Work Text:
Katsuki likes going to bed early.
That has been a fact since he was in middle school. Going to bed early allowed his body to properly recharge. Gave him ample time in the mornings to get his workouts in before the world woke up. Everything quiet around him, letting out his frustrations and getting stronger was always his goal.
That has followed him through the years. Started in middle school, followed him to UA, then to the dorms, and now as an adult and a Pro Hero. He has maintained this routine for years. He doesn’t do well with change, and if it works for him, why bother changing it?
The point is, Katsuki likes his sleep. He always makes sure he can get eight hours of proper rest to make sure he stays in top shape to be the best hero he can be. Sure, for the years he was working on the hero suit for Izuku he slept less and worked more overtime, but that was with a goal in mind. And now that Izuku stood by his side, being the No.4 Hero, he could go back to his well maintained routine.
And Katsuki was sleeping peacefully. For once not plagued by nightmares that had followed him after the war. Just perfect, restful sleep.
The key word is he was.
That is until he’s awoken with a jolt at the heavy pounding at his door, a slurred “Kacchan!” being yelled. The noise makes it all the way to his bedroom on the other side of his apartment.
Katsuki just takes a moment to stare thoughtlessly at his ceiling, hoping maybe it was some dream manifestation of some kind.
“Kacchaaaaan, I know you’re hoooomee!”
God fucking dammit.
Katsuki grumbles the whole way to his door, dragging himself as he tries to wake up. He takes a quick glance over to his kitchen, seeing the time on the stove.
2:48am.
This nerd is so fucking dead, Katsuki thinks to himself as he makes his way over to his genkan. The knocking has persisted, sloppy tapping on the wood that rattles the door frame. He finally slides the chain off the door pulling it open.
Izuku almost falls flat on his face when the door finally opens. Katsuki barely catches him by the shoulder as the idiot just stands there giggling and swaying in place.
“The fuck do you want, Deku?”
Izuku just continues to giggle before he straightens up, his face flushed and slight tears in his eyes.
“Oooh Kacchan is maaad,” Izuku says (more like slurs), as he grabs the door frame to steady himself. “You don’t call me Deku outside of uniform anymore unless you’re angry.”
Katsuki just takes a deep breath in to quell his rising anger. He can’t really be mad at Izuku. He’s told him on a couple different occasions that if he ever needed a ride home after a night out, Katsuki was just a phone call away.
His damn soft spot for this stupid drunk nerd just grows bigger and bigger.
Why did I have to fall for this dumbass? He thinks to himself before he sighs and crosses his arms.
“Do you want a ride home, Izuku?” Katsuki asks, forcing himself to keep his voice even.
Izuku just looks at him with a soft smile on his face, pushing himself off the frame and moving to stand in front of Katsuki, almost chest to chest. He has to look up at Katsuki (he never grew those last few inches to make them eye to eye).
Katsuki wants to fidget at the closeness, at the unabashed attention Izuku is giving him without saying anything.
“I’m drunk,” Izuku says. He doesn’t move back or say anything else.
Katsuki squints his eyes at him as if to say, no shit dumbass, I can see that.
Izuku just giggles again, “I’m drunk and outside your door.”
Katsuki just rolls his eyes before he moves away from him. “Are you gonna state any more obvious things, nerd?” He says as he moves towards his kitchen with the intent of getting Izuku a glass of water to hopefully sober him up a little bit.
He can hear Izuku struggle to take off his shoes at the genkan, the slight stumble and more giggles. Katsuki hears his front door finally shut and the tell tale footsteps following behind him towards the kitchen.
Just as Katsuki turns towards his fridge to fill up a glass, Izuku flops across his island counter, knocking over his soap dispenser and sponge into his sink with a clatter.
“Hehe oops?” Izuku says it more like a question, but doesn’t move from his spot. He crosses his arms to put under his head, slumping fully against the counter.
Katsuki watches him as he fills the glass before a small smile crosses his face. He brings the glass over to where Izuku is splayed out, placing it just beside him before running his fingers into his tangled mess of green curls.
“Izuku,” he says in a whisper, gently pulling on his ear. He receives a whimper in answer, Izuku face scrunching up like a bunny wrinkling its nose. “Drink some water you lightweight. You’ll get a nasty hangover if you don’t.”
Izuku just grumbles before peeking one eye open to see the glass beside him. Slowly, he untangles himself and reaches for it, taking small sips from it while Katsuki watches him.
Now that Izuku isn’t a giggly disaster, Katsuki looks at his state. It looks like he went out after a patrol, dressed down in some of his compression gear with loose clothing over top. His hair is a little tangled, more from when Katsuki ran his fingers through it, but still it’s normal poofed up mess and parted where his scar sits on his skull. The bags under his eyes show he’s really not getting that much sleep in between his hero shifts and teaching his classes.
Izuku giggles again, and Katsuki’s gaze snaps to his face. Izuku is watching him, that redness on his face from the alcohol increasing slightly.
“Kacchan just checked me out,” he says, taking his water glass and moving to the couch.
Now it’s Katsuki’s turn to blush. He forces his gaze down to the counter as he feels the heat radiating from his ears and reaching to the high points of his cheeks.
Katsuki has never seen Izuku this drunk before. Sure, he’s watched the nerd have a couple drinks here and there. He’s seen Izuku in a state of complete and utter contentment with it too, like he is finally free of all his regrets and just happy to be around his friends.
But Izuku doesn’t drink much. Katsuki doesn’t really drink at all. He’ll have one if he’s pulled to go out with his friends on the rare occasion but a majority of the time he stays the sober driver. They can’t risk being called out for something and being completely drunk off their asses. Hero work is always the priority.
But Izuku doesn’t have that same problem. He isn’t tied to an agency. He teaches in the mornings and patrols in the afternoons wherever he is needed. They know not to call him for any emergencies because of his other responsibilities.
Which begs the question: why is Izuku so drunk right now?
Katsuki is pulled out of his thoughts when he hears a glass tip over, and Izuku yelps. He rushes over just to see that Izuku missed the coffee table, and the glass dropped to the floor, spraying water all over his clothes and Katsuki’s couch.
He sighs before moving back to the kitchen to grab some paper towels while Izuku just sits there giggling to himself.
This damn nerd owes me so much for this when he’s sober.
Just as he turns around to bring towels over to clean up the mess, he sees Izuku standing there taking off his loose shirt.
“Do you just strip in all your friends' apartments, nerd?” Katsuki says, forcing his voice to remain even, though it still comes out a little breathily. As he moves closer to start cleaning up the water on the floor, Izuku moves over to give him access to the small puddle.
“Just yours,” is all Izuku says, before he moves to drop his shorts.
Now Katsuki has to look away or he’ll risk popping a boner like a teenager just looking at Izuku in his tight compression clothes.
“I don’t mind when Kacchan checks me out,” Izuku says, flopping down to lay across his couch.
That makes Katsuki pause. He looks over at Izuku’s face to catch green eyes watching him. The flush to his cheeks is darker again, but his smile is so open and honest that Katsuki is at a loss for words.
Katsuki forces himself to remain on task, cleaning the spilled water. The silence that surrounds them is slightly awkward, which it hasn’t been in recent years, and Katsuki doesn’t know how to break it. Anything he thinks of just comes up sounding weird or insensitive and he doesn’t want to hurt Izuku’s feelings. He may be over giggly right now, but that can turn into water works real fast if Katsuki doesn’t choose his words carefully.
“Yeah? Why do you say that, nerd?” Katsuki asks, gathering the wet towels in a bundle without looking Izuku’s way. He turns to move to his laundry closet when Izuku giggles again.
“I like Kacchan’s eyes on me,” Izuku says, his voice all breathy and dreamy. The slurring has slowed down a bit, proving the water at least helped a little bit before he went and spilled it all over Katsuki’s floor.
Katsuki smiles to himself as he finishes cleaning up, grabbing a new glass to bring over to Izuku. Just as he rounds the corner, he sees Izuku has finally passed out. Katsuki just sighs, placing the glass down and grabbing the throw blanket he keeps along the back of the couch.
Just as he finishes placing it over Izuku, his wrist is grabbed in an iron clad grip, before he is pulled. Katsuki curses, slamming his palms down onto the armrest above Izuku’s head, his feet shifting on the floor from the sudden movement. Katsuki looks down to see Izuku staring at him, wide eyed and smiling.
Izuku doesn’t say anything, just watches Katsuki’s reaction. Katsuki doesn’t even know what to say or do, because now he is so close to Izuku’s face, just mere inches from one another. He can barely breath, his heart is racing like it wants to leap out of his chest.
“Hey Kacchan,” Izuku says in a whisper. “I gotta tell you a secret.”
All of Katsuki’s brain cells are currently working to try and calm down his heart rate so he doesn’t register the hands on his face for a couple moments before Izuku pulls him down. Izuku’s lips just graze his ear, causing a shiver to rake down Katsuki’s spine, before Izuku sighs.
“I never forgot our pact.”
Katsuki furrows his brows, confusion taking over his moment of panic.
“When we were little. I never broke my promise,” Izuku says after a moment.
Katsuki is still really fucking confused before Izuku moves his head back, still holding onto Katsuki’s cheeks in a light hold. He brushes his thumbs along Katsuki’s cheekbones before he surges up to kiss Katsuki.
And Katsuki… doesn’t know what the fuck to do.
The kiss lasts for no more than a few seconds before Izuku pulls away and lets go of his face, promptly shutting his eyes and passing out.
Katsuki just stares dumbfounded. Still trying to gather his thoughts, he pushes away from the couch before bolting into his bedroom and leaning against his door. Hand placed against his chest, feeling the rapid beat of his heart, he forces deep breaths in to calm himself down and focus on the situation.
Izuku said something about a pact from when they were kids. Katsuki really doesn’t remember much about that time before he got his quirk. His memories are more fuzzy in the time before unless someone were to remind him of something from that time, then he would be able to picture it clearly.
This “pact” Katsuki can’t remember at all. Izuku also said something about not breaking his promise to Katsuki.
Katsuki forces himself to stop thinking about it, moving to his bed and climbing back under his covers to try and get a few more hours of shut eye before his alarm goes off.
Once he wakes up, Izuku has some fucking explaining to do. That little shit.
*~*
Izuku shifts to the sound of footsteps. Which isn’t all that uncommon when you live in the crappy apartment building he lives in, being able to hear full conversations with his neighbours above and below him.
No, what's weird is it’s inside his apartment. Or, what he thinks is his apartment.
He barely cracks open one eye to see he is definitely not in his apartment. He hears the sound of a shaker cup behind himself, to where he now realizes he is asleep on someone’s couch, before the sound of the front door opening and closing echoes in the apartment.
Either I’m at Ochaco’s new place or a random hook up again… Shit.
Izuku groans, before rolling back over and promptly passing out again.
He wakes not even a few hours later with a pounding headache. This time he forces himself to stay awake, moving himself to sit up on the couch when realising he aches all over. He looks down to see he fell asleep in his compression gear, which is not a good thing. He looks around to see his shirt and shorts that he remembered throwing on over top of his clothes at Fat Gum’s agency before rushing out for dinner with his friends.
That explains the headache, Izuku thinks to himself. He normally doesn’t drink all that much but last night his emotions got the better of him.
Ochaco had invited him out for dinner and drinks for some surprise that she would reveal once everyone showed up. The dinner was a small thing, Ochaco, Tsu, Tenya and Shoto were in attendance including Izuku who arrived last and very late.
“I’m sorry! Got held up at the police station with statements, I rushed over as soon as I could!” He remembers saying.
They ordered dinner, a few drinks around the table, before Ochaco made her announcement.
“I just wanted to tell you all first, so here it goes. I’m gay.” She had said.
Everyone had paused, before Shoto, in that blunt way of his, broke the tension by saying, “We knew that already when you fell in love with a villain when you were fifteen.”
Izuku remembers the laughter and then the congratulations. The free round of drinks they got from one of the other patrons in the little hole in the wall restaurant they were at.
And that’s where everything went a little blurry.
Izuku remembers bits and pieces, but mostly just sadness. For what reason, he really doesn’t know. He was overjoyed for his best friend to finally feel comfortable in her own skin to show her true colours. She worked so hard after high school to become the hero she wanted to be, and now that her agency was opening up to bigger things, she finally had more time to herself.
Izuku sighs to himself, before forcing himself up. He grabs his clothes off the back of the chair and finds the bathroom just down the hall to change. Finally peeling off the tight compression layer feels fantastic after not having time to shower after his patrol yesterday evening.
He peeks out to still hear a quiet apartment, moving slowly around to gather the rest of his belongings. His clothes bundled in his arms, he forces his feet into his bright red sneakers before the front door opens and he freezes.
Katsuki is standing there, sweat lining his forehead. He’s panting slightly, and Izuku finally relaxes a little bit.
At least he didn’t go home with some random stranger.
That’s when it clicked that Izuku went to Katuki’s place in the middle of the night. While he was drunk.
And Izuku promptly flushes from his hairline down to his chest.
Katsuki just side steps him, moving around him in his genkan to take off his running shoes while moving to his kitchen.
“Sit your ass down, nerd. I’m making breakfast,” Katsuki says, his voice a loud boom to Izuku’s poor headache.
Izuku sighs, accepting his fate to be fed his last meal before he is blown to pieces for his idiotic decisions last night.
He places his clothes down on the arm chair again before moving to the kitchen, watching as Katsuki moves around like it’s his second home.
“Go take a shower. I’m guessing you didn’t change after patrol before you went and got yourself plastered last night. Towels and extra shit are in the bottom drawer on the left,” Katsuki says, not turning around from his spot by the stove.
Izuku nods to his back before shuffling off to the bathroom.
“Meds are in the medicine cabinet if you need them!” Katsuki yells, making Izuku’s head pound again as he finally shuts the door behind him.
He leans back against the door, running his fingers through his hair and pulling the strands a bit to try and reorient himself.
He showers quickly, cleaning off the dust and grim from his previous day. When he steps out, there are clean clothes placed on the counter. Just a plain black shirt and sweatpants that are way too long for him. He places the towel onto his wet hair and walks out of the bathroom.
The savoury smell hits his nose as he walks closer to the kitchen, sitting down at one of the barstools across from where Katsuki is cooking.
“It’ll be a couple more minutes. Wanna get some coffee?” Katsuki asks, not turning from his spot.
Izuku just moves silently over the coffee maker, grabbing 2 mugs from the holder right beside. He grabs the full mugs and moves back to his spot at the counter, silent as Katsuki finishes his plating.
A couple more minutes, and Izuku has a steaming plate of food slid in front of him. Just a simple breakfast of rice, eggs and steamed veggies. Katsuki’s plate is a little bigger, with a piece of cooked salmon on the side of his as well.
They eat in silence, Izuku just picking at his food while his stomach is in knots. Both from the alcohol, and the fact that Katsuki really hasn’t said all that much since he got home.
Izuku does his best to pick through most of the food before slowly pushing the plate away and sighing.
“Kacchan I’m sor-”
“Don’t gotta apologize,” Katsuki interrupts. He finishes off the last of his own breakfast before grabbing Izuku’s plate. He cleans off the last of Izuku’s rice and places them both in the sink. “After my shower, we gotta talk though.”
Izuku just looks down to his lap and nods. He hears Katsuki move around a bit in the kitchen before he shuffles out.
A hand places itself on top of Izuku’s head, ruffling his curls a bit. He looks up to see Katsuki smiling, before he turns and walks away.
“Don’t get your panties in a twist, nerd. It’s just me,” Katsuki says before he disappears.
That’s the problem, Izuku thinks to himself. Just you, my stupid goddamn crush and my drunk stupidity.
He groans before he drops his head to the counter.
*~*
Katsuki takes his time in his shower to really think about where the fuck he’s gonna start this conversation.
Izuku is acting guilty, he can see it in the way he’s looking at Katsuki and the way he immediately tried to apologize. He may not even remember what happened in the middle of the night while the alcohol was still in his system, which is more than likely what happened. Izuku is thinking he hurt or did something to Katsuki to make him mad or upset so he’s apologizing before learning what he even did.
Katsuki just sighs, cleaning off all the extra nitrosweat sticking to his skin. Ever since the war, it started to secrete out of every pore in his body instead of just his palms. Which is great for his hero work, terrible for his workouts.
The amount of times he was approached in the gym asking what kind of caramel cologne he uses, he could fill a goddamn novel.
Anyway, not the point.
The point is he is avoiding a certain topic even in his own head. But thinking about it causes his brain to blue screen and he really needs to be able to articulate his words properly for this conversation to make any sort of progress.
He finally figures that maybe he’ll just rip the bandaid off to start them off as he gets dressed. He’s not the type to beat around the bush anyways and this is no different.
He dries his hair off while he moves back to the living room. Izuku has moved from the counter to the couch again, making himself as small as possible in the corner by the arm rest.
Katsuki just looks him over, seeing that guilty look on his face before moving to sit on the other side of the couch. He places his elbows on his knees, dropping his head and taking a deep breath.
“Kacchan, I’m so sorry!” Izuku says in a rush, turning to face Katsuki.
Katsuki just jumps in his spot, whipping his head up to look over at Izuku. He can see the tears gathering in his waterline, ready to spill over the moment Katsuki says something.
Which just throws all his plans right out the window.
Katsuki turns to face Izuku, and Izuku seems to brace himself for the berating he probably expects from Katsuki which ouch. Katsuki isn’t so explosive all the time.
“Do you remember anything from last night?” Katsuki chooses to start with something easy, something he can use to gauge where he can move the conversation in either direction.
Izuku just shakes his head, leaning to the back of the couch with his hands in his lap.
Ok, ease into what happened.
“Well, you showed up at my door at three in the morning,” Katsuki says, moving to place his arm along the back of the couch. He can almost brush Izuku’s curls if he just reached over the slightest bit.
Izuku winces, before slowly nodding his head. “I got a text from Ochaco at 2:30 asking if I got home safe. I didn’t answer till this morning after I changed just before you got home.”
Katsuki nods, knowing he texted Cheeks last night before he finally passed out. Probably a good reason why he hasn’t heard any missing persons alerts because if Izuku hadn’t messaged Ochaco at all and neither had Katsuki, she would’ve had the entire hero commission out looking for him.
Katsuki likes Cheeks. She’s a little crazy, but she’s a good friend.
“You are a giggly fucking drunk, I’ll tell you that,” Katsuki says with a light chuckle.
Izuku just grimaces again, before he sighs out, “Yeah.”
Katsuki sees his defeated posture, like he’s expecting a reprimand for getting so sloppy drunk in the first place. Katsuki is a little hurt that Izuku expects him to yell at him about it; like yeah he’s an idiot but he doesn’t have the full understanding yet as to why.
If it was a dumb reason, yeah he’ll yell about it. But if Izuku has a legitimate one? Katsuki can’t fault him for it.
Being a hero is hard work. Izuku has it especially hard because he’s a hero and a teacher on top of it.
“Why did you get that drunk, Izuku?” Katsuki asks, trying to keep his voice soft.
Izuku plays with his fingers, before he sighs and looks up at Katsuki. “Ochaco came out to us last night.”
Katsuki… is confused.
“Okay? I’m pretty sure we all knew she was gay ‘cause she fell in love with that knife freak villain when she was fifteen,” Katsuki says.
Izuku starts to laugh, shifting forward and holding his stomach. Between fits of giggles he says, “You know, Todoroki said the same thing. You two are a lot more alike than I thought.”
“HAH?! Like I’m anything like that Half an’ Half bastard! Just ‘cause he’s the number two hero doesn’t make him better than me!”
Izuku laughs harder at Katsuki’s outburst, and that makes Katsuki smile. Finally breaking through the tension in Izuku’s frame feels good. Now they can hopefully have a proper conversation without Izuku moping on his couch.
“Anyway,” Izuku says once he finally gets control of his laughter, “We all celebrated. Some woman at the bar bought our table drinks and it kinda just… snowballed from there.”
Izuku looks down at his fingers again, pinching the skin in between and cracking his knuckles.
“I don’t really know the reason why but I just got really sad. I think because everyone is finally settling into their lives, making these big leaps. Ochaco came out, Tenya has a girlfriend, Tsu is thinking about doing swimming lessons part time. Shoto is… well Shoto,” Izuku laughs at that. “He’s done really well making his own chopsticks. They are a little lopsided but the carvings are really nice.”
Katsuki just nods along, shifting his legs into a more comfortable position.
“So, I don’t know. It’s a different feeling from when I lost the embers. When I knew I’d get left behind as everyone went to become Pro Heroes and save lives and I was stuck in university getting my teaching degree. It’s-” he cuts himself off, looking down with a blush high on his cheeks. “I think I’m just lonely.”
That… kinda makes sense.
“Can I ask you something?” Katsuki says, moving to lean back against the arm rest. “If you don’t remember, that’s fine but I’ve been trying to figure it out since last night.”
Izuku just nods to show he’s listening, placing his head on the back of the couch and looking up at Katsuki through his bangs.
Which… that’s fucking unfair for him to be so fucking cute. Fuck.
“You said something last night about a pact. ‘I never forgot our pact’ is what you said,” Katsuki says. “Was that from when we were kids?”
Izuku goes bright red. It's so instantaneous that Katsuki worries the blood rush is gonna make him faint.
“Oh haha, um,” he coughs, “Yeah. That's um, ah. Before you got your quirk.”
He doesn’t elaborate. Izuku just looks down at his lap again, pinching down hard enough that Katsuki sees the skin turn white under his fingertips.
“Izuku,” Katsuki says, trying to keep his voice gentle. “What do you mean you kept your promise?”
Izuku is beginning to sweat. Katsuki can see it from where he is sitting, the dampness accumulating above his brow. It seems impossible, but he somehow gets even redder.
“That’s nothing, it’s no big deal,” Izuku says, practically launching himself off the couch and making his way towards Katsuki’s kitchen.
“Izuku,” Katsukis says, getting frustrated now. Izuku is avoiding something.
“It’s nothing! Just forget I mentioned it last night ok?” Izuku says, moving to grab his glass from the sink. He turns towards the fridge to the water dispenser.
Katsuki is done beating around this stupid fucking bush.
“Ok, should I forget that you kissed me then too?”
The glass in Izuku’s hand drops to the ground and shatters. He doesn’t move from his spot, but Katsuki can see the back of his neck getting red now. His breathing is picking up, Katsuki can tell from the rise and fall of his shoulders.
“Izuku,” Katsuki says, stepping closer to him, careful of where he puts his feet.
Izuku doesn’t move, doesn’t speak. It honestly looks like he stops breathing as Katsuki gets closer and closer to him.
“Tell me. Please,” Katsuki says again, trying to gentle his voice.
Izuku just sighs, before bending down and cleaning up the glass shards. Katsuki follows suit, grabbing any big pieces he can see before reaching over to steady Izuku. “Don’t move. I’ll grab the mop.”
Katsuki’s head is a jumbled mess. He doesn’t know what any of the stuff Izuku mentioned means. He’s been cycling through his memories to try and remember and all he can come up with is them playing in the playground. But he can’t remember details, just that Izuku got sand in his hair after he fell in Katsuki’s sand castle.
“It was that day before the big storm,” Izuku says, slowly moving to stand up. Katsuki pokes his head out of his coat closet with a mop in hand as Izuku stays completely still. “We were in your backyard.”
Katsuki furrows his brows as he moves back to the kitchen. He leans the mop against the counter, before turning to Izuku. “Lean back.”
Izuku turns his head at Katsuki, looking confused. Katsuki just rolls his eyes, turning him back by the shoulders and then pulling him back so he rests against his chest.
“Lift your legs,” Katsuki says, right into Izuku’s ear. He can feel him shiver, but he does as he’s told.
Katsuki grabs his waist just as Izuku’s feet lift off the ground, turning right around and dropping him back down. Izuku turns to look at him and his blush is back at full force.
“What? I gotta mop up this water and glass, nerd. Don’t want you cutting your feet up,” Katsuki says, turning back to his task.
A few minutes of silence goes by, Izuku standing just off of the kitchen and Katsuki mopping up the mess. Katsuki is about to break the silence again when Izuku beats him to it.
“I think we planned to have a sleep over that weekend, but with the storm, my mom came to pick me up because they were worried the buses would be cancelled the next day.” Izuku says, moving back to his spot on the couch. He curls up on himself, peering over the back as Katsuki finally finishes mopping up.
A metaphorical light bulb goes off in Katsuki’s head, the memory playing back like an old film. Katsuki and Izuku playing in the back yard of his house, both carrying around All Might figures and shouting at the sky.
“All Might will beat the storm!”
“All Might’s Smash can change the weather, and he’ll make it so it’s sunny all the time!”
Katsuki moves back to the couch to sit across from Izuku again, just as the nerd opens his mouth.
“You were so upset when my mom showed up at the back door. You basically tackled me to the ground and said ‘Zuku’s not leaving Auntie! I forbid it!’” Izuku lets out a little chuckle, probably playing back the memory just like Katsuki did. “We made a pact in the backyard once our moms went inside. That when we got older, no matter what, we would always stay by each other's side.”
“Well, guess we’ve kept that then,” Katsuki says with a light chuckle. “But what was the promise you were talking about?”
Izuku blushes, again. Katsuki swears this fucker can do it on demand.
“I-I promised to never leave your side. That no matter what happened, you’d always hold that spot. Nobody else could stand beside me.”
Katsuki… doesn’t understand.
“Okay? That sounds like some super innocent kiddie shit. Why are you blushing like the virgin Mary every time I mention it?”
Izuku doesn’t even look up at Katsuki anymore. He is hyperfixated on his fingers fiddling together in his lap and its frustrating the fuck out of Katsuki.
“Izuku, talk to me. I’m right here,” Katsuki says, reaching forward and grabbing his hands.
Izuku startles, his head whipping up to meet Katsuki’s eyes.
It takes a good minute of silence before Izuku finally speaks again. He takes a deep breath first, before letting out all the air in his lungs.
“That promise changed over the years. After your quirk, elementary school, middle school, UA. It changed and it didn’t.”
“Izuku I swear to fuck, stop speaking in riddles. Please just tell me.”
Izuku looks into his eyes again, before he gives the barest of smiles. “I promised that nobody was gonna take the spot beside me. Because nobody could take your spot. Because-” he cuts himself off, looking down at his hands wrapped up in Katsuki's, “Because since that moment in your backyard, I’ve been in love with you. Nobody else can take that spot from you.”
Katsuki.exe has stopped working.
“S-so I kissed you because I kept that pr-promise. Like yeah, I had hook ups or whatever in c-college when I got sad about you or lonely, but nobody has taken that spot. ‘Cause it-it’s yours.”
Katsuki.exe needs a reboot. Immediately.
“So, I’m so-sorry I kissed you last night out of the blue like that. I-I barely remember leaving the bar, let alone showing up at your door. I didn’t even realize it was your place till you got ho-home.”
Izuku is just full on crying at this point ‘cause Katsuki can’t make his brain and his mouth connect properly. Everything kinda just powered down in his head after Izuku said the word love and he hasn’t been able to make words function.
“Okay, so now that I’ve fully embarrassed myself, I’m gonna go ho-home. Um, I’ll t-text you when I get to my apartment.”
The feeling of Izuku’s hands leaving his grasp registers, but it's not until he hears the front door unlock that he moves.
Katsuki barely uses a spark to blast himself from the couch to the door, slamming his hand down beside Izuku’s head. Izuku whips around, wide eyed, tear tracks down his cheeks.
He always looks so pretty when he cries… LIZARD BRAIN FOCUS.
“You love me?” Katsuki says, breathlessly. Izuku doesn’t move from his spot, back plastered to the door as Katsuki crowds into his space. There's barely inches between their chests right now, and Katsuki is watching for the minute change in his expression.
All Izuku does is nod. And all Katsuki feels is relief.
“Good, you fucking idiot,” Katsuki says, breaking out into a smile. Izuku’s brows go to his hairline, and his mouth opens before Katsuki rushes to say, “That’s my goddamn spot, and you have yours beside me too. None of those extras deserved it.”
Izuku seems to cry even more, but the smile on his face proves he’s not sad. Katsuki really hopes he isn’t making a goddamn fool out of himself but when it comes to Izuku…
Fuck it.
“You are an idiot.” Katsuki says, and Izuku just laughs. Katsuki reaches up, grabbing his face with both hands and wiping the tears. “But I guess you’re my idiot now.”
“Yours?” Izuku croaks out, his voice absolutely wrecked from crying.
Katsuki nods, leaning to place his forehead to Izuku’s as he closes his eyes. Izuku’s hands move to his waist, grabbing tight like he’s afraid Katsuki will run away.
“Mine, nerd. No more fucking playground pacts, just mine. For the rest of our lives.”
Izuku breaks out into a sob, wrapping his arms fully around Katsuki. Katuki wraps his arms around Izuku’s shoulders, holding him against his chest. He threads his fingers into his hair, trying his best to be gentle while Izuku cries.
“Um,” Izuku says sniffling. Katsuki pulls back, gently grabbing his face again that had tucked itself into his neck. “Does this mean your mine too?”
All Katsuki can do is smile and nod.
“Can I try again then?” Izuku asks as the tears finally slow to a stop.
“Try what?”
“Kissing you. I don’t remember it.”
All Katsuki can do is smile, slowly dragging his hand down Izuku’s chest to wrap around his waist. “Why do you get to kiss me? You’ve already done it, why can’t I kiss you?”
Izuku just looks at him before he smirks. “Kacchan, are you trying to make kissing a competition?”
“Damn right I am. Imma blow your little grade school peck right outta the water, nerd.”