pushing out from his eyes and landing on Izuku’s nose.
The other man giggled at the cold sensation and pushed his lips against Katsuki’s lightly. Katsuki grinned and pulled his hands up to push them into Izuku’s hair, pushing their lips closer.
“I still want you to say it, this doesn’t count.” Katsuki whispered against his lips when they broke apart for a short gasp of breath.
Izuku grinned. “How about we move this to the bed?”
“Woah there hero, why don’t you take me out first?”
“I’ve already beaten you many times when we spared.” Izuku shot back, nipping against his lip playfully.
Katsuki grinned harder and pushed Izuku in the direction of his bed until the back of his legs hit the comforter. “Less talking, more kissing.” Katsuki demanded before slamming their lips back together but just as gentle as before.
Izuku pulled himself up on top of the covers the best he could without disconnecting their lips and laid himself against the pillows. Katsuki hummed, then pulled himself away from Izuku.
“Yeah, no, swap me.” Katsuki hummed and Izuku laughed lowly but moved out of the way so Katsuki could position himself where Izuku could still push himself against Katsuki or switch it and kiss him when he sat on his stomach.
Izuku decided that it was best to go with the first option, so he pushed himself against Katsuki’s side and kissed up his neck as Katsuki closed his eyes.
“We should have an agency together.” Katsuki blurted and Izuku froze from where his nose was crammed into Katuki’s neck.
“I don’t know how long I’m going to have my quirk Kacchan.” Izuku reminded him again. “I’ve even been thinking lately, I could teach the new generation all there is to know about being a hero! I’ve learned so much from all of our friends, from Aizawa, and especially from you, Kacchan.”
“You want to be a teacher?”
“If I don’t have One For All.” Izuku clarified and nodded against him.
Katsuki nodded slowly. “Okay.” He sighed deeply. “Alright, Izuku.” He pushed his hand into his hair and smiled as he pushed their foreheads together.
That didn’t mean he was going to lose One For All. That was just his backup, like the emergency break.
It was the backup until their last day of their third year, one day of becoming pros, one day until they could spend forever together. One For All fell from Izuku’s grip and left both him and Katsuki sobbing that day, Katsuki’s head pushed against Izuku’s shoulder as he laid his head against his boyfriends. Their friends gathered around them, but spoke no words and didn’t comment later that day when they didn’t come to their last lesson.
Katsuki didn’t even blink when he received his title as a Pro Hero, he just shook their principal's hand and planted himself back in his chair, his mind already churning ideas on who to call and how much money he had to make a week to get Izuku his own suit.
Katsuki was going to see Deku again, no matter how long or how much money, Katsuki was going to see his hero and tell him how gorgeous he was over and over again.