Chapter Text
Izuku is waiting on the couch in the lobby when Katsuki finally finishes his paperwork from the days patrol. If he didn’t know Izuku so well it would be a wholesome image: the greatest hero patiently waiting for his friend despite the clear exhaustion from his own day of work.
But Katsuki knows Izuku better than anyone else: it’s a damn ambush.
“What are you waiting out here for? You look creepy as hell sitting here alone,” Katsuki asks, pretending he doesn't already know the answer.
“Come on, Kacchan. You know you can’t be trusted not to cancel on us if I let you leave the agency alone,” Izuku flashes his signature blindingly bright smile.
“Shut up, I said I’ll be there so I’m going. I don’t know why the hell you’re still going when you look like shit though.”
Izuku really does look like shit. He had clearly showered and changed after his shift, but the evidence of his earlier fight still remains. It was normal for any hero to look exhausted, but the cuts adorning Izuku like freckles were nothing to laugh at. His face and his arms were covered in small cuts ranging in intensity from paper cuts to the slashes of a razor blade.
Not that Katsuki’s concerned. He’s already reviewed the reports filed in their agency and knows that Izuku’s going to be fine. But someone needs to remind Izuku that his nerdy smile isn’t going to cover it all up.
“I’m fine! I’m a little tired but I’m really looking forward to tonight and I’m not gonna miss it,” Izuku waves his hands and brushes his concerns away.
Katsuki only eyes him warily as they begin walking to the train station.
Izuku has been planning this get together for weeks. It’s not easy to plan events with so many of their UA friends anymore but Izuku has certainly been determined. It would be a long wait before they could find another time where so many of their pro hero friends were free at the same time.
Katsuki knows exactly why Izuku is so damn excited for tonight. There’s no way in hell he’s going to admit it since it’s none of goddamn business, but it’s pretty obvious he’s motivated by his ‘crush’ on Eijirou.
Only Izuku can whisper to his best friend about his crush in the hallway of his own agency as if they weren’t full grown adults. And only Todoroki fucking Shouto would entertain him by putting his hand over his mouth as if he’s telling a secret and loudly suggest getting everyone from their friend circles together like they’re living in a boring ass romcom.
Of course, Shouto raised his eyebrows at Katsuki so subtly that anyone else would miss it as he proposed the idea. But Katsuki understood without a word.
He can recognize a challenge from Shouto even if he has no clue what that challenge is.
“Bakubro! I saved this part of the booth for you, dude!” Eijirou’s voice manages to find them all the way across the crowded bar.
He’s waving excitedly from a large corner booth where most of their friends are already waiting for them.
“I’m really glad both of you could make it. Thanks for planning this, Midoriya. It was a great idea!” Eijirou gives Izuku a sheepish smile, rubbing the back of his neck as he thanks Izuku.
They really are just like a couple out of one of his damn shoujo manga.
“O-oh no, it was really no big deal! I couldn’t have gotten ahold of everyone without you, Kirishima,” Izuku stutters, already blushing before quickly targeting Katsuki, “So, why did you save that part of the booth for Kacchan?”
“Katsuki always sits with his back against the wall if he can. He gets really grumpy when he has to sit with the busy areas behind him,” Eijirou answers, a little too cheerfully.
Izuku nods knowingly like that connects some important dots in his head.
“It’s not that big of a deal, shitty hair. I can sit wherever I want,” Katsuki grumbles as he sits down in the spot saved for him next to Eijirou.
He had been planning to let Izuku sit next to Eijirou, if he had to be in a teen romance plot then it sure as hell was going to be a successful one, but Eijirou chose the wrong side.
Izuku sits down across from them, sliding in next to Uraraka who was laughing loudly with Mina and Kaminari. They’ve clearly been drinking too much already, Pink Cheeks is more than earning her nickname and blending right in next to Mina.
The greeting they receive from the giggling trio would be loud enough to draw stares if they were in any other bar. They’re lucky no one here is interested in socializing with other heroes or cares enough to be obnoxious assholes themselves.
Katsuki is already tuning them out when they begin to question Izuku about the villain he fought earlier today. Izuku’s spatters of cuts didn’t escape any of their notice— it’s a kindness that Katsuki only marks the conversation down on the list of shit he’s always right about in his head.
Even for Izuku, it’s bizarre to listen to him describe how the villains blade quirk forced an intense hostage situation while looking so excited. Izuku is breaking down the mechanics of how the villain’s quirk could precisely turn the air around the hostage into a cloud of daggers when Shouto silently slides into the booth next to Izuku (and across from Katsuki, not that he cares).
Of course. This dumbass is not only late to his own idea but manages to sit down without a hint of guilt and a drink already in hand. Shouto looks like he just stepped out of a magazine in his soft black sweater and perfectly styled hair.
Katsuki hates it. He especially hates that he’s certain that he can see pillow marks across his cheek as if he just rolled out of bed. What an asshole.
“You live like, what? Five minutes away but ended up being the last fuckin’ one here, icyhot?” Katsuki asks.
No one else has even noticed that Shouto finally joined them. Shouto only stares at him blankly, but Katsuki’s sure that he’s entertained by his question.
“Hello, Bakugou. I’m sorry to make everyone wait,” Shouto holds eye contact only with Katsuki while apologizing to everyone.
“Yeah, whatever. It’s not like we were all staring at the wall waiting on you, princess,” Katsuki matches Shouto’s stare and tries his best to sound annoyed.
Izuku looks like he’s choking on his drink with his eyes wide and fixed on Katsuki. It’s the first time in a while that he’s seen his friend actually lost for words. Eijirou looks at him with wide eyes for a second before managing to collect himself.
“PRINCESS?!” Kaminari and Mina yell out together as they fall back laughing with Uraraka.
The three of them are laughing way too much and no one else can get a word in while Katsuki briefly contemplates blowing up the table to shut them up.
“Dude, was that supposed to be an insult or are you just that soft now, Kacchan?” Kaminari wheezes once he's able to breathe again.
“Shut the fuck up, dunce face. It was an insult and it made perfect sense if you have any working brain cells,” Katsuki growls, finishing his beer in one swig.
“No, I’m sorry, you’re right. That’s scary creepy. If you ever called me princess, I think I’d go into hiding,” Kaminari says dramatically with a mockingly solemn expression.
“Yeah, Todoroki, if you wanna run away we can distract Blasty for a minute and give you a head start,” Mina offers with wide eyes as if Kaminari’s uncovered a plot.
“It’s okay. I won’t run from Bakugou tonight,” Shouto answers seriously, still looking at him intently.
Uraraka snorts loudly before giggling and hiding her face in Mina’s shoulder. The rest of their friends just seem baffled as to how to react to the what he just said.
Shouto hasn't taken his eyes off of him since being called him out for being late and it’s irritating as hell. No— it’s infuriating. He has no fucking clue why Shouto keeps looking at him like that.
But he knows Shouto well enough at this point. After years of training together and putting up with Shouto hanging around his agency, Katsuki understands one truth: Todoroki Shouto loves to torment him.
To his singular credit, Katsuki can admit that he’s also learned that Shouto is actually funny as hell if you can catch his stupid jokes. But Katsuki can’t understand a damn thing about him the rest of the time.
He especially doesn’t understand why Shouto seems to always target him. Katsuki will never admit it, but it makes him feel completely out of his element. It’s like Shouto has a secret third quirk that can shut down his brain just by looking at him- like right now.
It really pisses him off.
“Yeah, well, I’m not backing down either so we’ll see who runs from who, half n’ half,” Katsuki needlessly escalates the challenge that he doesn't even understand.
His slight embarrassment melts away as he sits back triumphantly with his arms crossed.
Shouto gives him a small nod as if this is the exact response he had expected from Katsuki before finishing his drink. Izuku is staring at them incredulously, lost for words a second time already so early in the night. For whatever reason, Eijirou gives Katsuki a supportive squeeze on his arm.
“What a great idea! Let’s order another round of shots,” Uraraka announces in response to absolutely no one.
“But it was just getting good,” Kaminari whines.
“Great idea, Ochako!” Mina agrees loudly over Kaminari, before muttering quietly, “Let’s move on from the social interactions across the table that go against nature.”
Shouto stops looking at him altogether after that. It should feel like a win but it leaves him feeling empty and ignored instead. Which is just stupid, why would Katsuki want creepy stares from that pretty bastard trying to piss him off?
Uraraka and Kaminari continue the night by ordering round after round in an attempt to get everyone as loudly drunk as they are. It’s an effective method on Izuku, who seems to be abandoning his normal carefulness around his low alcohol tolerance. Whether it’s the belated stress of the hostage situation or nerves from being near Eijirou, Katsuki is quietly happy to see him having a good time. It’s a good bonus to see that Eijirou is clearly as happy to be having so much conversation with the nerd.
Secretly, Katsuki had been expecting his own night to be filled with more conversation with the man across from him while their friends were so enamored with each other.
Instead, Shouto has done nothing but quietly drink way too many fruity drinks while ignoring Katsuki completely. No one else at the table seems to notice the glaze of his eyes or the slight twitching of his face that give away how completely plastered he is.
When Uraraka, Mina, and Kaminari start playing an obnoxious game of quarters together, even Katsuki has to admit that it’s pretty entertaining to watch. Uraraka’s quirk provides a flair to the game that makes it hard to look away. It’s not that her quirk provides a definite advantage, but it’s her determination to make it work somehow.
Kaminari ends up holding the cup high in the air in different positions and angles while Mina cheers Uraraka on. Uraraka’s competitiveness to face each challenge from Kaminari is a little ridiculous considering everyone else forgot about their turns a while ago.
“You’re all loud and drunk as hell. You should know your limits better if you’re gonna call yourselves pros,” Katsuki tells them as he stands up.
“Hey, are you going home already man?” Eijirou whines.
“Nah, just gotta take a piss,” Katsuki answers as he walks away.
The walk across the busy bar is a quick lesson that he’s not as sober as he thought either. He’s still at least doing better than his idiot friends.
When Katsuki returns to their booth, he finds his seat next to Eijirou stolen by Izuku. He can’t even pretend to be pissed off about having his seat stolen. The two of them look so happy sitting together that even he can’t picture kicking his puppy-eyed partner out.
Besides, the look Shouto is giving him with his glazed eyes makes it crystal clear that the beautiful bastard is waiting for his reaction. Whatever, Katsuki won’t let him win.
“Move over, Icyhot. It’s bad enough I have to sit next to your boring ass, I’m not going to be smashed next to loud ass Round Face too,” Katsuki grumbles, avoiding eye contact with Shouto.
Shouto makes room for Katsuki, his lips quirking up in a way that could only ever be noticeable on him. Sitting down, it's clear that he never would have stood a chance if he wanted his seat back. Izuku and Eijirou are basically glued together and haven’t even noticed his return.
“You could always sit somewhere else if I’m too ‘boring’ for you,” Shouto offers as he sips his colorful drink.
Katsuki eyes him warily, he looks as deadpan as ever but Katsuki knows how drunk he is.
“Shut up, of course I’m fine here. Nothing special about the seat over there,” Katsuki says quietly.
He silently curses himself for being so sensitive to all of the drunks and saps tonight. Surprise crosses Shouto’s face before softening back to a neutral expression.
“I’m sure that seat is special for Izuku,” Shouto speaks very quietly so that only Katsuki can hear, keeping his gaze on Katsuki while he spoke.
Maybe it’s the shoujo scenes being played out all around him tonight, but Katsuki thinks he can see sadness, maybe even longing, in Shouto’s eyes.
His stomach twists in a knot with the realization that Shouto must have feelings for Izuku.
How could he have missed something so damn obvious? Whatever, Katsuki doesn’t want to be involved in these childish crushes and drama anymore. They’re grown adults for fucks sake, everyone needs to just grow up and tell them how they feel.
“I’m not going to say some corny ass line about how the seat next to you could be special too,” Katsuki speaks as softly as Shouto had.
Shouto looks at him with slightly wide eyes in shock before bursting into quiet laughter.
“Bakugou, that’s the same as saying the line,” he says softly, happiness clear in eyes.
Even after all of these years of knowing each other, it was still so rare to hear Shouto laugh like this. Katsuki was too frozen by his smile to take back his corny words in time.
“Woah, Todoroki’s blessing us mere mortals with his laughter today,” Kaminari swoons with his hand dramatically over his heart.
“Not only that but it was Bakugou of all people to cause this miracle?” Mina hollers excitedly.
Uraraka starts giggling, a forgotten quarter falling from the ceiling.
“Shut up, you’re all so damn loud,” Katsuki groans.
He already knows that he has no room to speak for volume violations but his face feels redder than it should be and it’s their damn fault.
“Aww, both ends of the booth are filled with blushing couples,” Mina says deviously before howling with laughter.
Izuku and Eijirou just giggle awkwardly without any denial like the sappy shoujo characters they are.
“Shut your damn mouths,” Katsuki yells, his denial fueling their laughter even more.
Shouto doesn’t give a response, but his pink cheeks and amused expression shows how lost he really is. He should count his blessings that Shouto doesn’t have a signature smartass remark to offer.
“Unfair, Ochako and I would make a way cuter couple,” Mina whines, leaning her head onto the shoulder of a very red Uraraka.
Katsuki doesn't know why she bothers blushing, those two are always flirty and annoying. These people are trying to fucking kill him.
“Hey, no fair! Then I’d be the only single one,” Kaminari whines when Mina lightly shoves him away.
When they finally leave the bar, Eijirou insists on Kaminari crashing at his place because he doesn’t trust him to make it home alone. Izuku, of course, also offers to help Eijirou take care of Kaminari and tags along with them (Eijirou called Izuku ‘incredibly manly’ for caring so much about his friends). Uraraka and Mina are long gone in a cab of their by the time that’s all decided. Katsuki already knows that the two of them are neighbors but he’ll let the rest of the idiots make their own assumptions.
“Why are you still here?” Shouto asks in a complete deadpan when it's only him and Katsuki left outside the bar.
“Fuck, I wouldn’t have stayed to walk you home if I knew you were gonna be a dick about it,” Katsuki avoids eye contact while rubbing the back of his neck.
“But I only live a few blocks away. I said that,” Shouto pauses, “Oh. If you wanted time alone with me you could have just asked.”
There’s the same little twitch of his lips and unnerving look in his gray and blue eyes from earlier.
“God— What are you even talking about? You’re so fuckin’ drunk, icyhot,” Katsuki laughs loudly, “Don’t pretend you’re not either, you’ve been wobbling all night.”
Shouto is clearly surprised, either by Katsuki's laughter or perceptiveness, stopping to stare at him for a moment. A few fleeting moments pass before he calms down to his normal stoic demeanor and put his hands in his pockets.
“Hmm, guess there’s no use pretending when you’re watching me so closely,” Shouto hums thoughtfully.
There's something else in his voice too, maybe happiness, but Katsuki can't quite place since Shouto is turned away from him.
“What the fuck? I wasn’t watching you closely or some shit. You’re not sly just because you can fool those other idiots,” Katsuki very nearly stutters in his anger.
He definitely isn’t embarrassed, anyone would be angry after a full night of Shouto’s weird games.
Shouto isn’t listening however— he’s already walking away. He seems happy, weirdly enough, if someone could look happy while walking ever so slightly off balance with an unseen face that’s definitely blank.
“Oi, where the hell are you goin?” Katsuki yells.
“Home. Are you not here to escort me home, Dynamight?” Shouto asks calmly.
He stops to turn around and stare at Katsuki as if he were the slow one here.
“Yeah, smartass, and your home is this way,” he can't help but smile at how confidently wrong Shouto is, “Still want to pretend you’re all sober and collected?”
“Thank you, Dynamight,” Shouto recovers remarkably quickly as he turns around to walk the correct way.
“What’s with the formal hero name? It’s weird outside of work, icyhot,” Katsuki asks.
“Is it? I could call you Katsuki if you prefer?” Shouto asks carefully, sounding a little amused.
Shouto is looking straight ahead, expressionless, but Katsuki thinks he seems a little nervous somehow. Whatever, whether the pretty bastard was amused or nervous it still weirded him out.
“What the fuck is your deal tonight, icyhot? I can’t believe I’m here of my own free will,” Katsuki asks, avoiding the question.
The rest of the walk is spent in a comfortable silence. That’s something he can always count on with Shouto. Even after all of the weirdness of their previous conversation, or the entire night, the quiet together is safe.
Shouto stops when they reach the last stretch before his apartment complex.
Katsuki wants to ask him what his deal is but pauses when he sees Shouto’s face. There’s sadness there, almost like he failed something. It’s the same faint expression he’s seen on Shouto when he didn’t do everything he could have on a mission.
He’s trying to think of what he could do to ease such a mysterious disappointment when Shouto turns to him with the same glint his eyes that mimics a smile.
“So, what about the new couples tonight?” Shouto asks.
Something about the question makes his heart skip a beat, enacting the same Shouto specific power to wipe his brain of a response.
“I think Izuku and Kirishima will make a wonderful pair,” Shouto continues but he sounds content.
For some reason, that isn't what Katsuki had wanted to hear.
“Yeah, like I care about them acting like lovesick teenagers. We’re pro heroes for fucks sake, there’s more important shit to worry about,” Katsuki scoffs, before adding quietly, “They’ll be good for each other though.”
He speaks his last words so softly, someone who wasn’t as attuned to the art of a quiet conversation as Shouto is might have missed it. Maybe.
Shouto hums in agreement and returns to their quiet walk. When they reach the door of his apartment complex, Shouto stops and turns to Katsuki before he can say goodbye.
“If we’re still too busy being pro heroes like you say someday then let’s get married, Katsuki,” Shouto speaks the words carefully, betraying the casual mask that he’s so clearly slipped on.
Katsuki knows that this is one of the beautiful bastards weird jokes, he truly loves to torment him. Once again tonight, he finds himself completely frozen under Shouto’s ability to quiet his mind.
Shouto continues anyways, either too drunk to care or never expecting a response in the first place.
“What age are people supposed to get married?”
Katsuki only continues to stare at him, a mixture of disbelief and confusion still frozen onto his face.
“You’re right. To hell with other people’s timelines. Hmm, let’s agree to marry each other when we’re 30 and still single,” Shouto nods to himself as if they were in agreement and had only needed to settle the details.
But then he turns to stare at Katsuki, the unanswered question still written across his face.
“Sure,” Katsuki basically coughs, begging his body to move and for his brain to process any thoughts at all.
“It’s not like you’re going to remember this tomorrow, princess,” Katsuki finally pulls a full sentence together only after staring at Shouto long enough to remember how gone he really was.
Katsuki isn’t sure why the single sentence he could spit out included princess, but no one will remember anyway.
“Mm, we’ll see.”
Shouto disappears into his apartment.