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In all the ways that Denki could have ruined Katsuki’s morning on the way to school, this one took the cake.
There was that time he accidentally spilt his water on his lap in an attempt to demonstrate how leak proof the bottle cap was. That was an honest mistake though—unlike the other time when he gave Katsuki the biggest puppy dog eyes he could muster in order to, unfortunately and sadly, tell Katsuki that he had lost Katsuki’s borrowed notes for calculus. So much for finally gaining Katsuki’s trust and using his killer study cheat sheets. He raged that day. A permanent wrinkle almost formed between his eyebrows!
All those hours put into making his notes look nice was wasted into who knows where…
Katsuki looked with familiar furrowed brows at the idiot, a mix of confusion and anger—the audacity for Denki to even suggest something even remotely related to Izuku in that way, that disgusting-
“Please, Katsuki,” Denki pouted, voice in a singsong cadence. His fingers were interlaced together in front of him, pleading, and he had weirdly chosen to bat his eyelashes as if that made his cry for help cuter.
“What the fuck,” he gritted out.
“It’ll just be for a little!”
“Any amount of time with that twerp is-“ he made a face with his tongue out, “-unbearable.” Although, his words were an exaggeration. He had a middle school slight against the freckled boy, but ultimately, distance between them mellowed Katsuki out. They were okay-ish, at least, now at Yuuei.
Denki moved in front of him, halting their walk. Katsuki attempted to sidestep him, but the dunce pushed his hands out to stop him. He immediately retracted his arms when he realized Katsuki looked even angrier at his gesture.
“Just hear me out, okay!”
“I am doing no such thing.”
From behind, “Do what?”
Katsuki suddenly felt a heavy arm around his shoulders.
“Oh, Eijirou! Just the guy I needed!”
Katsuki looked between the two. “The fuck!” he sputtered. “So I say no, and you’re gonna immediately ask Eijirou next?”
The redhead gave a hearty laugh, looking confused. “What?” he repeated.
Denki dramatically swung his arms to the side, sighing loudly. “No dummy—he’s gonna help me convince you to do it!”
The stupidity was too much. Katsuki shrugged off Eijirou and started walking again. They were going to be late, and to hell with Denki if he managed to ruin Katsuki’s perfect attendance with his stupid scheming.
He heard the two start muttering, in uncharacteristically hushed voices. Those dumbasses were the loudest people in their class. Who knew they had it in them?
What a stupid question the faux-blonde asked. Denki wanted Katsuki Bakugou to ask out the squirmish loser Izuku? He still carried around his middle school All-Might-themed pencil case, Katsuki’s pretty sure. That one? The same person that could barely run a lap last year during PE? (Not that he was watching!)
The one that had a habit of muttering out loud in class, and once it was during an important history test that Katsuki clearly does not harbor resentment for? That one?
Ugh.
Sure, he did maybe feel a little bad that Shinsou wasn’t allowed to date unless Izuku dated at the same time, as per Auntie Inko’s alleged rules. But Katsuki didn’t feel bad enough to ask out the green headed boy, and for Denki no less. The pity didn’t equate to those kind of actions.
Yuuei’s gates started to appear in the horizon of the street. Denki decided it was finally a good place to pluck out the wired bud from Katsuki’s ear and start talking. Katsuki rolled his eyes before he even started.
“So.” He smiled his dumb, dopey smile. Eijirou looked equally as eager.
“No.”
“I thought you were going to say that. We have brainstormed a few compelling reasons for you to do it.” Denki put his fingers up. He proceeded to tap each one as he started to list his reasoning. “One, you would be helping your best bro out. Don’t you want to see me happy!”
“I don’t give a fuck.”
Denki ignored the blonde’s comment. He tapped his second finger. “Two, you’ll be making Deku happy! You knew him when you guys were younger right?”
A light way to put it, Katsuki thought to himself.
“You know he’s awkward and shy and has never dated before. You’ll probably make his whole year.”
Eijirou nodded at Denki’s words, like it was undeniably true.
“I don’t do charity work.”
Denki huffed loudly. “Fine, you give me no choice.” He gestured forward with three fingers up. “I will give you my vintage All Might comic if you do this for me.”
Katsuki’s step faltered, and his jaw almost dropped. A few months ago, that dumbass was lucky enough to stumble upon a limited edition version of All Might: Silver Age Volume No. 1, which was one of the original storylines that led the superhero to mainstream media. Initially, when Denki told him that he had bought it, unaware of how rare it was, Katsuki almost popped with fury.
Slowly, he chewed out, “The one made in the 1960s?”
Denki nodded rapidly. “Yes.” He smiled, as if he knew he already won Katsuki over with this release of information.
Katsuki himself felt weak in the knees. Gods, that comic would be his. If he had to date Izuku for a few weeks, then so be it. It should belong to someone who would actually appreciate its value.
Defeated, Katsuki swallowed his pride. “Fine. I’ll do it.”
At lunch, Denki was practically vibrating with joy, which pissed Katsuki off to no end. Just because he was going through with this favor, didn’t mean that he should be all happy-go-lucky.
“Hey Denks,” a voice said. It was a purple haired boy who took a seat on the bench across from Katsuki. He dropped his tray with a thud.
Shinsou started sitting with the group a few weeks ago when Denki invited him after finishing some school project. Or something. Katsuki didn’t keep tabs on the two like that. He thought the pair was an odd duo, but mostly because Shinsou was almost as much as an asshole Katsuki was.
Speaking fast, Denki said, “Hi! Katsuki’s gonna ask out Deku!” as if the words couldn’t be contained in his mouth. His eyes were sparkling and he grasped Shinsou’s free hand that wasn’t touching his food.
His friends at the table paused their slow chatter to look at Katsuki suddenly, who was mid-bite of his chicken.
“Hah!” A few chicken pieces flew out of his mouth. He wiped at it with the back of his hand.
Shinsou blinked at him. His eyes were wide, but then his mouth contorted into a concerned frown.
The idiot blonde continued looking at Shinsou, smiling. “That means we can go on a date soon!” he said eagerly, oblivious to the nasty look Katsuki was giving him.
“The fuck!” Katsuki yelled. “Why are you tellin’ everyone here my business!” He stabbed his fork in Denki’s direction. “So much for being discreet, Dunce Face.”
Eijirou chuckled. So did Kyouka. Mina looked like she was gonna spin in a circle from excitement.
“I didn’t know you liked him,” Kyouka commented, cocking her head to her side. She looked amused.
Mina gasped. “I didn’t know you were capable of liking someone!” Katsuki growled at that.
Shinsou didn’t say anything, and continued staring at Katsuki. It made Katsuki uneasy. He wondered if Shinsou had any protective, brotherly instincts that would start questioning Katsuki.
As if Katsuki needed that right now. Ugh.
Think of the All Might comic.
“Shut the fuck up.” He leaned toward Mina. “You don’t need to know shit.”
Katsuki didn’t get flustered, much less embarrassed, so he schooled his face into something neutral. He averted his eyes to catch Denki looking sheepish at Katsuki. He gave the faux-blonde the meanest mug—he better have felt sorry for springing this up and cornering Katsuki. How is he supposed to pull this off with all those eyes on him?
Shinsou opened his mouth. “What do you like about him?”
“We have some common interests.” He shrugged, talking through his teeth, not sure how to approach the topic. “You should know,” he said vaguely.
Shinsou nodded. It was probably easy to infer what he was talking about. Katsuki knew Izuku was the kind of person who wouldn’t change his bedroom decorations since middle school. All Might themed posters and action figures everywhere, probably. His own room was practically the same, except by the time high school rolled around, his mother yelled at him to pack some shit up already because it was too kiddy.
Shinsou had a half-smirk as the image conjured, and then said under his breath, “Your gay ass superheroes?”
Kyouka snickered next to Denki, but at least she tried not to show it. She put her hand up to her mouth while Denki leaned into her space to exhale out a laugh.
Oh, how he was gonna blow them up. Katsuki’s friends could banter with him, but Shinsou wasn’t his friend.
The blonde stood up, almost flipping his food. He leaned in close, as much as he could with the table between them. “What’d you say to me, asshole?”
“Bro, he’s just teasing,” Eijirou tried to placate, but he too had a small smile on his face.
“Yeah, I’m just teasing.”
The blonde counted to three in his head. Then again.
“Does this mean I need to give you the shovel talk?”
“No, that’s usually after they make it official,” Denki chimed in.
“Shut up,” Katsuki said. He huffed and reached his hand to gather his belongings under the table. “I’m not talking to you losers.” Then, under his breath, “Telling them my shit.”
His friends took the hint, but Eijirou—hard headed, sweet Eijirou—got his stuff to follow. Lunch would end soon anyway. The red head grabbed his backpack.
Katsuki’s bag hung off one shoulder as the two made their way inside from the courtyard. Katsuki led the two as they wandered around the hallway for a moment.
“You good, Kats?”
Maybe Katsuki was dramatizing his reaction, but he still felt somewhat annoyed. Denki had to be patient if he wanted Katsuki to not just agree to dating Izuku, but also to actually date.
“Yeah,” he grumbled.
Eijirou looked pleased with the answer. “You don’t actually have to go through with this, y’know.”
“I know.” The thing was, Izuku wasn’t a bad looking guy. Maybe a little plain. He was also very personable. Maybe too much to a fault. Ever the people-pleaser. Younger Katsuki would describe him as a doormat. Perhaps he could explain to Izuku the situation, and the two of them together could convince Denki to give up more comic books for this awful plan.
“Good!” Eijirou slapped his back. Then, his eyes caravened across the hallway.
If it was a giant coincidence sent from the gods, it was kind of funny. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a blur of green. Izuku stood a few feet away in front of an open locker next to Pink Cheeks.
Katsuki knew the girl from his chemistry class last year…
He wouldn’t admit it, but she was also in the running to be valedictorian. Her dedication was admirable, but that also meant she was in the way of his standing.
Her back was towards him, and at this angle, the locker door was between Uraraka and Izuku, so Izuku’s face was obscured as he poked his head into the storage unit. He felt a nudge on his side and side eyed Eijirou.
“What?”
“Look, he’s there,” Eijirou said above a whisper. He lifted a subtle hand to Izuku’s general direction.
“No shit, Ei.” There were only five or six other people milling around, so it wasn’t hard to miss the other duo.
“This is your chance.” Katsuki shrunk into himself and whipped his head to Eijirou.
“You’re really agreeing with Denki I should do this shit?”
Eijirou’s eyes slightly widened. “Um,” he squeaked. “Yeah?” The lilt in his response made Katsuki bristle.
But he groaned and exhaled. He’s done meaner before. “I can’t believe you two,” he exhaled out.
After a second, he walked forward. Eijirou made a sound of support from behind. He didn’t have a strategy, but at least Eijirou believed in him. The blonde stopped behind the other two. When Uraraka finally noticed his shadow, an irritated look appeared on her face.
Her stance became defensive and she halted the middle of her conversation to scoff. “Ugh. What do you want?”
Katsuki almost had the decency to give in to her bait, but ignored her. The green haired boy looked startled at the sudden interaction. He was still exchanging his books from inside his locker. It was messy, with sticky notes everywhere. Typical Izuku.
“Um,” he started. He pushed his notebook into his backpack. “Hi Kacchan?” he hesitantly said.
Uraraka gave a pointed look to Izuku as if to say Why are you entertaining this guy? The green haired boy showed a weary smile to her in response.
Katsuki sucked in a breath. “I read your news article about the gardening club.”
Izuku blinked. “Oh, you did?” he asked, albeit sounding incredulous.
“Yes.” Then, “It was good.” Although, he didn’t specifically read the school newspaper for Izuku, god no, could you imagine that? Katsuki just so happened to like reading what his fellow peers were up to. He cleared his throat to express that to Izuku.
Izuku looked surprised even more, mouth slightly open, at the compliment. Even though they haven’t properly talked in a while, Katsuki’s lack of enthusiasm was unchanging.
“Thank you,” he said, almost sounding earnest. He tapped his chin. “I didn’t know you had a passion to read the school news.”
Katsuki shrugged. Out of the corner of his eye, Uraraka looked bewildered. “You don’t know a lot about me.”
Izuku strung a small laugh out and hummed. “Yeah?”
“Would you want to?”
Izuku’s eyes widened at the boldness. “What?”
“Know more about me,” Katsuki elaborated. He fought the urge to roll his eyes.
“What!” Izuku repeated, but his eyebrows raised to his forehead, thus making his eyes seem much bigger than they usually were. His eyes then moved everywhere but Katsuki’s face. It looked like he was starting to get nervous. Awkward dork.
“Oh my fucking god,” Katsuki whispered to himself. He wondered what this conversation looked like to an outsider. Eijirou probably thought Katsuki was insulting the poor boy instead of wooing him. The freckled boy’s expression of shock and disbelief probably didn’t help him. “Go on a date with me.”
Izuku finally snapped out of his trance and slammed his locker door shut. Uraraka startled backward. “Um,” Izuku stuttered out, picking up his backpack. He slung it over his shoulder and grabbed Uraraka’s arm, shouldering past Katsuki as gently as he could. Across his cheeks, a dark pink started to spread. He almost looked like Uraraka. “You’re acting weird, Kacchan!”
With a grip on her wrist, Izuku hightailed his way out before Katsuki could respond again. The brown haired girl looked over her shoulder, giving Katsuki a quizzing look. She looked as dumbfounded as the blonde felt. He sighed to himself. What the fuck was he doing.
As he turned around, he spotted the ketchup and mustard duo staring at him. They had slack jaws, but then Denki gave a thumbs up.
“Could’ve gone worse, bro!” Eijirou called out. He must’ve filled in Denki that Katsuki overplayed his reaction earlier.
The blonde groaned and stomped towards the condiments. They scrambled out of his way.
Katsuki doesn’t half ass things. That’s why he laid in bed that night mapping out all the ways he could get Midoriya Izuku to agree to go on a date with him. He did not stalk, no, he researched, goddamnit. He shifted to his side and let the shadows in front of him dance. Denki probably didn’t need this to be some convoluted or long term plan. Just enough to let his and Shinsou’s relationship get approved by his parents. Against his tiredness, he grabbed his phone off his nightstand and pulled up Denki’s contact.
Katsuki Now
Let’s walk to shinsou and izukus house tomorrow morning
Instantly, he got a reply.
Denki
omg!!!
good idea bro
i didn’t think of that
ill txt kiri we can’t meet him!
Katsuki had a plan. And at the end of it, he saw in his hands All Might’s glorious vintage design in a compact comic book.
That was the mantra he had to keep repeating to himself as he got ready the next morning. His tie hung loose on his neck, and he didn’t bother touching it up again as he pulled his shoes on.
“Bye,” he yelled.
His father poked his head by the foyer wall and gave a little wave. “Have a good day at school, Katsuki.”
The blonde didn’t reply as he slammed the door behind him. He started walking to the spot Denki agreed they’d meet at before heading towards Shinsou and Izuku’s. The sky was a dark hue, slowly lightening up as the minutes passed by.
A little further up from his spot now, Katsuki saw a waiting figure. “Kacchan!” Denki called out, putting his phone into his pocket to wave.
“The fuck?”
Denki grinned. “I thought I’d start warmin’ you up to that name. That’s what Deku calls you, right?” It was, but hearing that out of the dunce’s mouth felt wrong.
They continued walking, but Denki took the lead since Katsuki didn’t know the address. Honestly, he knew his childhood playground and Izuku’s childhood apartment by heart, but wasn’t sure if the green haired boy had moved or not.
“Don’t call me that, dumbass.”
Denki let the blonde’s words roll off his skin. “So,” he started instead, “thought of any ways to ask him out?”
Katsuki was quiet for a few seconds before blowing air between his teeth.
“Don’t worry your little faux-blonde head off,” he said coolly, “I will get that All Might comic.”
Denki laughed. ”I would never doubt you.”
Soon enough they arrived at a nearby neighborhood that had two story homes. So Izuku and his mom had definitely moved. As they approached a particular house, Katsuki noticed the garden was lush with two beautiful trees and budding flowers.
Denki stopped at the gate right in the front yard. “Hitoshi said to wait here.”
Katsuki took the time to soak in the front yard. It was littered with varying hues of green and potted plants. His eyes moved around the composition of the house and saw in the windows above that someone had colorful glass gel cling decorating the edges. So obvious who it belonged to… Shinsou definitely did not seem like the type to use that kind of thing. Then, the front door swung open to reveal the two brothers.
Shinsou came out first, and gave a knowing look to Katsuki. He smiled at Denki.
Izuku was shorter than the other boy, so he had to peek his head over Shinsou’s shoulder. He dared to look surprised that Katsuki was also there. The boy started getting a pinker hue to his skin—or maybe that was the sun rising?
“Hi Bakugou,” Shinsou greeted. “Nice for you to join us.”
As cordial as he could, “Hi, eyebags.” Shinsou rolled his eyes.
The four of them headed out without saying much. Shinsou looked like he had a thermos of coffee in his hand. And the sidewalk was only so wide, so Shinsou took the liberty of taking Katsuki’s spot next to Denki, leaving the blonde to walk behind them. Izuku seemed to awkwardly hunch over himself as Katsuki matched his pace.
Denki looked over his shoulder to give a sweet smile, but almost ran into a light pole—Shinsou grabbed his arm and pulled him in closer to avoid it. Ha. Served the dunce right.
“Um, good morning Kacchan.”
He inwardly sighed. This shouldn’t be hard. “Hi, nerd.” He couldn’t be as brazen as before. Izuku would probably appreciate subtlety.
Izuku straightened up as he continued speaking. “This is weird, I’m not gonna lie.”
Katsuki couldn’t agree more. They probably shared a couple of interactions in the past three years. Nothing as close as this since they were preteens. “Sure is.”
Izuku looked lost in thought. “Reminds me of when we were younger.” The freckled boy apparently got some courage to steal a glance at Katsuki, who wasn’t looking at him anymore.
The blonde looked peaceful with the sunlight glowing around his face. He didn’t look angry either, for once. Katsuki took his words and thought back to the adorable moments of middle school. How the two fell out the summer before freshman year. He cleared his throat at the memories. “I guess,” he conceded. “I’m still taller than you.”
Izuku let out a small laugh. “Yep.”
Not wanting the conversation to end, Katsuki opened his mouth. “Your yard looks well cared for.”
“Oh, yeah! My mom helped me start it ‘n’ stuff a few years ago. I’m in the gardening club, y’know!”
Katsuki thought about it for a moment. It oddly fit him. “Moved to a house and caught a green thumb?”
“You could say that. It used to look so decrepit that I couldn’t stand it anymore.” After a second, he hushed his voice to a level lower. “I stole some seeds from school to use, but don’t tell them that.”
Katsuki shrugged, almost amused at that vision. “Interesting.” Could be blackmail evidence if Izuku said no to dating? “Could I visit the club?”
Izuku looked surprised yet again. “Oh—if you want.” He smiled. “We actually have a meeting after school today.”
Katsuki had to suppress a smirk. He already knew that thanks to his investigative skills last night. “Cool. I’ll be there.”
After school came by quickly, and Denki slapped his back as good luck. Eijirou similarly punched his shoulder. “You got this!” he exclaimed, even though Katsuki was frowning wildly.
He managed to find his way to the hidden patio garden outside of the main Yuuei building by himself. Vines climbed along the side and a plethora of different plants lined brick beds. It surely didn’t look like this their first year, so Izuku actually must have busted his ass to make it look this pretty.
He walked into the enclosed area and found that some of the bricks were painted to look like bunnies and other whimsical motifs. How cute. On a table in the back corner, he saw Izuku with a bucket hat and a cheesy smile. He waved happily. He looked less awkward here. Around him was Yaomomo—another one of his valedictorian rivals—a green haired girl who had large doe eyes, another green haired girl who he vaguely knew as Sero’s old romances, and-
Ugh. Todoroki. He cocked his head at the boy and wanted to immediately punch him. If anyone could foil his plan, it would be the split haired bastard. Katsuki vaguely knew that he and Izuku were close friends. They seemed to be talkative in classes and always walked together through the hallway.
“What are you doing here, you nepo baby?”
Todoroki didn’t even do much as glance at him as his hands patted around some dirt in a cup. “Not that it’s any of your business,” he started, which pissed Katsuki off more, “but my father wanted me to join the business club. I told him I couldn’t because gardening is the same day.”
Katsuki rolled his eyes at him. Through the grapevine, he heard that Todoroki hated his dad and tried to rebel as much as possible. Even going so far as having a house party the weekend his dad left for a work trip, which ended up with cops showing up at the house and teenagers of all grades running out the back door. He wondered if Izuku was there.
Whatever.
He moved his attention to the prize—the green haired boy. “What are you guys working on?”
The blond set his stuff down at the bench the group was huddled around. He was suddenly aware how ill-dressed he was. It looked like everyone had a change of clothes and shoes on, or at least an apron to cover their uniforms. His own loafers were getting smudged with dirt and his blazer, although baggy, was trapping heat inside his shirt. He was gonna start sweating.
Izuku perked up. “Oh, hi—“ he recognized Katsuki’s awkwardness over his wardrobe, “-hold on!”
He led him to a door, telling his club mates he’ll be right back.
“Nothing really exciting is on the agenda right now.” He opened the door, pointing at a spot on the floor. “Here, you can set your stuff in the classroom—but yeah, we kind of just finished planting all the flower beds last week.”
Katsuki hummed, setting all his stuff down. He observed the room. A storage unit, probably. It had gray walls and almost no decorations. It was full of shelves of different cardboard boxes, save for the desk and chair stationed at the front. On one of the closer shelves, there were long bins that took up the entire length with green poking out of it. Tubes were hooked up on the side. He walked up to it, Izuku hesitantly trailing behind.
“You’re tellin’ me you’re not growing weed in here?”
Izuku jumped. “What—no!” he refuted. He put his hands up. “These are just hydroponics for cabbage!”
Katsuki huffed a laugh and then touched the top of Izuku’s head before rubbing his palm down. “I’m just teasing.” Izuku made a face, pushing his hand away. “I know what hydroponics are.”
Maybe Izuku’s face was just naturally pink? Or maybe his hat wasn’t working under the sun and he’s getting a burn.
“Really! Oh, that’s good. It’s been kind of slow here lately because it gets too hot in this room, but I talked to sensei about it and he said it should be fine this week. But after we water all the plants outside today, we’re gonna tend to the carrots. They’re so tiny right now, but my hope is that we can grow them as long as possible in order to sell them. Oh—and next week we’re thinking of doing a lunch activity in the quad! Like, help make a bird feeder-“
Katsuki cut off his rambling. “Oh, yeah, that was in your news article.” If Izuku was surprised again by Katsuki’s participation in the school news, he didn’t show it.
He smiled instead and nodded, pulling Katsuki outside to start introducing the other club members.
“This is Tsuyu, Yaomomo, oh you know Todoroki already—and this is Shiozaki.” They all gave him a small, polite wave, save for Todoroki. He looked impassive at Katsuki’s entrance.
“What are you here for?” He cocked his head, looking genuinely curious as to why Katsuki decided to grace the small club with his presence.
Tsuyu blinked at him. “I was wondering the same thing…”
Rolling his eyes, he grumbled, “No particular reason.” He took one of the hoses and felt around the spout. “Just wanted to see what Izuku was up to.”
A small noise escaped Todoroki’s mouth.
“Oh,” exclaimed Yaomomo. “I didn’t know you two were friends.”
Izuku and Todoroki shared a look, and Katsuki didn’t like that. Maybe Izuku had told the split haired freak their history.
“You could say that,” Katsuki said when Izuku didn’t reply. He glanced at the boy and saw that he was staring back. It was a little uncomfortable. Was Izuku uncomfortable? Maybe he was just being friendly as he always was, not actually wanting to have another relationship with Katsuki. Shit, maybe this whole plan was a bust. Denki probably would have had better luck asking Todoroki to do his bidding.
Izuku seemed to realize Katsuki looked unsure. “We are,” Izuku confirmed. “We used to be best friends when we were younger.” He looked down into his hands with a small smile, as if he were reminiscing about their childhood. He exhaled.
Yaomomo nodded and smiled. “Cute!”
”Yeah, yeah. Anyway, why are there so many people here with green hair?” Katsuki mused.
Shiozaki touched her locs.
“Part of the club description or something?” he asked sarcastically.
“No, of course not.” Shiozaki pouted, like she was actually insulted by the thought of discriminating against potential members without green hair. “Yaomomo and Todoroki are here.”
He stared at her, and her deadpan eyes. She reminded him of Todoroki. “Right,” drawled out. He let this comedic bit drop. He turned his attention to the cup of dirt Todoroki had. “What’s this for?”
“We’re repotting.”
“No shit, idiot. I mean what are we repotting?”
Todoroki waved his hand flippantly. “Language, Bakugou.”
Yaomomo looked scandalized as well. How prudish. He rolled his eyes. “My bad,” he muttered. Todoroki pushed one of the pots away and grabbed another one. Weirdo. The blonde turned to look at Izuku. “Can I help with anything?”
Izuku nodded and surged forward, grabbing something on the floor. “Yes,” he said brightly, interrupting the awkward conversation with his club mates.
He handed a watering can to Katsuki. With his other, he grabbed the blonde’s wrist, leading them around the flower beds. The large patio was filled with greenery.
“Usually I do this alone,” Izuku explained.
“Why? They force you to?”
“What!” He sounded surprised. “Of course not. I like doing it alone.” His face was filled with pink again.
Katsuki flicked Izuku’s short-brimmed hat. “You should get a new one. You’re getting sunburnt.” He actually looked kind of cute, in a boyish kind of way with his bucket hat and pink cheeks.
Izuku touched his face and blushed harder. “Wah—focus, Kacchan!” His mouth pursed into a small line, but the blonde was finally able to notice the fullness of his lips. They looked juicy—did he wear lip gloss?
Katsuki retreated his hand back and shrugged, turning his attention to the plants in front of him. He followed Izuku’s lead and sprinkled the water in equal increments across the bed. They moved on to the next one.
“Kacchan,” Izuku said.
He grunted in response, not sure where this was going.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Just say it.”
Izuku bit his cheek. In a meek voice that Katsuki hasn’t heard in years, he said “Do you actually want to be friends again?”
“I-“ The words were trapped in his chest somewhere. It felt a bit like guilt pattering against his heart. He didn’t want to be dishonest but… He weighed his options. “I asked you if you wanted to go on a date with me,” he finished.
In his peripheral vision, he saw Izuku whip his head closer to his personal space. Then-
“Do you think I’m pretty?”
That caught him off guard. He stumbled back with furrowed eyebrows. “HAH?”
Izuku at least had the nerve to look sheepish at the bold question. “I heard Mina saying you have a crush on me.”
Oh my fucking god. I’m gonna kill that girl. He felt his face getting hot. “The fuck.”
Izuku shrugged, chuckling a bit. He started walking to the next bed. “You don’t have to answer, Kacchan,” he said to himself, almost chuckling as if he knew something that Katsuki didn’t. “C’mon let’s do the rest of these suckers.”
Katsuki could only follow flabbergasted.
Denki wanted to make a habit out of telling Katsuki to walk with him to Shinsou and Izuku’s house. He had half a mind to feel bad for leaving behind Eijirou, but knew he’d be fine with it. The red haired boy probably started walking to Mina’s house to do the same anyway. They were bound to start dating soon.
Izuku looked pleasantly surprised the second time Denki and Katsuki showed up at his front gate. He smiled brightly, and made small talk. Little things about his classes. His homework. How his mom’s doing. Katsuki could finally report back to Mitsuki how Auntie Inko was, Katsuki supposed.
The sun usually bled from blue to yellow as the hour went on and they made it to Yuuei.
Today was no different. On the nth day together, Izuku yawned a couple times more than usual, even as Shinsou offered his coffee.
“Do you not like it?”
Izuku shrugged.
“I like energy drinks more.”
Katsuki thought back to middle school and all the teenage boy stereotypes. “You stay up late gaming or something?” He could relate if he was still 14. Now he liked sleeping in bed at 8PM.
“No!” he denied, with a little too much enthusiasm. “I mean—sometimes I do that.” He nervously laughed, eyes averting. “I was just watching a show last night.”
His manner made Katsuki tilt his head in curiosity. “Oh, really? What got you so interested that you’re ruining your sleep schedule in the middle of the week?”
Izuku looked sheepish at the simple question. “Um… okay, maybe it wasn’t a show,” he conceded.
“A movie?”
“No.”
“The fuck,” Katsuki barked a low laugh out. “You’re watching porn, you perv?”
Izuku jumped, eyes widening at his comment.
“I don’t need to know that.” He started turning a bright red.
“WAH-“ he started. His arms tangled around his face, embarrassed. “No! I didn’t mean it like that—oh my gosh, no, okay, I was just up waiting for this merch drop for a band I like!”
Katsuki laughed again. “You fucking dork.”
Then, it was more than just mornings now.
Denki perked up, waving at two figures that were slowly approaching their lunch table. Katsuki turned his head to see Shinsou and Izuku walking by with their lunch trays.
Izuku looked a little hesitant, a small smile on his face. He waved back. It was a little adorable, but this shy act was outdated. It was like a small puppy—too cute that Katsuki wanted to squeeze him to stop being cute.
“Oh, hey guys!” Denki exclaimed, looking ecstatic. He scooted over on his bench to make room for the duo. He patted the seat next to him, and Shinsou made his comfortable way into the area. They sat closely together.
“Hi, Kacchan,” he said. He was still hovering around the table. “Do you mind if I sit here?” He gestured to the seat across from Katsuki.
Katsuki could feel Eijirou and Mina and Sero’s eyes on him. He shrugged pointedly, taking a bite of whatever Lunch Rush served that day. “Whatever.”
Mina fanned her hand on her face. “Of course you can, Izu-kun!” She leaned across the table, hovering over her chair to pinch Izuku’s cheeks. “Your freckles are so cute.”
Izuku’s small demeanor changed and he smiled more freely. “Your hair is cool,” he responded back, taking the chair.
“Aw, thank you.” She slid back on her butt, sitting flatly now.
The table was small, so she didn’t have to talk loud to have a conversation with him across the platform.
“How’s the garden coming along?” she asked.
Katsuki chewed harder. “It’s going well,” he bit out.
Mina quirked an eyebrow. “How would you know?”
“‘Cause I go there, dipshit.”
Mina laughed, a little incredulous. He guessed that Denki didn’t share much details about his Woo-Deku plan since the other week when Denki first revealed it to the table. “I didn’t know that. When’d that happen?”
Izuku nodded. “Since two weeks ago. Kacchan’s been joining me.”
Mina gave him a knowing look.
“It is going well, thanks for asking,” he said through his teeth. Food specks came out of his mouth.
Sero chimed in, saving Mina from Katsuki’s unnerving look. “Anything new going on?”
“We’re gonna have a sale soon, if you want to support us,” Izuku said.
“Which they do,” Katsuki said tersely, looking around at his friends, low key threatening them to support Izuku’s club. They nodded in agreement.
Denki was surprisingly patient about Katsuki’s progress. He waited the following weekend to text him about a new opportunity.
Denki
u free tmr
Katsuki
Ya
Denki
great!
got amusement park tix
me and shinsou will pick u up at 9!
Katsuki
Wtf
Why the fuck would I want to third wheel you
Denki
HAHA
silly
i mean deku will be there too
After a while, Denki texted again.
Denki
pleaaaaaaseeeeeeeee come
:(
Ugh. All Might. Comic books. Izuku’s smile.
Katsuki
Fine.
Looking in the mirror, Katsuki frowned. He huffed and practically chucked his shirt off. He stood in front of his closet, rustling through the hangers.
T-shirt, t-shirt, tank top, jacket-
Ugh. Why was everything ugly. He went through almost every nice shirt he had and wanted to stomp out of frustration, but stopped himself because he was not a child.
He thought of Denki’s smiling face at Shinsou, and then Izuku’s smiling face at him from the other day.
Oh my god, this amusement park shit better be worth this trouble.
He decided on a black hoodie with subtle texture changes with orange accents. Not too dressy, but not too plain. Good. He found some trendy jeans that Sero once remarked as flattering on his ass. Also good.
He didn’t do too much to his hair on the account that the rollercoasters he would be riding would have the wind whipping it anyway.
His mom gave him a weird look as he came down the stairs when Denki texted he was almost there. “Where are you going?” She sipped her mug.
“Out,” he replied, clipped. He took a seat by the foyer and started tying his shoes.
“No shit, brat. What are you dressed up for?”
He huffed. “Goin’ out with Denki. And his—his friend Shinsou.”
Mitsuki saw through his stutter. “You’re third wheeling?” She laughed, incredulous.
He rolled his eyes. “No,” he admitted. “Izuku will be there, too.”
She set down her cup. They briefly talked about what he’d been up to lately—the gardening club, hanging out with Denki, Shinsou, and Izuku in the morning, the like—but haven’t gone into depth. “Haven’t heard that name in a while.”
“Yeah.”
“How’s his mother doing?”
He shrugged. “I’ll tell you later,” he said, but it was probably a lie. His pocket buzzed. Rudely, he declared, “I’m out, now.”
His mother’s attention went to the TV playing the news in the living room. “Have fun,” she called out, before he shut the door firmly behind him.
In his driveway was a beat up Corolla that had a dirty white color. All the windows were down, and Shinsou gave a halfhearted wave as his side of the car faced the house. His hair was wild and ugly.
Denki didn’t seem to mind—he popped his head into the driver’s bubble to look out the window and smiled. His hand was disgustingly holding Shinsou’s.
“Yo!”
He approached the car and opened the back door behind the purple haired boy. Izuku was already sitting on the other side—duh, he lived with Shinsou—and was fiddling with his nails.
Katsuki scowled and sat down, making sure to not slam the door. “Hey losers,” he greeted.
Shinsou grunted and started the car with one hand. The other turned his emo music on a higher volume. Gross.
Katsuki glanced to his side and took in the outfit that Izuku was wearing. He looked nice. He was wearing a fitted t-shirt that surprisingly filled out with toned muscles. His fashion—from what Katsuki remembered—was always shit. He hardly saw the green headed boy at school, but even then, his uniform was usually in disarray. He must’ve asked Denki, or someone, for advice.
“Izuku,” he spoke out.
Izuku looked at him and scratched his face. “Hi, Kacchan.”
Over the music, Denki chimed in. “It’s nice you could join us.”
“Yeah, let's hope it will be,” Shinsou mocked.
Katsuki huffed and lightly kicked the chair in front of him. “Hey,” he growled.
The two up front laughed, and Katsuki deflated against his chair. It was surprisingly comfortable back here. “Don’t be rude.”
“Says you.”
“Fuck you,” he spat. “What the fuck does that mean.”
Shinsou shrugged and Katsuki found his eyes in the rearview mirror. He stuck his tongue out.
“Nothing,” Shinsou said.
Denki pushed through their mini insult session, and started chattering about which rides they should go on. The dunce smiled as he gestured with his hands. “Let’s go on all of them actually!”
Izuku lifted a nerdy finger up. “Are you sure Kaminari? Last time you puked a lot.”
Denki laughed, but Katsuki could only imagine what that was like. Most definitely disgusting, but also probably awkward. Shinsou probably pity-invited the nerd to his and Denki’s outing, just like they did for today.
He imagined Izuku rubbing the blonde’s back as Shinsou stared, like he always did.
“Don’t tell Kacchan that,” Denki whined.
Katsuki bristled. “Don’t call me that, dunce face.”
As he whined again and complained to Shinsou how mean Katsuki was, Izuku turned toward Katsuki. “Have you ever been before, Kacchan?” he asked calmly.
“No.”
“Really?” A second passed. “I hope you have fun, then.”
Katsuki shrugged, like it wasn't a big deal to him. “Thanks.” His words were short. Ugh. He’s handsome and smart, but had the social skills akin to a rock (as said by Eijirou). Fuck, how do you make conversation again? Izuku continued talking thankfully.
“You’re an enigma, you know.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You’ve changed so much from middle school, yet you’re undeniably the same.” The statement felt uncomfortable. He wondered how much of that was directed at the bullying side of Katsuki, or if it also included those childhood moments together where they gathered around the convenience store with their allowance in hand and tried finding rare All Might trading cards.
He pursed his lips together. “What does that mean?”
Izuku breathed out, but he wasn't mad. “Nothing,” he said, with a slight smile on his face. “Nevermind. Just—getting to know you more. Since you said you wanted me to.” He punctuated his sentence by connecting eyes with Katsuki.
He freezed at the contact. Um. “Did I say that?” he asked stupidly. As he said it, he recalled their interaction where Uraraka looked ready to push him away in case he got too close to Izuku, the first time he willingly approached the nerd a few weeks ago. The first time he voluntarily spoke to him again. “I did,” he backtracked. He looked away.
“Do you still like spicy things?”
“Yeah.” His tone was light.
“Cool. I’ll buy you something spicy at the concession stand then!” He heard the crinkle in the other’s eye from smiling. He looked back at Izuku's face. He still had a boyish charm to him, but it matured in a way that made him look more confident. And nerdier.
“Thanks, I guess.” He wasn’t sure how to respond. Izuku being kind wasn’t unheard of, but he still wondered how Izuku had the power to be so smiley. Dunce face had a similar social energy, but was more careless than the green haired boy. It was interesting to think about. Even after all these years. At least he appreciated it now.
The line to the park entrance was long, but seemed to be moving fast. He turned to Izuku, whose eyes were sparkling. Wonder that didn’t appear to leave his irises since childhood.
Katsuki looked away, deciding to study the structures around them. The park didn’t seem to be themed to any fantasy or genre. Kind of boring, but it was fine.
Denki tapped his arm. “You gonna have fun, bro?”
Katsuki shrugged.
Denki smiled. “I think he’s glad you could join us,” he said in a hushed voice. He tilted his towards Izuku. The green haired boy was talking excitedly to Shinsou about something, back turned towards the two.
“Really,” he asked, more for confirmation than doubt.
“Yeah. Now he doesn’t have to third wheel me and Toshi.”
Katsuki stuck his tongue out and faux-gagged. “Ew. Nicknames.”
Denki laughed at his dramatics, pushing his arm slightly. “Says you, Kacchan.”
After a few minutes of more waiting, the four were ushered under an umbrella and Katsuki emptied his pockets onto the checkpoint table.
Soon enough, they got inside the gates, and Izuku was pointing wildly around the giant displayed map. Lots of people were milling around, slowly filling up the space.
“Should we go in a circle?” Izuku asked, referring to the walking path of the park. “Since Kacchan’s never been here.”
Denki nodded.
Katsuki glanced at the faux-blonde and saw him holding Shinsou’s hand. Gross.
“Good idea, Deku,” Denki said. He plucked a printed map on the stand and they started on the tiled stones on the right. There were a few vendor stands between the rollercoaster lines. Cinnamon twists and caricature artists.
Izuku bumped his shoulder, as the other two walked in front of them. “Hungry?” he asked simply.
“Nah, but thanks, though.”
Denki turned over his shoulder and stuck his tongue out. He thumbed in the direction of the first coaster he wanted to ride.
“Let’s go!” Izuku laughed.
As they stood in line, Denki kept trying to act all lovey-dovey with the purple haired boy. He looked away, and saw Izuku who was also trying not to look at the couple. It was like they just happened to join them on their intimate date, which he supposed was true. Should he try hold his hand, too? Make small talk? Ask him to play a childish game to wait to get to the front?
“Ew,” he said instead. “Do you have to put up with this at home?” The blonde was nosing into Shinsou’s neck. Gross.
Izuku shrugged, amused by the question. “Mom makes them leave the door open, so I just shut mine.”
He could totally imagine Auntie Inko doing that, wagging her finger at Shinsou and Denki about being appropriate. “That’s funny.”
He turned his head to observe the people around them. The girl behind him had googly eyes at Izuku. Katsuki stepped closer to the green haired boy to block her view. He didn’t seem to notice, turning a little to not touch Katsuki so closely, but didn’t move away.
“I’m surprised you agreed to come.”
Katsuki didn’t get to think about it before, but now he wondered how that worked. Did Denki ask Izuku if it was OK if Katsuki came to their outing? Or did Denki force him to come? Or did Denki convince him to come on the account of Katsuki’s presence?
He hums not to reveal anything. “Yeah,” he said simply.
“I’m glad you wanted to talk to me again,” Izuku confessed, albeit a little meekly.
Aw. “Um,” he said, “I’m glad, too.” He thought back to middle school. “We didn’t end off on a good note.”
“Eh, don’t mind that Kacchan.” He fiddled his fingers. “A lot of time has passed since then.”
Katsuki didn’t prepare to apologize now, but he felt it was appropriate to say. “Still. Sorry about—everything.”
Izuku was quiet, looking down, but then he looked up at Katsuki and Katsuki could see the wonder speckled into his eyes again. “You make it sound so serious,” he lightheartedly said. “I was more confused why you didn’t want to be my friend anymore.”
Izuku was always so selfless. Of course he wasn’t focused on how he himself felt. “Oh,” Katsuki said simply. “I didn’t know that.”
The line shuffled forward. It was silent for a moment as the couple in front of them were animatedly talking. Or more like Denki was yapping loudly while Shinsou stood there, nodding in acknowledgment. It was hot, and in the spot they were under no longer had an umbrella to be under the shade
Katsuki adjusted his collar, feeling his skin prickle at the sun rays. He should’ve put more deodorant on.
“Next! How many are in your group?”
“Four,” Denki chirped.
The attendant smiled, and pointed at two lines for the track seating. The four of them fell into the appropriate spots—Shinsou and Denki in front, with the other two in the back—until the next coaster slid back around, the previous riders having whipped hair and nervous smiles. Out of the corner of his eye, Katsuki saw Izuku perk up and smile. As the safety gate opened to let them take a seat, Izuku jerked his head toward the spots.
“C’mon,” he teased.
“Tch. I am.”
They sat snugly into place. An attendant came around to make sure the safety bar sat low enough.
“Are you ready?”
“Hell yeah.”
Denki tried turning his head around. The mobility in the lap bar sucked. “Say cheese,” he commanded, holding up his phone quickly before snapping a picture.
Katsuki looked unbothered, but Izuku was happy as a clam. The speakers overhead was static with music, upbeat and lots of bass—some kind of odd, and older—hype music? Katsuki could hear Shinsou’s smirk as he said,
“Don’t puke, Kacchan.”
As he was about to retort, the coaster rushed forward and he lost his breath.
Whooshing of the wind paraded in his ears. His stomach flipped as they gained momentum, the scare of velocity outweighing the height of the damn thing. He pursed his lips as they went around, listening to Denki’s screams and Shinsou’s laughs. Izuku’s was a mix. Their hands shot up in the air, catching the rush.
The thrill wasn't terrible. The coaster went around in another loop, making him dizzy.
Sudden turns had Izuku’s shoulder pressed into his, the weight of it a reminder that he was full of warmth.
It slowed to a stop at last. Katsuki turned his head to the side, looking at Izuku’s head of hair that looked even more unruly than before. His waves were whipped around his head, a giant puff of unstyled strands. Their eyes met and the green haired boy immediately smiled, breaking into a full grin.
“You look so funny, Kacchan,” he said behind his hand.
Self-consciously, Katsuki brushed the hair on the side of his head. It was still spiky, but had a new volume. It probably looked crazy.
“Shut up. You should see yourself, nerd,” he retorted back.
Then, Denki huffed a loud laugh, his legs noticeably wobbly after the attendant released their safety bars to exit.
Izuku followed behind Shinsou, who looked as pleased as ever. Not even a sign of discomfort, which was very different from Izuku’s apparent inability to walk in a straight line.
Katsuki licked his lips and strode next to the green haired boy. Tentatively, he extended his arm around his waist, securing his position upright.
Katsuki didn’t say anything, just rolled his eyes when Izuku flushed, “thanks, Kacchan!”
Hitoshi smirked, Katsuki could tell, but the purple haired boy reached for Denki’s hand as the four of them got out of the exiting area onto the main pathway.
They wandered off to the next area. A low railing faded paint job sported, displaying a wide lake and decorations with ducks and geese on the perimeter. It reflected the greenery around it. As the group approached closer, it smelled like a mix of chlorine-like chemicals and wet birds. Katsuki wrinkled his nose.
“Oh!” Izuku exclaimed.
Katsuki turned to look.
“A concession stand.” He tilted his head. “We should wait till lunch though.”
“Why’s that?” Denki asked.
“So Kacchan doesn’t vomit,” he teased.
Katsuki slouched into himself. “Hey!” he barked. “No, I’m not gonna vomit!”
The other three laughed at his response. Izuku shrugged with a small smile. Denki jokingly pulled his fist back and lightly tapped Katsuki’s shoulder. “You might bro.”
Katsuki slapped his hand away.
They continued on the scenic path—more like an overglorified garden with much needed cleaning for the bird shit, but it was alright. A pair of concrete stairs led them around delicate florals in patterned arrangements. He wondered what Izuku thought of it.
Izuku approached one of the bushes, in his nerd-like fashion, and felt the petals between his fingertips. Katsuki hovered over his shoulder.
“These up to your gardening standards?”
Izuku nodded, and let out a small huffed laugh. “These are great. I wonder how much it cost to plant these…”
Katsuki shrugged. He had no doubt that Izuku could do something as simple as these circular designs in his own gardening bed.
The two backed off from the bushes, and caught up with the other two.
Despite the smell, Denki and Shinsou embraced each other’s arms. Denki was clearly trying to steal kisses when he thought Katsuki and Izuku weren’t looking, but Shinsou didn’t care and pecked his cheeks and lips anyway.
Politely, Izuku averted his eyes away. It was kind of romantic, if Katsuki ignored some parts of this horrid walk. Up ahead, a small bridge ascended close to another entrance of a ride.
“Ah!” Izuku said, pointing.
He quickly gripped Katsuki’s jacket sleeve, pulling him forward. His own heart lurched a little with the contact, but he willed it down. It wasn't that big of a deal.
“I heard the way you were screaming on the last one,” he gritted out. “All three of you.”
“Hey! It was fun!”
After going on a few more rides and bickering between the four of them, the sun beat over their heads.
Katsuki got sunscreen out of his bag. “Hold on,” he told the others while seating himself at a bench. Izuku claimed the spot next to him, watching as the blonde squirted the bottle on his hand, reapplying the paste.
Shinsou and Denki went to another bench. The blonde was fiddling with his phone, and Shinsou watched in admiration. Gross.
“Oh, that’s a good idea,” Izuku said. He squinted over Katsuki’s lap and read the label.
“I know it is.” Then, he quickly put more on his fingers and swiveled his head to be close to Izuku. He was pink. Probably from sunburn? That absolutely useless jackass. He should know he burns easily, especially from being in the gardening club.
Izuku widened his eyes as Katsuki reached out and started aggressively slathering his cheeks with the sunscreen.
“Ow—Kacchan!” he whined. They were almost wrestling—Izuku trying to push Katsuki off his face while Katsuki used the entire surface of both his hands to rub the ointment on. His face was squished, looking like a fish.
“Stop it,” Katsuki said, “I’m helping you. You’re so red, dumbass, you should’ve brought your own.”
Izuku whined more but eventually stopped resisting. As Katsuki rubbed it down his face, he got to his neck. It felt quiet all of a sudden. Izuku got pinker and darted his eyes away. Katsuki retracted his hand, standing up. That was enough sunscreen, he deemed.
“Ugh. Let’s go now.”
Izuku squeaked, “Yes, Kacchan!”
The sun was setting, casting a glowing orange to everything around them. The line for the ferris wheel was short, so the four of them decided to head over.
Shinsou and Denki went in front of them, and Denki kept sneaking glances at Katsuki and trying to subtly nod his head towards Izuku as if to tell him to make a move already.
He inwardly sighed. He glanced to his left where Izuku was idly scrolling on his phone. Katsuki bit the bullet and stretched his arm around the other’s shoulder, resting it along his back.
Izuku froze in place, and peeked up between his eyelashes to gauge Katsuki’s expression. The blonde tried to make it as passive as possible. Izuku seemed to take the action at a superficial level and went back to his mobile game, saying nothing.
Denki flashed a thumbs up.
“We should probably leave those two alone,” he mentioned quietly to Izuku, leaning close to his ear. The suggestion was in equal parts to actually give the real couple privacy, and get him and Izuku together.
Izuku hummed, agreeing. His hand brushed against his pink ear when Katsuki straightened his posture away from his personal bubble. “You’re right.” He scrunched his nose. “They’ll probably make out.”
Katsuki stuck his tongue out crudishly and pretended to retch. Izuku laughed.
As the first duo got on board to their platform, Katsuki let the thought of relationships linger on his mind. The sun was starting to dip behind the horizon. The amusement park illuminated soft, twinkling lights. It was actually quite romantic. From the top, they could probably see the manmade lake and point out the birds in a sweet fashion.
Then, the usher waved them over and let them into a pod.
It had two benches and gridded metal as the walls. He let Izuku in first and sat next to him. The whole pod tilted with the uneven weight, and the usher gave a chuckle as he closed the latch.
Slowly it ascended, stopping a few feet to let the next passenger on the next pod. Izuku looked content peering out the steely window. Cutting the silence, he said, “I’m glad you agreed to come out.”
“I’m glad, too,” Katsuki answered.
He glanced down at the seat where Izuku’s hand inched closer to his. His eyes went back up to notice Izuku appearing timid, eyes darting away like he was embarrassed that he was caught staring. His cheeks glowed with the sunlight filtering through.
The thing rocked as they slowly moved toward the top of the wheel.
In a bout of confidence, Izuku looked back up to Katsuki’s eyes.
“No, I’m—uh,” he bit his lip, “really glad you came out today.” He breathed out hard.
“I’m glad, too,” Katsuki conceded.
He thought back to earlier when he touched Izuku’s waist and shoulders, trying to hint that these touches were building up to something else.
The pod slowed to a halt while at the very top. Katsuki nudged Izuku’s shoulder, nodding his head to the window. They peered out together.
Katsuki was right, from here they could see the lake and the flowers that were set in colorful spirals and shapes.
The light of the sun washed a halo over everything.
“Pretty,” Izuku said.
“Yeah.” Katsuki leaned forward, close to the back of Izuku’s head.
“Something pretty is in front of me.”
Izuku turned his head around in surprise, mouth falling a little open at Katsuki’s admission. “W-what?”
“You heard me.” But his voice was low and gravelly, not so loud like he usually was.
Izuku’s eyelashes fluttered. The sunlight bit the edges of his silhouette, marking him as some sort of glowing object. He looked even more striking that way. Like he was being highlighted by the celestial body.
Izuku’s voice was small as he asked, “Am I reading this wrong?”
Katsuki slowly shook his head. “No.”
Audibly, Izuku swallowed and gravitated towards Katsuki’s face.
Their lips connected. It was warm and tasted like cinnamon. Izuku’s hand finally reached Katsuki’s, and enveloped it in warmth. In retrospect, it was a mundane kiss, but nonetheless left Katsuki wishing for more as Izuku peeled back.
He huffed a breath out, looking down. “I have to confess something,” he mumbled.
Katsuki clicked his tongue. What could he possibly confess to ruin this moment? “Better be important.”
Izuku shuffled back on the seat, letting the pod rock a little from the sudden movement.
“I-“ He breathed out hard again. “Hitoshi and Denki helped set me up with you.”
It was a quiet moment, but then Katsuki scooted closer to Izuku. The pod rocked back and forth harder, with the uneven weight. The blonde barked a laugh out, realizing he’d been a fool.
Izuku’s eyes widened.
“Couldn’t have just asked me out like a normal person?” Katsuki asked, pulling Izuku closer for another kiss.