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Suddenly he was all alone in the dark.
Izuku started as the lights went off. He looked around him to see that everyone had left the library already except for him. He glanced at the old clock hung on the wall and sighed when he saw how late it actually was.
Lame. That's exactly how it felt to realize he'd spend the last four hours staring at nothing while replaying the fight he had with Kacchan earlier. Endlessly trying to identify the exact moment where everything went wrong, coming up with better things that he could've said to him if his mind hadn't go blank as soon as the other boy started snapping at him… Fighting wasn't unusual for them, it was quite the opposite actually. Most of their time together was spent casually picking on each other and fighting about almost everything. But this wasn't like anything he'd been used to, for there was nothing casual about what had happened between them.
He got up stiffly and started heading towards the exit, ignoring the soreness he was feeling all over his body from being in the same position for such a long time. Once out of the library the dark sky was another reminder of just how long he spent drooping over all of this. The sharp coldness of the night wind brought him back to his senses for a bit. He took his phone out of his pocket and shoved his earphones in his ears, ignoring the dozens of texts from All Might while he put music on. He tried not to feel too bad for not responding to him even though he knew that he had most likely spent the whole afternoon waiting since they had training planned that day. He was definitely worried and Izuku knew it, but still, he didn't want to talk to anyone, not even to his mentor whom he admires and looks up to so much.
He set off again, this time headed to the train station. The library was quite far from UA, it took a one hour train ride followed by a thirty minute walk to get there, therefore it wasn't really convenient but Izuku went there all the time regardless. His friends never really understood why he would bother losing so much of their rare free time going to this place, they thought this old library wasn't worth the hassle. It was understandable, technically it wasn't anything special, just as typical as any other library that ever existed. However, for him it was different, he liked everything about it. From the distinct creaking sound of the hardwood flooring to the familiar earthy scent of the old books, he loved it all. It had a certain something that felt very soothing and comforting to him, so much so that strangely he always ended up here whenever he felt bad.
The train had just left when he made it to the station, he should've hurried but he was too deep in thoughts on the way. He looked up at the screen informing about the next departures and saw that he only had to wait a few minutes before the next train arrived. Since he had a bit of time he decided to go buy himself something to drink at a vending machine outside of the station like he usually does when getting back to UA. He pressed the buttons and paid. He almost gasped when he grabbed the two bottles he bought out of habit. Most of the time Kacchan was with him when he went there or, when he couldn't make it he would always wait for Izuku to come back at the dorm. Thus, he bought a drink for him every time. He thought of it as a subtle way to thank him and show him his appreciation since he feared that Kacchan would find it weird or annoying if he said it directly.
But he wouldn't be waiting for him this time. Izuku's chest tightened and his vision became blurry as his eyes filled with tears he tried his best not to shed all day. He quickly wiped his eyes, shoved both bottles in his worn-out yellow backpack and got in the train that had finally arrived. He tried to keep his mind off of the boy for the whole ride but failed miserably, crying as silently as he could the whole time.
It had started raining when he got off the train. He searched for an umbrella in his bag, his fingers brushing against the cold bottles as he felt around for it. He pulled it out and resumed walking back to the dorm, his head down looking at his feet. He hoped everyone had went off to bed at this time so that he wouldn't have to talk to anyone, because he knew that he wouldn't be able to get a sound out of his mouth before breaking down in sobs. He passed the gate at the entrance of the highschool, feeling uneasy as he got closer and closer to the dorm.
"Oi." called a grumpy but unusually quiet voice.
Izuku's head shot up, his eyes opening wide as he saw the boy standing a few steps away from him. He didn't know what was the most shocking between the fact that he was looking like he had cried (which he almost never does), or the fact that he was still awake after 8pm (which he almost never does). But here he was waiting for him, as he always does. Even after what had happened… the fight…
"…"
Katsuki said something again but Izuku couldn't hear anything. Perhaps it was because of the rain, or because he was losing it. He didn't know. But he knew that he had to leave. He turned around and started walking away as fast as he could. That's when he heard an angry scream and felt a warm hand grab his arm forcing him to stop. However the rain soaked floor had become slippery and he lost his balance, making the both of them fall to the ground. He let go of the umbrella and hissed as he felt a sharp pain in his butt. He looked in front of him and saw Kacchan on the floor as well, completely drenched and looking down.
"Oh my god Kacchan I'm so sorry ! Are you okay ?" exclaimed Izuku.
Kacchan did not respond, still looking down. Izuku was worried about him, he extended his hand and asked:
"Are you hurt ?"
Suddenly Kacchan smacked his hand away.
"Of course I'm fucking okay. Are you stupid ?!"
"Sorry Kacchan I-"
"Why did you turn around ha?! Where could you even go this late ?!"
"Oh erm I-"
"No but really what were you fucking thinking ?" at this point he was almost whispering.
"Well-"
"Were you going to sleep in the street just to avoid me ?"
Oh. Izuku was speechless. Kacchan's tone went from angrily screaming to pleading so fast that he could almost think he was imagining it, if it wasn’t for how afflicted the other boy was actually looking. He lowered his head and rest it on Izuku's shoulder, radiating warmth through his whole body. He felt like he was burning up, he couldn't say anything, he couldn't think, it was like his brain had shut down.
"Fuck, come on say something. You always have something to say like the stupid nerd you are, why are you silent now ?" said Katsuki even lower.
Izuku realized that he was shaking. Without even thinking he wrapped his arms around him trying to calm him down. Katsuki stiffened upon his touch. When he realized what he was doing he braced himself for the moment Kacchan would snap at him. He knew it was coming, he crossed a boundary that he should never have crossed. He shouldn't have hugged him like that. More than anything, Kacchan hated physical touch, he didn't allow anyone close enough to hug him, not even his friends or his parents. He knew it but he still couldn't refrain from doing that, what was wrong with him ? Things were already bad enough between them after their fight but now it was over, this was the final blow to their friendship. He ruined all that was left of it, he was truly stupid !
Katsuki sighed. "And here comes your shitty mumbling… I guess it's better than nothing."
What…? He couldn't make sense of what was currently happening. Why was he still here ? Why was he even here in the first place ? Waiting for him and then going after him in the rain. Wasn't he supposed to be hating him now ? How does that even makes any sense ? What's going on ?
"I'm sorry Kacchan."
"I know."
He didn't know what else he could manage to say. He felt his heart pounding against his ribcage. And maybe…he felt Kacchan's too. Wait. Why would he ? He looked down at the head still resting on his shoulder, his ears were red. Upon this realization all the feelings he'd spent months, even years trying to suppress came crashing down all at once. A strong feeling of hope and courage took over his body and, before he could even start to realize what he was about to do, he grabbed the boy's face, closed his eyes and smacked his lips on the other's. He let go of Kacchan's face almost instantly and started panicking.
"I'm so so so sorry !!! I have no idea why I did this !!! I-"
Kacchan started laughing hysterically.
"Huh what..?" said Izuku now feeling lost and even more confused than he was before.
"Fuck we're so fucking stupid aren't we ?" said Katsuki still laughing.
"What do you mean ? Kacchan I don't get it-"
Izuku couldn't finish talking before Kacchan shut him up by putting his lips on his. His brain stopped working for a second as well of his heart. He couldn't believe this was actually happening, that he wasn't the only one to feel that way. He reciprocated the kiss and felt Kacchan smile against his lips. The kiss was warm, wet and clumsy but it was perfect. It was like they had been waiting to do this for years, they finally tasted what they had been starved for their whole life without even knowing it. Izuku knew that there was no way he could let go of him now that he had him. They kept kissing for what felt like both one second and ten hours at the same time not wanting to stop, ever.
None of them realized that it had already stopped raining.