Archive of Our Own

They're not dating.

Katsuki and Izuku are not actually a couple. They weren't boyfriends, or partners, or hell, even friends. Well, they'd been friends once upon a time, but life has this funny way of ripping people apart. Izuku had learned to accept that all too soon in life.

So they weren't dating. They weren't besties or friends with benefits. Nothing. Actually, they were rivals at the best of times, bitter enemies at their worst. But Katsuki was laying his head in Izuku’s lap on the track field while they ate lunch with their classmates after a half day at school for a holiday. Izuku was staring up at the clouds and Katsuki had a book lifted over his face to block the sun while taking notes for a paper they had due by the end of the week. Izuku was procrastinating on the project, as usual.

“You guys are taking this way too seriously.” Hideki grumbled from the grass nearby. Nishiin agreed with a huffing sigh from the other side of their huddle. 

“It’s been three months. One of you has to cave. You've gotta be hating this.”

A bet started the whole thing. A stupid bet between dumb teenagers. Katsuki was Izuku’s primary bully, and the rest of the class just went right along with him, their teacher endorsed and even encouraged it. But a kid from another class got sick of the noise. He said if Katsuki and Izuku could actually get along and act like a loving married couple (because they sure did bicker like one), whoever lasted the longest would get the kid's limited edition silver age All Might action figure, one that had been off the market for six years and was only sold at ticket prices far beyond what any sixteen year old could ever dream to afford.

Katsuki never ducked a challenge, and Izuku just wanted the action figure…and he wouldn’t give up a chance to end the bullying, either. So they'd agreed to the bet, and the very next day, Katsuki grabbed Izuku’s hand as they walked to school. It wasn't awkward or even weird. They'd done this as kids going to the park. When they got to campus, Katsuki threw his arm over Izuku's shoulders and they went about their day like nothing was out of the ordinary. 

Except it was so far out of the norm, the whole class stared at them non-stop the entire day, or they'd sneak glances when Katsuki politely asked Izuku for a spare pen when his ran out of ink, or they'd nearly lose their footing seeing Katsuki ruffle Izuku’s curls as the shorter teen held the door open at the end of the day.

Four days in, Katsuki actually managed to make another kid pass out when he kissed Izuku’s forehead before leaving school early that day for a doctor's appointment. Izuku got a huge kick out of the whole thing, but he never let it outwardly show. They were betting on normal couple life, so he wouldn't act like this was weird or entertaining. 

It just was.

Three months later, neither of them had cracked, and frankly, Izuku didn't think it would happen anytime soon. Lessons were quieter, their grade curve improved with the peace and focus, and the wonder duo (as their classmates had started calling them) were actually enjoying each other's company most days. 

None of that changed the fact that this was only a bet at heart. Izuku had never once fooled himself into believing this was real, he knew better. He absolutely knew a hell of a lot better. But even knowing that, he could still enjoy not being picked on and abused by his classmates. Katsuki actually defended him now. After all, a normal couple would defend each other. So, the bullying stopped literally on day 1 of the bet. 

His mother still… Izuku tried not to think about it. He hadn't found a way to explain it to Katsuki yet, and he'd have to eventually. Even in this false relationship, Katsuki still asked where the bruises and cuts came from, he still acted like he cared, even if Izuku didn't believe that he truly did. Most of the time, Izuku could get away with blaming passersby on the train or strangers in stores who'd smack him with a broom to make him leave because they believed he was quirkless. So far, Katsuki hadn't pushed the envelope hard enough for Izuku to crack under the pressure and reveal his secrets. He would, Katsuki knew he would, he'd just have to wait it out.

The fake couple rarely saw each other outside of school and a few local hero events, so Izuku didn't think Katsuki needed to know about the stuff that went on in his real life. Their parents didn’t know about their bet, and even on the couple of occasions where they'd been in the same room as their families, Izuku and Katsuki just acted like old familiar friends, nothing more, nothing less.

Katsuki walked Izuku home after their picnic lunch, just like every other day. They'd stop at the end of the block where their paths split and stare at their feet for a few awkward moments. Partings were the only thing they hadn't mastered yet. What did one say to their fake boyfriend before leaving? Bye, I love you? No, that would make it real, and none of this was real.

“Hey Zu?”

Izuku looked up, hopeful. “Yeah?”

“I left a hoodie at your place a couple years ago… Can I have it back?”

“Oh.” 

Izuku knew exactly which hoodie he was talking about. Izuku often stared at it hanging from the back of his bedroom door in the silence of his darkened room, wondering where they went wrong as friends. He knew, of course, he just didn't want to admit it.

Izuku had slept with that hoodie a few times when the bullying got bad, he'd sobbed into the fabric too many times to count. But Izuku hadn't touched it since the bet started…because Katsuki hadn't given him a reason to cry in the last three months.

“Of course. You wanna come up while I grab it? This heat is just awful.”

“Yeah, okay.”

Inko’s car wasn't in the lot. Izuku wouldn't have asked Katsuki to come up to their apartment if his mother had been home, that would just be too messy. Thankfully, she worked almost around the clock to keep them going, and Izuku rarely saw the last bastion of abuse still trapped in his life. It should be safe for Katsuki to come up while she was gone.

The apartment was likely just as Katsuki remembered it the last time he'd been there years before. The only difference was the lack of pictures on the wall that showed Izuku. The rest were all there, but Inko had removed any sign of his existence outside of his bedroom. There were shadows on the wall where the frames once hung.

Katsuki traced a hand over the worn spot on his door where a name plate once hung. Inko called it childish and threw it away after using it to smack him in the face when he tried to salvage the plate from her rage.

“Where-”

“It was too kiddie, you know?”

Katsuki’s face scrunched up. “Your name plate was customized All Might merch… you just threw it out because it was for kids? We're still kids.”

“It's fine, Kacchan. I don’t need it.”

Katsuki didn't ask a follow up question as Izuku brushed past him into the room, but he did shut the door behind himself. Izuku collapsed into his desk chair and gestured for his fake boyfriend to take his hoodie from the back of the door.

“Thanks.” Katsuki checked the hoodie, for what Izuku couldn't say, not until the blonde brought the fabric to his nose and took a deep whiff with his eyes closed. “It smells like you now.” 

Izuku’s immediate reaction was to apologize for obviously ruining the hoodie, but he didn’t get the chance. The front door snapped open and closed with a loud thud. Izuku’s whole body went rigid, his eyes went to the floor to avoid Katsuki seeing the fear Izuku knew he was intimately familiar with. Inko’s steps echoed through the house. The fridge opened, a glass was taken from the cabinet. Katsuki watched him with confusion, Izuku could see it out of the corner of his eye. He was walking towards Izuku, clearly ready to ask what was up, but Inko beat him to it.

“Izuku! Come out here.”

“Coming mom!” He ducked around Katsuki and whispered a quick apology in the process. Katsuki didn't follow, and Izuku shut the door before Inko could see him in the room. 

“There you are. Did you pick up that special pasta I need for that work party this weekend?”

“Yes, ma'am, it's in the pantry.”

She found it easily. “Good. At least you followed directions for once. Didn't your report card come out this week? Where is it?”

Izuku gestured shakily to the kitchen table and took a habitual step back, preparing for her rage to fill the room. Izuku was a good student, really, he was. He'd taken several online tests and they proved he was well above average in terms of learning comprehension, but his teachers didn't always believe that he'd earned his grades. So they took off a few points here and there, for stupid non-reasons. His report card was nearly perfect this semester. He'd missed one question on an English test and the teacher took off a whole letter grade. That brought his entire class grade down just enough for Inko to notice, even if he was still a straight A student.

“What the fuck is this?” She threw the report card and envelope on the floor with a slap of paper and charged at him. 

Izuku knew the second she got home that he couldn't hide this from Katsuki anymore. He knew the lies wouldn't stand anymore. Katsuki would see right through them once Inko showed her true colors.

“I- I'm sorry, mom. I just missed one question on the English test and-” His voice choked in his own throat. Her quirk strangled his words. Izuku’s legs gave out, he hit the ground with a heavy thud as his mother pulled him down by the neck with only her mind. “Mom…please.” Mom, please, I don’t want Kacchan to see me like this.

“You useless waste of air. One question doesn't pull you down this far, you failed the test, didn’t you? Why do I even try? You can't do anything right.”

Izuku couldn't breathe. This was worse than usual. She often used her quirk to discipline Izuku, but she knew better than to leave visible marks on his body that couldn't be covered with clothing. The invisible hands on his throat would most certainly leave bruises, even if temporary because of his quirk. Izuku’s body collapsed into a hyperventilating heap, lungs fluttering and arms reaching for his bedroom door. Please, Kacchan…I can't breathe…

An explosion blew Izuku's bedroom door off the hinges. Inko yelped, her quirk finally releasing in her shock. Izuku gasped as air finally returned to his lungs. Katsuki was at his side a second later, pulling Izuku’s heavy body into his lap.

“Katsuki Bakugo! How dare you use your quir-”

“Shut the fuck up!” He put both hands on Izuku’s face, gently, turning it this way and that to inspect his neck. “You just tried to strangle your own son! What the fuck do you think you're doing?”

“I don't know how you got in here but you don't understand what discipline looks like for someone like him. I have every right to correct my quirkless child how I see fit.”

Katsuki marched across the room and slammed his fist into the wall two inches from Inko’s head. His quirk blew a hole in the drywall, straight through the building, leaving the afternoon sunlight to stream into the kitchen. 

“You're disgusting. You're not fit to call yourself a mother. No mother would abuse her son, no matter what he is or isn’t.” After he ripped his hand from the wall, Katsuki came back over to help Izuku up so he could rest against the wall carefully. He stood back up, hands crackling with his explosion quirk and a snarl on his lips. “If you ever lay a hand or your quirk on him again, I'll blow your skull from your shoulders. Understood?”

She looked like she might argue at first. But the second she looked into Katsuki’s eyes, then back to the hole mere inches from her head, whatever she found there made her believe he was telling the truth. He wasn't just threatening her, he was making a promise. She nodded slowly, backing away until her ass hit the kitchen counter across the room.

“Izuku, get a bag. You're staying with me this weekend. Your mother needs a few days to get her shit together.”

“Okay, Kacchan.” Izuku rasped out.

An hour later, Izuku was sitting on the floor of Katsuki’s room, his back pressed to the side of the blonde’s bed. Katsuki sat behind him, legs draped around Izuku’s as he carefully braided Izuku’s curls into two short French braids. He was checking every inch of Izuku’s scalp while he worked. Izuku knew he was looking for scars, for the scars he knew were there, and for the ones he now knew Izuku hid from him. 

They hadn’t spoken a word to each other the whole walk back to Katsuki’s house. When they got in, Katsuki told his parents Izuku was staying over for the weekend and that they wanted katsudon for dinner. Izuku hadn’t had katsudon in years. His mother thought making it would be a waste on Izuku. When Katsuki got Izuku to settle on the floor, he started asking questions. He mostly asked yes or no questions so Izuku could nod or shake his head, or he’d ask something Izuku could give a one or two-word answer to. 

“How long?” Katsuki asked once he’d finished the braids. 

Izuku used to keep his hair in braids all the time, when they were kids, it kept his curls neat and out of his face. Katsuki was the only one who could do them right. He knew how to make them travel with the wave pattern, or whatever they called it. Izuku knew jack shit about curly hair, despite having it. Katsuki complained a lot that he never took care of his curls. Izuku wanted to tell Katsuki to do it for him, because he couldn’t care less himself, but that…that was a touch too far, wasn’t it? Too far for fake boyfriends.

Izuku turned his head to the side so he could see Katsuki in his periphery. “Longer than you.”

“Mmm…since your diagnosis?”

Izuku nodded. 

“Does she know you have one now?”

This time, he shook his head. “She’d never believe me.”

When they made the bet, it wasn’t just a newfound peace in school they’d discovered. Izuku and Katsuki had a bit of a heart to heart one night in the third week. They spoke about the bullying and abuse, about all the different injuries Izuku suffered over the years since his quirkless diagnosis. They talked for hours. They realized that half of the injuries Izuku had sustained should have killed him, or taken far longer to heal. 

So they tested it, then tested it five more times. 

Izuku had a healing quirk of some kind. Of course, he didn’t tell Katsuki he’d once actually taken his classmates’ recommendation of jumping off a roof…he’d only done it once, after all. Izuku couldn’t remember the time between being on the roof, and waking up on the ground staring up at the sky. No pain, no memory, he just didn’t die. So he’d suspected something, but back then, he’d explained it away because of course he was quirkless, right? Right. Logically…he knew in that moment he’d developed a quirk. Stress. The myth of stress manifestations was proven that night, but Izuku tried to ignore it. 

The bruises on his neck were already mostly gone. 

Katsuki leaned forward, until his arms were draped over Izuku’s shoulders and his chin rested atop Izuku’s head. 

They weren’t friends. They weren’t dating. 

Izuku didn’t understand why Katsuki was doing all this…except maybe it was guilt driving him right now. But the question remained…was this an act for the bet, or did he truly regret everything he’d done and actually saw the horror in what Inko was doing?

“UA entrance exams are tomorrow. You going?”

“Yeah.” Izuku fiddled with the button edge of his shirt, nervous about his answer. He was going, yes. He planned to ace the written exam, but he wasn’t so sure about the physical exam. 

“Good. We’ll go together, team up for the practical.”

“Oh. Okay.”

“Do you want to do it on your own?”

Izuku shook his head. “No, it’s not that. Sorry. I just didn’t understand why you’d want to team up with me.” 

Katsuki chuckled softly. “Are you giving up this bet already?” Izuku turned around to give Katsuki a confused look. “If we’re supposed to be this crazy loving couple, wouldn’t we do everything in our power to ensure the other was accepted into hero school?”

“Uhh, yeah, I guess so.”

“Oh come on, you sound so depressed, Izuku! Aren’t you excited to be a hero student?”

“Yes!” Izuku actually laughed. “This day just sucked.”

“Yeah, it did.”

Katsuki stepped over him and went for the dresser on the opposite wall. He grabbed himself a set of sweatpants and tossed one at Izuku as well. 

“Thanks.”

“Mhm.” 

They both turned away from each other and changed into loose t-shirts (Izuku having pulled one from his bag) and sweats for the night. When Izuku turned back, he caught a quick glimpse of Katsuki’s bare chest and his damn heart skipped a beat in his chest and what the hell was that?

“Boys! Dinner!” Mitsuki called from downstairs. 

“Coming!” Katsuki shouted back. “Ugh, let’s forget this day happened. If she tries to fuck with you again, you call me, yeah?”

“Thanks, Kacchan.”

“Bah, what is a wife good for if not beating up your enemies?”

Izuku snorted. “Then I’m a shitty husband, aren’t I?”

“Never. Come on.”

~

Taking tests was one of the few things Izuku genuinely enjoyed in life. He knew it was a weird thing to love, but there was just something so satisfying about checking off answer after answer knowing you got them right. For Izuku, the time between taking the test and receiving the results was a period of excitement. The payoff was checking the results and seeing each correct item ticked off. Sadly, when his teachers didn’t believe he’d earned the correct answers, Izuku would inevitably be disappointed or angry. 

This time, he knew he’d be treated fairly - because no one here knew who he was. No bias would cloud their vision at UA. Izuku had already filled out his participant information form with a quirk listed. They wouldn’t judge him before he had a chance to succeed, not this time. Izuku would make damn sure of that. 

“Turn your tests over. Begin.”

Katsuki sat one row in front of Izuku. They’d been broken up into groups but there was no required format (like alphabetical, etc), they just counted off heads of kids close to each other in the lines into the building, so they’d ended up together. Izuku knew Katsuki would probably ace the test as well. He was just as smart as Izuku, or maybe smarter in some subjects. Izuku was far better at science and math than Katsuki was, and Katsuki excelled at all manner of language arts and literature. The test covered all major subjects as well as a few they’d be studying in high school like Hero Civil Law, so there was a wide range of topics to evaluate the students on. 

When Izuku finished, he took the time to actually review the test without allowing himself to second guess any of his answers. That was the trick to test taking; answer what you knew, assess what you weren’t sure of, and skip over what you didn’t remember until you answered every other question. Repeat until you finish, and don’t second guess yourself. Too many students answered correctly and then went back and changed their answer after doubting their own choices, ultimately leading to the wrong answer being marked. 

They’d been told they could leave once they finished and turned in their tests, so Izuku grabbed his bag and went up to the front of the class to turn his test in. He was the fourth student to do so. Katsuki followed right after, grabbing his hand as they left the classroom. 

“That science section threw me for a damn loop.”

“Yeah?” Izuku pulled their clutched hands up to kiss Katsuki’s knuckles as a group of students walked passed. “Question forty-seven was a beast, I’m not surprised it tripped you up. I’m sure a lot of students got it wrong.”

“Alright, boy-genius, tell me the secret. What’s the answer?”

“Zero, or nill.”

Katsuki stopped walking. “Huh?” 

“The question asked ‘assuming normal lab conditions’, right?” Katsuki nodded. “Well, it’s a trick question, a very high level one, but still, a trick. Normal lab conditions would kill the sample they offered, but there’s a companion sample that would function in a lab. Anyway, you can’t quantify something you’ve destroyed because it requires a vacuum to stabilize."

“Oh.” 

“I assume you put down the appropriate answer for the companion sample that would function under lab conditions.” Sure enough, the annoyed look on the blonde’s scrunched up face confirmed his answer. “I’m guessing they are giving half points to those that, while tricked, would have had the answer right if the correct sample had been provided. The samples are like one letter different, it’s hard to catch.”

“You caught it.”

“Yeah, but I’m a genius, you said so yourself.”

“Dumbass genius.”

Izuku giggled. “Don’t worry, you’ll surely beat me at the practical, even if we’re working together, you’ll get more points.”

“Damn right. I’m gonna blast those robots to pieces.”

Their intro to the UA entrance exams had explained the whole process and all the accouterments of the written and practical exams, which included some sample questions from the written test, and an explanation of the point system and robot ‘enemies’ they would need to take down to earn points. Seventy-five, to be specific. They needed seventy-five to pass - each. This was going to be a free-for-all, but Izuku was fairly certain they’d manage alright. Izuku and Katsuki had been training since they were kids. Their mothers put them through a litany of physical education courses, private lessons, and skill-specific training in order to prepare them for their futures in heroics. Izuku’s mother had stopped a while ago, due to his formal diagnosis of quirklessness, but Izuku himself never stopped training. 

For the last three months, the wonder duo had been training together to prepare for the entrance exams. They’d never really talked about it, they just showed up on morning runs and afternoon weight lifting in the school gym. It happened, and they got back into a groove of group training, so they’d kept it up. They’d even developed a few combination moves that worked great with Katsuki’s explosion quirk, and Izuku’s quick healing abilities.

Katsuki never had to hold back around Izuku anymore. Izuku could tell he wanted to know when Izuku’s quirk actually manifested, so he could piece the whole sordid affair of their recent past together. Izuku didn’t have the heart to tell him it was likely the day he’d tried to kill himself. Since then, he couldn't name a single wound that had caused a scar. Before that day? Yeah, he had a lot. Katsuki knew every single one, too. He’d caused most of them, after all. Regardless, they could now work together without worrying that Izuku might get hurt or not. He often wondered if that was the reason Katsuki had truly turned on him when they were kids and that awful quirkless diagnosis tore them apart. Izuku couldn’t be part of a hero duo if his partner would cause him harm just from working together. Now, they could achieve anything.

“Do you think they’ll give us weapons for non-physical quirks?”

Izuku shook his head. “UA isn’t known to accommodate prospective hero students like that until they get their hero gear in class. You have to get in on your own merit and skill. That often means non-physical quirks are left behind, but that’s also the fashion trend of heroics, even if it seems unfair.”

“It doesn’t seem anything, ‘Zu, it is unfair.”

“I agree, but society doesn’t, and that’s what people care about.”

Katsuki sighed, but chose not to respond. Izuku didn’t blame him. If Izuku hadn’t developed a quirk useful in some way (and his was very close to not being useful at all outside of personal injury), he’d be the one sitting out or failing the practical exam. Today, though, he was seizing his chance by the damn throat, and showing them what he could really do with just a healing quirk and some damn thick skin from years of abuse. At least he can channel it somewhere, and for something good. 

They were directed to one of the training grounds, a mock city with empty buildings. The proctor told them to wait for the buzzer to sound, the gates would open, and they'd have to fight for their right to be heroes. The guy didn't say all that, but Izuku understood it as being ready for the fight of his life. This wasn't the first time Izuku had to fight just to continue existing, or to get what he thought he deserved (which was usually just basic empathy or acceptance).

Other teens piled up around them, all ready and willing to do their best. Every one of them wanted to be a pro-hero in their own right, and they were all getting the same head start in life. It was time to show this world what they could all really do.

Katsuki swapped to sign language while they waited for the buzzer, so the other kids wouldn't hear them speaking about their plan of attack.

“Are we making a break for the far side of the grounds to avoid the pileup?” Katsuki asked.

Izuku nodded. “That's our best bet. Get to the other side of what will probably be a throng of robots, and go at them from the rear.”

“I'll toss you every chance I get, don't miss.”

“I have no intention of missing any punch I throw.”

“Damn right, Nerd.”

The buzzer sounded a few seconds later. The large metal doors swung open at a rate of speed giant (aka heavy) metal doors shouldn't be able to achieve. Izuku shoved that scientific tidbit into the back of his head and forced his body forward right alongside Katsuki. Most of the students clashed with robots the second they found them, but Katsuki kept moving forward with Izuku hot on his heels. They both slid to a stop in a section devoid of other students but rife with robots all scooting towards them with grabby hands out.

“Kacchan!”

“Grab on!”

Katsuki grabbed his left hand and fired off a round of explosions with the other, propelling them both in a typhoon-like circle. Two rotations and Katsuki threw Izuku across the battlefield. The hard crunch of metal sounded when Izuku slammed into the robot pile up fist-first. The first two were nearly blown to bits while the second, third and fourth were all knocked off their feet. Katsuki finished off the ones Izuku downed. 

Shaking his hand out, Izuku watched his shattered knuckles and ripped up arm knit itself back together in real time. Weird… his healing was faster than it should be…maybe he should worry about that later. Yeah. Later.

“Zu! Heads up!”

A robot came flying at him. Izuku didn't think twice, he snapped his body sideways and lashed a kick at the bot's head. It snapped off and flew somewhere to the right, the body went left. Izuku ignored the pain of his wounds, being far less careful than most kids had to be when fighting machines that could crush your bones, made of easily shredded metal that could destroy your soft tissue when you broke them. Besides, by the time he injured himself on another robot, the previous wounds were healed. 

Izuku stood at the center of a mob of robots while Katsuki blasted himself around the outer edge of the fake city streets, tossing robots into the center where Izuku would punch and kick through each one, leaving a shattered pile of metal and electronics at his feet. Katsuki would take a few out for himself if Izuku was busy with a few closer bots. It took no time at all for them to get the seventy-five points they needed to pass the test. As soon as they did, both teens stopped. Katsuki grabbed Izuku by the shoulder and blasted them up onto a nearby light post where Izuku balanced on one foot atop the pole and Katsuki tossed himself onto the wide arm of the light so he could flip upside down. 

“Wounds?” Katsuki asked. 

“I’m fine, Kacchan. Better, actually.” He flexed his fists, coated in blood and dirt but healed underneath the grime. “It’s getting faster.”

“Maybe it’s evolving now that you’re practicing on actual enemies instead of the brick retaining walls at the beach.”

Izuku grumbled. “The punching bags at the gym weren’t cutting it anymore, and the last time I broke one, I got kicked out.”

“I figured. Come on, let’s head back, the test should be-” The buzzer sounded across the training ground, emphasizing Katsuki’s point; the test was over. Izuku slid down the light post like a fireman’s pole, landing beside Katsuki so the blonde could tuck an arm over his shoulder as they left the grounds so they could head back to Katsuki’s place. 

The weekend wasn’t over yet. Izuku was still staying at the Bakugo household, and he honestly preferred it. Katsuki’s mom didn’t know why they’d suddenly wanted a sleepover when, as far as she knew, they hadn’t really spoken in years. But she wasn’t opposed to it. Auntie Mitsuki and Uncle Masaru always welcomed Izuku into their home…like he was a second son. 

Sometimes, he wished he’d been born into a different family. Maybe things would be easier if they were adopted brothers instead of fake boyfriends. 

~

“What do you make of those two, Nedzu?”

“I honestly don’t know what to think. They have better chemistry on the field than most heroes from the same agency. Their moves are fluid, practiced, almost subconscious. They don’t look for each other, they’re already in position and ready for the next move, without even seeing it coming.”

“It’s quite irregular for kids this age.” Hound Dog agreed. 

Shouta didn’t like picking favorites during the entrance exam, but these two students had taken the whole staff by surprise. They were well-trained and strong. An explosion quirk and some kind of healing quirk, destruction and rejuvenation, life and death. What a strange pair they made. But that wasn’t the weirdest part. 

The two appeared to be a couple, they’d walked up hand in hand and even shared something like affection. Shouta specifically noted that they seemed to be a couple, not that they actually were. Most of the staff had been trained on micro expressions and body language, as well as non-verbal communication. While the pair of students could work together like they’d been born hand in hand, and walked like a pair of young lovers… there was no true affection being offered between them. Actually, if Shouta had to wager a guess, he’d actually call them enemies, which made zero sense.

“Did you see how the shorter one flinched when his partner put an arm over his shoulder?”

“Yeah.” Shouta turned to Mic. “But there’s no clear signs of divergence or avoidance, no signs of current abuse or manipulation. They are a well oiled machine with masks on. It doesn’t really make sense. But none of that disqualifies them, they outperformed the recommendation students in half the time.”

Nedzu held up a tablet. “They both had nearly perfect scores on the written exam, too. Well, Bakugo, the blonde one, he missed one question - the trick science question.”

“And Midoriya?” Shouta held his breath when Nedzu actually grinned like he might have just found the next modern genius. A shiver ran down his spine. 

“He’s the only person to answer it correctly since its inception to the entrance exam. The boy is brilliant. His short essays are a joy to read, and I truly think he’s gifted with quirk analysis, as well as math and science. But don’t discount Bakugo, his literature and language scores are astounding. He is already on an almost fluent level with English and French, and they’re only sixteen.”

Midnight leaned over Nedzu’s desk to get a look at the scores. She taught literature and language arts, so she might have found her new best student. 

“So we’re all in agreement?” Shouta asked. Everyone looked up. “Both boys in Class 1-A?”

Everyone agreed emphatically. “Yes.” “Absolutely.” “Without question.”

“Maybe this year won’t be so dull after all.”

~

Izuku woke up Sunday morning groggy and with a nasty headache. He immediately understood this as his very first experience with quirk exhaustion. The pain throbbing behind his eyes seemed like a tougher opponent than the robots they fought at the UA entrance exam just yesterday. Izuku rubbed at his temples and groaned quietly, the sound cutting out halfway through as it just caused him more pain. 

Katsuki rolled over on his bed above where Izuku sat piled in blankets on a floor futon. His hand reached out and rubbed the back of Izuku’s neck without him actually appearing awake. At first, Izuku pulled away, but he realized it wasn't an attack, it was help. The pain started subsiding a moment later.

“Kacchan?”

“Mmmm?” 

“How’d you know…”

His voice was laden with sleep, his eyes not yet open. “I get awful migraines when I overdo it in training. Figured you'd have one…you've never used yours this much before.”

No, he hadn't. After all, he'd only discovered he had a quirk this year. Izuku pushed his back to the bed so Katsuki could work the knots out of his neck. 

They watched the sunrise through semi-sheer curtains silently. That was the biggest change since their bet started; Izuku and Katsuki were quiet. It wasn't an awkward kind of silence. It was more that neither of them really knew what to say to each other most of the time, especially when they were in private and didn't have to pretend they were some loving couple. Katsuki used to be so loud, biting remarks every two minutes. Izuku had to wonder if the bet had made him realize he'd been cruel, and not just to Izuku. Izuku wasn't the only student who'd been bullied before the bet. A couple other students in their class had ‘undesirable’ quirks, and they got a lot of hate for it. Perhaps not as much as Izuku, but still. They deserved better. 

This bet had brought better to the table for everyone.

“You don't…” The words failed with a heavy sigh. Izuku tried again. “You don't have to do this when we're in private. The bet only applies to-” Izuku gestured vaguely to the window. “-out there.” The neck massage stopped but Katsuki didn't pull back just yet.

“I know.”

“Then why?”

Finally, the blonde sat up and got out of bed around Izuku. He didn't answer at first. His movements were rigid and jerky; he was upset. By now, Izuku could read Katsuki’s emotions using only his body language as if he were screaming. He also knew better than to push for an answer right now. So he waited, turned his head while Katsuki changed into weekend workout clothes, and hoped this wouldn't end in a fight.

“Because I'm not the same bastard I was four months ago.”

Wait. What?

“Huh?”

“Don't you get it, Izuku? This fucking bet put a hole in the monster I became. Sure, at first it was just a dumb challenge, see who could last longer being the ‘nice guy’ or whatever…I wanted to win… but then I saw- I saw what this had done to you, what we had done to you.” 

He didn’t say it, but Izuku knew he was including what he saw Inko do on Friday. Katsuki sat down on the floor across from Izuku, back to his desk and arms draped over his knees. For once, Izuku couldn't read his expression. He looked like he was remembering something. 

“Oh shut the absolute fuck up!” The hallway came to a screeching halt, sound cut out in a second. “I am so god damn sick of hearing you morons go after your own classmates. Some of us are trying to learn here!”

“The fuck did you just say?”

“You’re an asshole, Bakugo. You're a bully, and it’s annoying.”

“This has nothing to do with you. Go back to your average little class with your subpar fucking grades and keep my name out of your mouth.”

Izuku watched from his crowded spot near the lockers as someone finally confronted Katsuki about his bullying. He honestly never thought he'd see the day someone stuck up for- No. That’s not what this was. No one was standing up for Izuku, they were angry that Katsuki was interrupting their education.

“I'll say whatever I damn well please. You don't scare me, hell you're just a tiny dog with a loud bark. So why don't we have some fun with that noisy mouth of yours?”

“Excuse me?”

“Let’s make a bet on how quiet you can be, if you actually put your back into it, huh?”

Katsuki leaned back slightly, arms crossed and his usual scowl in place. “What kind of bet?” The explosive blonde never ducked a challenge, and he certainly didn't lose bets, either.

“You bark and bleat at Midoriya like you've been married for decades, an old bitch of a nagging wife, you are.” The student put his hand up and talked over Katsuki’s objections. “If you can act like a loving couple, whoever lasts the longest gets my limited edition silver age All Might figurine.”

“No idiot would bet on something like that!” Katsuki scoffed.

“I would. Because here's the thing, you angry piece of fucking firework ash, I don't think you can do it. I think you'll break down and lose your shit on Midoriya in less than three days.”

“Bullshit! I'm not some fucking wimp who can't hold onto a damn bet.” Katsuki got in the other kid's face, practically growling. “I'm Katsuki fucking Bakugo, no matter how you spin it, I'm the best fucking wife anyone would be lucky to have.” 

He was making a point, making a joke out of the kid's own words, but it came out WAY wrong, and the whole hallway broke into laughter because of it. Izuku had to put a hand over his mouth to gag his own giggles. But Katsuki was coming right for him again and he was pretty sure he was now a dead man… except he wasn't. Katsuki just grabbed Izuku’s bag, tossed it over his shoulder, then snatched Izuku’s hand and started marching them out of the building as the last bell of the day rang.

“You know… even if you were quirkless for the rest of your life, you'd make a great hero. The best, actually.”

“Thanks, Kacchan.”

Izuku pulled his legs to his chest and buried his face in his knees for a while. It was still early morning, on a Sunday, they didn't have to get up, or do schoolwork, or even eat or speak. Izuku could wallow in…whatever he had to wallow in, and stay there all day if he wanted to.

He didn't want to, but knowing that he could took a huge weight off his shoulders. 

“Zu?”

“Hmm?”

“Are we…still friends?”

“Were we ever?” Izuku surprised himself. He wasn't mean by nature, but his filter just shut off when he was tired or in pain, and he happened to be both right now. Still, he didn't apologize like he usually would. Even if he didn't mean to say it, Katsuki deserved to hear it.

“I thought we were…once.”

Izuku tilted his head to the side to watch his ‘friend’ across the room. Katsuki was staring at his hands, his eyes red and puffy despite no tears falling down his face. 

“But you ruined that, Kacchan, a long time ago.”

“I know… Fuck, I know. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Izuku.”

“Sorry doesn't make the scars go away. It doesn't take back that I wanted to jump off a roof because our classmates told me to. I’m still alive, and the bullying stopped, but nothing changed.”

Katsuki’s head snapped up, horror and fear plain on his face. His hands hung open on his lap, as if he could catch himself, or maybe Izuku. But no one had ever tried to catch Izuku before, and no matter how Katsuki acted in this bet, this fake relationship for a prize, Izuku didn't trust those hands to save him.

Because Katsuki was still the monster in Izuku’s nightmares. Because this was all just a bet, a silly kid’s game. They were still in competition, still rivals at the best of times. None of this was real. Even if Katsuki said it wasn’t about winning anymore, and that what he saw made him rethink his cruelty, none of that mattered.

Izuku was still scared of the hands that he kept holding. Izuku still flinched when someone got too close, when Katsuki got too close. Izuku was still hiding behind his own mask of hope, when the world kept handing him heartache and abuse.

“I don't forgive you.” Izuku finally said. Katsuki’s eyes fell back to his lap, a slow nod following. “I don't forgive you, but I accept your apology.”

“Why would you accept it? You're right to not forgive me. What I've done is unforgivable. I know that, Izuku. I'm not an idiot, and I'm not delusional. Are you just trying to placate me because you think I'll be angry if you don't?”

“Yes…and no.” He shrugged. “Forgiving you would mean I healed the damage, and can move on from it…I don't think I can do that. But accepting that you are truly sorry for what you did means maybe someday I might. It doesn't change that what you did was wrong, and it won't fix the damage already done. But I still accept it because even if I'm still scared of you…even if you are still that monster, I know you're trying not to be. Change doesn't happen that drastically in three months, Kacchan. But it started. That's what matters.”

Katsuki let out a sigh that must have taken half his body weight in stress with it. Izuku’s shoulders relaxed a little. When Katsuki’s face finally eased and the scowl left for a few moments, Izuku imagined this was the only image of the real Katsuki he’d ever seen. This might be the only time he ever sees it, too.

“Are we still keeping up the bet?”

Katsuki smirked through his emotions. “Damn right we are. You think I’m letting you win that action figure just because we had some heart-to-heart like stupid, mushy teens?”

“We are stupid, mushy teens, Kacchan.”

“Not the point! Get your ass off the floor, we’ve got training to do.”

“Kacchan, it’s Sunday!”

“Yeah, Sunday the week before acceptance letters go out. If you think we’re slacking now, you’ve got another thing coming.”

Izuku laughed. “What, like your fist to my face?”

“If that’s what you want, we’ll spar, but if the Old Hag catches us using quirks in her back yard, we’re dead meat.”

“Ugggghhhh…” 

Katsuki grabbed Izuku’s arm and playfully hauled him up, but Izuku went dead weight, flopped his body sideways like a dead fish, so Katsuki was now dragging him across the floor by his arm while Izuku groaned and grumbled. The blonde was not hearing it. He dropped Izuku by the dresser and threw a pile of clothes on him. 

“Ass up, get in gear!”

“That’s what she-”

“If you finish that sentence, you’re getting a hell of a lot more than my fist in your face.”

“Promise?”

Katsuki clicked his tongue. “Tch - you’re insufferable.”

“But you fake love me!”

“Shut the fuck up and get dressed.”

“Fine.”

Izuku got up, against his will, and tugged on a set of workout shorts and a loose t-shirt. Izuku hadn’t worn Katsuki’s clothes since they were kids. They smelled like him, like his quirk - a faint hint of burnt caramel with this rich undertone Izuku had yet to place, no matter how many times he’d been exposed to explosions. Sometimes he wanted to call it chocolate, but then other times it was something a touch more floral. He couldn’t place it, but he swore one day he would. 

Auntie Mitsuki forced them to sit down and eat breakfast before they were allowed to head out for training. She caught sight of a scar on Izuku’s arm, one from before his quirk manifested, and her spatula paused halfway to Izuku’s plate. It was a starburst. She knew what her son’s quirk looked like. She didn’t ask, but Izuku offered a genuine smile and they both brushed it off without remark. Katsuki was busy chatting with his father at the kitchen counter, but Izuku was fairly sure he’d seen it happen. 

They went for a run. Katsuki didn’t set a mile limit, or tell Izuku they were going to run half the day, but Izuku assumed they would be running for a while. Izuku enjoyed running, anyway. The freedom that came from heavy lungs and aching legs had always felt like home to him. Running cleared Izuku’s mind, and honestly, it was often his only escape from the mistreatment and hate. 

So, they ran. They each had their own music in their ears and their eyes on the sidewalk in front of them. 

Izuku tried to sort out his brain while they jogged across town and down towards Dagobah beach. He’d been noticing these weird things lately, and he couldn’t figure out why. That flash of Katsuki’s bare chest, the way he smiled and the calm look on his relaxed face. Izuku wouldn’t have noticed these things mere months ago. He wouldn’t be looking for them, either. Or, he shouldn’t be. After all, this ‘relationship’ was just a bet. Katsuki had said so himself this morning, they were keeping up the bet. So out here, they were boyfriends, they were fake dating, pretending to love each other. 

But what happens when the feelings aren’t fake anymore?

Izuku shook his head. What the fuck was that thought? Of course the feelings were bullshit, Izuku didn’t feel anything towards Katsuki but resentment and anger… right? Honestly, he wasn’t sure anymore. Maybe he was just confused because Katsuki helped him get away from Inko. He’d thought only earlier how he’d never trust Katsuki to save him, but isn’t that what he’d done? He’d saved Izuku from Inko’s attack. Even if Izuku could heal the damage easily, and was entirely too accustomed to dealing with it, Katsuki had become the first person to actually stop the abuse. That had to mean something, didn’t it? No, not really. It didn’t have to mean anything, it’s just something that happened. 

So why did Izuku keep stealing glances at Katsuki’s running form? Probably because the blonde ran like a fucking adonis; perfect posture, almost no sway, he was honestly the best damn example of a good runner. Izuku wished he was half as good, but his shitty old sneakers pinched his feet and despite how much Izuku loved running, he much preferred it barefoot. 

Actually, they were pretty close to the beach. Izuku jerked his head to the side after catching Katsuki’s attention. The blonde nodded and they went down to the freshly cleaned beach. Last month, Katsuki had convinced him they should clean off this nasty oceanfront. The sand had been turned into an offroad dump. It wasn’t a populated beach, and the city hardly cared to keep it tidy, so it became the local drop off for large items like old appliances, couches, and random junk. The whole process took them three weeks and a local city rep had to organize the pickups by the local waste removal company while Izuku and Katsuki got everything up to the street and off the sand. 

Honestly, it had seriously bulked them up, and Izuku was glad he’d done it. Now they could run on the beach and enjoy their hard work. They’d been recognized by the city for their efforts, so the few morning walkers with dogs passing by the sidewalk above the sand nodded or smiled at them, thanking them quietly. The pair tugged off their socks and shoes before heading down the sand. 

Katsuki took his earbuds out. “D’you hear they’re making UA a boarding school next year?”

“Yeah, it was in the paperwork we had to do, I think.”

“I was kind of curious how we’d go about this…ya know, constantly next to each other…pretending to be.” He didn’t finish the sentence, but it didn’t trail off either. It was like he just didn’t want to say what it was they were faking. Izuku wasn’t sure if that meant something. But since he was avoiding anything with meaning right now, he shrugged it off. 

“Nothing changes, we’re still trying to outlast each other, right?” 

Izuku tried to add some playful excitement in his voice, just to see if that might help break whatever awkwardness had just settled in. Izuku had thought to mention, a couple times, that he doubted their bet would continue after they graduated. Actually, Izuku had doubted that other student had ever been serious about giving over his rare action figure to begin with. 

So why keep up the act?

Izuku didn’t want to go back to being the outcast, and he wasn’t yet sure that wouldn’t be the case if the bet ended. 

“Yeah. We are.” Katsuki tied his shoelaces together and tossed them over his shoulder so he didn’t have to hold them. Izuku copied him. “And you know I’m gonna win.”

“Bullshit. You’re going to lose, just like you’re going to lose to me right now!”

Izuku took off before he finished the sentence, leaving Katsuki on the sidewalk as he bolted down the beach towards the waves. There was no blast of explosions behind him, just the thundering of feet on the sand chasing after him. Katsuki might be competitive, but he never cheated, not when it counted. Would he absolutely use every option he could to beat an opponent in a fight? Hell yes. But if Izuku challenged him to a race - they raced, feet and blood pumping, gasping breaths and -

Suddenly they were six years old again, laughing and screaming as their little legs splashed in the water, their parents happily close by, taking pictures and making memories for them to blush at years down the road. The water was sunbaked and refreshing, and Izuku had not a single care in the world for tomorrow, or next week, or next year. All that mattered was this single moment in the sunshine where everything was perfect, and no one had ever hurt him.

Izuku’s body hit the sand with an almost painful thud and a splash of water, but laughter roared from his lungs. Cool water rushed over him. Katsuki had tackled him to the ground to end their race. Their bodies rolled as they fought for dominance. Izuku was thoroughly soaked by the time he managed to get himself on top of Katsuki, pinning the blonde to the wet sand. Waves crashed around them. Izuku’s curls hung around his face, dripping salt and sand, the braids Katsuki put them in yesterday half-fallen and disheveled from their collapse. Izuku loomed over the blonde, panting, both hands on his wrists. Each hit of the waves wobbled them both to the side, but they were far enough inland that Katsuki’s wouldn’t drown when the water came up to meet them.

Katsuki got one hand free, but Izuku wasn’t really trying to stop him. The hand slipped across Izuku’s cheek. Red eyes shone like rubies in the rising sunlight reflecting off the ocean beside them. Izuku froze, breath caught between his ribcage, but Katsuki did nothing more than cup his face. No spark of his quirk came, no pain followed. There was just the rush of water around them and Katsuki's sandy hand holding him in place. Some growing, yet still unfamiliar piece of Izuku desperately wanted to lean into the hand. But most of him knew he still didn’t trust that hand not to hurt him. He didn’t believe it could be kind, not outside the bet that had brought them here, the one they kept up, probably because neither of them even knew how to address whatever this bet had created between them. 

“What?” Izuku rasped out. 

Katsuki’s hand dropped to his side. “Nothing…you can get up now.”

“Y-yeah, sorry.”

Izuku flipped himself to the side and plopped down on his ass, breath still uncaught and knees to his chest. Summer mornings were usually his favorite time of the year. Today, this didn’t feel like a good place to be. Katsuki sat up. He moved to the side, so they were back to back, looking down opposite ends of the beach, the sun to Izuku’s left shoulder. 

“If they give us a choice, do you want to room on the same floor?”

“Sure, Kacchan. Whatever you want.”

“What do you want?”

I want you. Izuku shrugged off his strange thoughts. “Anything’s fine.”

“You can just say no, Zu. I’m not going to get angry…not like that. Not like before. Never again. I swear.”

“I don’t know how to believe that. I still flinch when you touch me.”

“But you let me touch you.”

Because I don’t want you to stop. Izuku pushed himself up so he could shake out his limbs after their run, a distraction, really. He needed to get these weird thoughts out of his mind, or he’d absolutely go insane. Katsuki turned back to stare up at him, a scrunched expression on his face. 

“You’re avoiding this - why?” Fuck, he’d noticed. 

“I’m not avoiding anything.” Izuku lied. “We should finish our run.”

“That wasn’t fucking smooth, Dumbass. You’re scared.”

“Yeah, no shit. Everyone is scared of you, Kacchan.”

“That’s not what I meant and you know it. Sit the hell down and talk to me.”

Izuku sighed. He really didn’t want to talk about this. So he just kept avoiding it. “I’m heading back so I can grab my shit and head home. I need to finish something for class tomorrow.”

“No, you don’t. You just don’t want to talk to me.”

“Yeah, well-” He wanted to ask if Katsuki would want to talk to him about tough emotions, conflicting guilt, and abuse - with his fucking abuser, no less. But Izuku decided not to. He didn’t want this to become a fight, even if it would be their first real ‘lover’s quarrel’ since the bet. “Maybe we’ve done enough talking, and maybe I just need a break, okay?”

“Yeah, okay. Whatever.”

Izuku sighed. “I’ll see you in class tomorrow.”

“Mhm.”

Katsuki stayed on the beach as Izuku jogged back up to the street. Izuku tried not to look back too many times, and Katsuki never once looked back to him. Izuku choked back the guilt he felt while running back to Katsuki’s place. It took far too much effort, but he managed to prevent his own emotional collapse long enough to get back to Katsuki’s house (his parents were gone for now with a note left about grocery shopping) so he could grab his bag and jog home to Inko’s apartment. She wasn’t home either, thankfully. 

Izuku dropped his bag and meant to throw himself onto his bed, but he didn’t make it that far. His knees hit the carpet and his face burned against the ground when he crashed down. Tears rolled down the side of his face and pooled on the floor, but Izuku didn’t sob or scream. He didn’t have the energy to. 

Nothing made sense. Why was he feeling any of this? Why did he want to lean into a hand that once hurt him? Katsuki was his bully…but Izuku had grown up with him. Izuku knew him inside and out. They knew each other better than anyone else ever could. Izuku knew all of Katsuki’s secrets, all his dark deeds and stupid mistakes. Katsuki knew every scar on Izuku’s body, he’d put most of them there himself. They were a twisted mess of intimacy and cruelty. It wasn’t fair, either. 

Izuku didn’t want to feel any of this, but really… who else would understand Izuku the way Katsuki did? Who else could he speak to about his fucked up childhood without being judged? Quirklessness was not an easy or fun topic to discuss, and most kids were taught to discriminate and put down quirkless people, or worse. The best he could hope for was fair treatment now that he had a quirk, even if it wasn’t a physical or super powerful one for heroics. Izuku just wanted to be accepted, and who better to accept him than his primary bully?

So he’d go on with this bet, and he’d play the good boyfriend, and he’d silently question his own self worth, as if it mattered in the end. 

And honestly, Izuku wasn’t sure it did.

~

The last week of school was always the most uneventful. Izuku stared out the window through most of their classes while the teachers droned on about the last little tidbits of knowledge they wanted to impart on their students. 

He was still tired, but at least he’d gotten over his quirk exhaustion. He hadn’t yet spoken to Katsuki today, but he also hadn’t spoken to anyone at all, so he wasn’t singling the blonde out by any means. Katsuki had found him on the way to school like always, and they held hands until they changed into their indoor shoes, then an arm was draped over Izuku’s shoulders, like always, as they made their way to their classroom. Katsuki sat in front of him, but he turned around several times throughout the day, non-verbally checking on Izuku, but ultimately not trying to push for an answer. 

When lunchtime rolled around, Izuku finally let Katsuki drag him outside so they could get some sun. They sat on the sports field just like on Friday, Izuku staring up at the sky with his arms out behind himself, while Katsuki lay across his lap with a book in hand. Their classmates chatted idly but no one bothered them. Izuku assumed Katsuki said something to them, or maybe the distant look in his eyes was enough to deter them. 

Something he couldn’t name drew Izuku’s hand to Katsuki’s spiky hair. He tucked his fingers into it and carded the hair away from Katsuki’s face. The blonde’s eyes slowly drooped closed. The creases and lines of his scowl smoothed out and he was once again a picture of beauty and peace. 

Izuku leaned down. He didn’t give warning, but he knew Katsuki would anticipate his actions. The book was gone by the time he got close enough to reach the blonde’s face. Their lips slotted together softly. The kiss wasn’t anything but a touch, just the faintest hint of truth behind the lies they gave the world around them. It lasted only a few seconds, but Izuku’s entire body filled with a static tingling he’d never known. 

Katsuki breathed out one word between their barely parted lips. “Why?”

Izuku didn’t know why he did it. He just did. He didn’t want to, but he also did. There was no real reason other than Katsuki looked beautiful, and Izuku wanted to know what it felt like to have something for himself, just one thing he could call his own. That kiss was it. That was all Izuku would allow himself, because even if everything else was fake, that one thing was secretly his, that one little thing was real, for just a few seconds. 

Izuku shrugged one shoulder. “I don’t know. I just did.”

“Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Yeah. Okay.”

Katsuki’s hand slipped behind his head and pulled Izuku down again, too fast for him to stop. The second kiss was the kind of kiss Izuku imagined real boyfriends give each other. It was the kind of kiss that said things, that meant things. But Izuku knew it wasn’t real. Their classmates were nearby, and Katsuki had an act to put on. So that’s what he was doing, acting. Nothing more, nothing less. 

“Damn, once again, you two are taking this bet way too seriously.”

“Shut the fuck up, Hideki.” Katsuki growled. He flopped to the side to glare at the other teen, the moment broken and Izuku’s face released. “You don’t know shit about our bet, so kindly screw off.”

Hideki put his hands up. “Hey man, I’m just pointing out the obvious. I’m glad someone found their wife so early in life, that’s all.”

Izuku ignored their banter and leaned back to stare at the sky again. The bell would ring in a few minutes, so he wanted to enjoy what was left of their last days in middle school. This was the end of their childhood. Once they started hero school, they’d be heroes in training, and they wouldn’t be kids anymore. They’d be something halfway between boys and men, something between civilian and hero. Izuku wished he could say that this was the moment where he’d grow up, where his life would change for the better. 

But that wasn’t true. He’d grown up far too young. His life had changed, but he couldn’t be sure it was for the better. Instead, he was carrying a fake identity with him into his adulthood, a fake love he sometimes wished wasn’t quite so fake, and a heap of baggage that no one should have to endure being unpacked around them. 

The bell rang. Izuku stood up and walked back into the school building with his head on Katsuki’s shoulder. For the rest of the day, Katsuki sat sideways, using Izuku’s desk for notes, so Izuku could hold his hand and play with his fingers. There weren’t any notes to take, so they were mostly just listening to short lectures and anecdotes. Katsuki would occasionally lean over and place a kiss atop Izuku’s curls, usually between classes while their teachers changed rooms, since they didn’t allow PDA outside of hand holding. 

This was the best day of school he’d ever had since his quirkless diagnosis. 

~

Friday eventually rolled around again, and all the students were anxious to get home after school so they could check the mail. High school acceptance (and denial) letters were mailed this week, and most were received by Friday. Izuku and Katsuki weren’t the only students to apply to UA, and they weren’t even the only ones to apply for the hero course. Classes were coated in nerves, and none of them could pay attention on their last day of classes for the year. Most of the teachers gave them quiet ‘study’ time for the last day, so most of them just quietly chatted with their desk neighbors about what they might do over the break before high school started. 

Izuku and Katsuki spoke about summer plans. Katsuki was going to Europe for a couple weeks with his parents. Izuku had no plans. He hadn’t spoken to his mother aloud since Katsuki’s threat to her last week. They’d been communicating through sticky notes alone, and Inko had picked up extra shifts at work most of the week to keep her away from the house. 

“The old hag told me to ask if you wanted to come with us.”

“Huh?” Izuku blinked a few times, his mind not fully present. “Go with you? To Europe? What would I do there?”

“I mean, I have some plans. My folks will be busy with work, fashion week and all that. I had a few hikes planned, and a climb scheduled at a popular rock wall. I also like to try out new foods every time I’m there. Since they’ll be in Milan for fashion week, I was planning to head to Venice for a few days, too. It's one of my favorite places to relax.”

“Your parents are letting you travel alone?”

“No. We’d have a babysitter.” He laughed a bit awkwardly, a hand rubbing the back of his neck. “But it’s not like they’re sharing rooms with me or anything. You should come. It’ll be fun.”

Izuku did have a passport. It was fairly common these days to have one, since they functioned just as well as a basic ID, but also provided extra uses for travel and the like. It was updated recently as well, since he was about to head into high school, so he didn’t have to prepare much but a suitcase. But did Izuku want a summer spent continuing this fake relationship, or a summer away from Katsuki and stuck with his mother?

The decision wasn’t difficult. 

“Okay.”

“We’re leaving in a few days, after graduation. My folks already bought an extra ticket. I think they know you too well.”

Izuku chuckled. “Yeah, I guess they do.”

“We’re taking a flight into Milan and we’ll split up once our custodian joins us. He’s a friend of my dad’s who isn’t too crazy about fashion, but enjoys traveling across Europe. We’ll head to Venice while my folks stay in Milan. We’ll figure it out from there, or join them if they need models.”

“Sounds good, Kacchan.”

Going home at the end of the day was a chore when they were all anxiously awaiting their celebration (or doom). Acceptance letters would be there when they got home. They would be facing their futures in a terribly real way. Katsuki kissed Izuku’s forehead when they parted at the usual place. He even whispered a soft ‘good luck’ that Izuku knew he wasn’t meant to hear. The spot just near Izuku’s temple where Katsuki had kissed him buzzed all the way home. Izuku tried not to think about it. 

“I’m home.” Izuku called out as he closed the door behind himself and kicked off his shoes. His mother appeared in the kitchen door frame, a large yellow and white envelope in her hand. Izuku’s breath caught in his throat, but he was ready. Okay… maybe he wasn’t ready, but he couldn’t wait anymore. 

“Good luck.” She said, hesitantly.

Izuku took the envelope. It was heavy - a good sign. The paper crinkling made them both nearly flinch with anticipation as Izuku pulled the weighted insert from inside. A little metal disk tumbled out, making them both jump a little when it clattered to the ground and a hologram erupted from it, showing Principal Nedzu, the headmaster of UA high. 

“Congratulations!” The little chimera shouted, both hands in the air. 

Izuku collapsed to his knees in front of the hologram, hands scooping it up as the school’s headmaster began speaking and explaining the acceptance ‘letter’.

“If you’re receiving this notice, then you’ve been accepted into UA High as a part of our next incoming hero course. Please refer to the list beside me to view your placement and your scores on the entrance exams. We eagerly await your arrival next semester. Please be sure to fill out the paperwork we’ve included, and then submit them online. You will receive confirmation once we’ve received them. Enjoy your summer, and train hard!”

“I did it…” Tears were already streaming down his face. “I’m going to be a hero, mom!”

She actually crouched down beside him. Izuku ducked the hand she put out, but all it did was brush his hair from his face and wipe a couple tears from his eye. 

“Yes, you are. You’re certainly stubborn enough to make it out there.”

She was trying, that’s what counted, right? Her tone wasn’t quite…loving, but it wasn’t spiteful, either. Izuku knew, all too well, change didn’t happen overnight. Katsuki put the fear of God into her, and maybe that allowed her to see something she’d been ignoring for all too long. Izuku was strong, and he was determined. Stubborn to a fault, with thick skin and a hard head. He was not going to let this world grind him down. 

He was going to be a hero, and even if that meant faking his emotions for the rest of his life, he was doing it with his childhood best friend, the boyfriend he’d convinced the world was truly his. For now, Izuku could enjoy this feeling, and not think about what troubles might come from whatever this war between reality and fantasy they’d created between them.

~

Izuku spent the next few days packing and preparing for this impromptu trip. He spoke to his mother a few times, and she seemed genuinely afraid of him now. She knew what Katsuki was capable of, she just miscalculated how brainwashed he was by society. She thought her hate was right, and that everyone would agree with her. She was wrong. Inko had no refusal when he announced he was spending the summer with Katsuki and his family, she even offered him a modest stipend of spending money. Izuku was just happy to have a civil conversation with his mother for the first time in years. 

Not knowing what he might need, Izuku packed mostly summer clothes, with a few options for warmer outfits, just in case. His passport and personal items were tucked into a locked, zippered pouch inside his good travel backpack. One suitcase and one backpack, that shouldn’t be too cumbersome to heft across the world, right? The ‘suitcase’ was even the right size for carry-on, so he wouldn’t need to spend money on checked bags, or worry about them getting lost on another plane by accident. 

Katsuki and his parents picked Izuku up the day after their graduation ceremony. The ceremony was nice; Izuku won a few awards, and so did Katsuki. They were a pair, even in their academic records. Inko didn’t come, but Izuku didn’t expect her to, not really. She’d never taken an interest in his education, except to admonish and abuse him when he ultimately failed her insanely high expectations. Honestly, it was nicer that she wasn’t there. Katsuki’s parents hugged him when he walked off the stage with his diploma and awards. Uncle Masaru hugged him and told Izuku he was the proudest father, that he had two sons who had done so well. 

Izuku could almost believe he was healing in some way. 

The loud clatter of the overhead compartment closing when Katsuki shoved their bags into it startled Izuku back to the present. They’d just boarded their flight to Europe. Katsuki’s parents were a few rows in front of them, and Katsuki was sharing a row with Izuku. The plane was fully boarded, so it seemed like no one was joining them in their three-seater row. 

“Have you flown before?” Katsuki asked as he sat down. 

“No.”

“Here.”

Izuku took the packet of gum he was offered. “Gum?”

“It helps pop your eardrums. Or so they say. It’s never helped me.”

“Thanks.”

“Oh, and whatever you want on the trip, it’s on my parents. They gave me a credit card for us to use, with a rather high limit.” He shrugged. 

“Really? That’s… generous. Why not just give us a budget or a spending limit?”

The very second Izuku questioned the openness of Katsuki’s parents, the blonde practically crumbled. He stared at his feet while the flight attendants worked on getting everyone in their seats, the busy plane slowly settling down for takeoff. Izuku waited. He didn’t push. Katsuki was mulling over his words, but his scrunched face told Izuku he’d come to a decision about them. 

“They know.”

“They know what, Kacchan?”

“What we did to you.”

Izuku leaned back. “You told them about…”

“Everything. I told them everything, even the bet.”

“Wha- why would you do that? Kacchan, that wasn’t your story to tell.”

“Yes. It was. This is about me, too, you know.” 

Oh, right, it was. Izuku put his face in his hands. “Sorry. I know that. I just-”

“It’s fine. I get it. But I couldn’t keep lying to them anymore. They uhh- they wanted to do something about it. You deserve loving parents, and they already love you as parents. So, they stepped up, and they’re trying to make up for all that you lost, all that we took from you.”

“Oh.”

“So, basically, they’re spoiling you. I’m getting therapy, but you get anything you want while we’re traversing the Italian landscape. Which - is all fair. I’m just not happy about therapy, but I don’t get a choice, so…let’s try and make the best of our summer, yeah?”

“Yeah. Let’s make the best of it.”

Izuku spent most of the flight with his face against the window, amazed at the view over the ocean and across the Asian subcontinent. He’d never seen anything like it, and movies didn’t quite cut it. Seeing it for himself was completely different. So he kept his eyes on the window, to avoid missing even a second of it. They got a meal, and Izuku did catch a short nap somewhere halfway over China, but otherwise, it was a peaceful and generally enjoyable flight.

Landing wasn’t as fun. Izuku had his armrests in a death grip for most of it. Katsuki moved seats so they were next to each other, but he didn’t reach out or try to hold Izuku’s hands… or maybe it was more that he could tell Izuku didn’t want to. Thankfully, it was over quickly and they were ushered off the plane and to customs and immigration to get checked into the country. Izuku had never traveled before, so he had absolutely zero idea where to go or what to do. Katsuki kept him close, their hands tightly clutched to avoid getting separated, as they followed his parents towards (apparently) the right counter. They showed their passports and visas and after a quick chat about why they were there, the clerk let them into the country. 

“Alright boys.” Masaru stopped them outside the terminal, just as they got to baggage claim for all the luggage that Katsuki’s parents brought with them. “You two stick together, have fun. We’ll call you when we’re ready for you to join us back here in Milan. Enjoy your vacation..” He shot Katsuki a glare that Izuku didn’t know he was capable of. “Behave, son.”

Mitsuki leaned down to hug and kiss the both of them on the cheek. “You boys enjoy your trip. We’ll see you soon. Have fun, and text the group chat with pictures as much as you can.”

Katsuki took Izuku’s hand again after his parents went off towards baggage claim and the pair of teens went for the door. The blonde was quiet, but he’d hugged his parents. He rarely showed family affection. Why was that?

“They’re still pissed at me.”

“Oh.” Izuku flipped his hand around so their fingers intertwined. That calmed Katsuki down a touch. “So…you’ve done this a lot?”

“Eh, yeah. I mean, I’ve been here almost every summer I’ve been alive. Come on, our ride texted me, he’s outside. My folks can see us from baggage claim, so they’re still on our ass until the handoff with our guardian.”

“Ahh, that tracks.”

Izuku didn’t imagine his godparents as absentee type parents. They weren’t overbearing, but Izuku and Katsuki were teenagers, he didn’t think they were yet old enough to go running around Europe alone. Knowing they were indeed paying attention but giving the boys the space they might need after a rough end to the school year gave Izuku some relief to the worries building in his mind. 

When they got outside, it was an absolute ocean of bodies and a din of noise. Izuku had no idea where they were going, or hell, who they were meeting. As Katsuki drug them through the crowds of people with his loud cursing and death glares as plenty of motivation for everyone to get out of his way, Izuku tried to stay behind him, and just hang on for dear life. 

“Kacchan, who are we even meeting?”

“Oh, right. Sorry.” He slowed down only a little, but the angry look on his face that got them through the crown didn’t fade. “You know Ectoplasm, right?”

“Wha- yeah, I mean, he’s an instructor at UA High, of course I know of him, but what does he have to do with our Europe trip?”

“He’s our guardian. That’s why my parents aren’t worried about us. He always vacations in Europe, he’s an old friend of my parents’. My dad and him were from the same town, same schools, all that stuff.”

“Oh. That’s…that’s really cool, actually. Do you think he’ll let me ask him some questions about his quirk, or is that not allowed on vacation?”

Katsuki let out a barking laugh. “Oh, he never answers questions about his quirk, but you’re welcome to ask. Speaking of the devil, there he is.”

“Hello boys.”

“Hey, Gramps.”

“Kacchan - that’s a pro hero, you can’t just-”

Katsuki ruffled Izuku’s curls. “It’s fine, Nerd. He’s like my uncle or whatever.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Midoriya.” He offered out a hand, which Izuku shook. “Are you ready to have some fun?”

“Yes, actually. I’m excited for a break.”

“Good, hop in. The drive’s about three hours, I hope you brought a good book.”

The next three hours were some of the best moments in Izuku’s life, without a single exaggeration. All the widows down, soft summer breezes caressing their faces as they drive along the base of the Italian Alps towards the coast where Venice lay. Ectoplasm put on some soft Italian radio station. Izuku couldn’t understand the lyrics, he didn’t speak Italian, but they still gave this strange lightness to his soul he wasn’t sure he’d ever replicate again. Izuku’s curls whipped around his head as he leaned against the window frame to watch the landscape pass. Katsuki held his hand, squeezed it every so often, and sang along to the music like he’d heard these songs a thousand times. 

About halfway through their trek, Katsuki threw himself forward over the center console, much to Ectoplasm’s displeasure. They fought each other for a few minutes while Izuku giggled. Katsuki finally found the button he wanted. The skylight window opened above them. 

“Katsuki, if you do what I know you’re thinking, I’m pulling this car over.”

“No you’re not, Gramps. Shut up, keep driving.” He offered his hand to Izuku. “Come on. Once in a lifetime stupidity.”

“I thought I was the genius, Kacchan.”

“Shut up, be stupid with me for five minutes.”

For once, Izuku was actually more than happy to just be dumb. His logical brain telling him all the dangers of standing up in a car and how it was a bad idea got shoved to the side. 

They both stood up, the wind caught their hair, threw their voices down the road as they both howled into the whipping air. Summer sun beat down on Izuku’s brow. His car AC chilled bones soaked the warmth up. He threw his head back and laughed. Katsuki leaned his elbows on the car roof, smirking like he’d won something. Izuku wasn’t sure what he could have won. After all, Izuku was pretty sure he was the one winning things; this vacation being the obvious option. 

“What?” Izuku shouted over the wind.

“Nothing.”

“Oh come on, just say it!”

Katsuki shook his head. “You look beautiful like this. You look happy for the first time in a long time.”

Izuku did a double take, unsure if he heard what Katsuki actually just said. But even if he hadn’t, they were both pretty good at reading lips. Even if he had said what Izuku swore he heard, it didn't mean anything. Like always, they were in public, and they were pretending. They were playing a part; acting. The happiness was real, sure. Izuku actually felt happy right now. He was at peace, he was with people who wanted him to be with them. 

But calling him beautiful was just a part of their game, right?

Still, Izuku smiled, a blush carpet across his face against his will. He realized he actually liked being called beautiful, and wasn’t that interesting? No one had ever called him beautiful before. This wasn’t the first time he’d accepted something at face value. They weren’t dating, after all. But Katsuki didn’t have to be his boyfriend to call him beautiful, right?

Yeah…he could just be beautiful without worrying about who said it, or what meaning could be behind the words. The words were said, and that’s all that mattered. 

“I am happy…right here, in this moment. I’m happy, Kacchan.”

“Good. We’ve got a lot of good memories to make in the next week.”

“I can’t wait.”

~

Sometimes, Izuku wondered if anything he did mattered at all. If he imagines himself as a part of a vast universe, as one tiny speck on this small pale blue dot hurtling through space at the speed of light, if he imagined himself this way, then his life was insignificant. Then other times, this bright light would appear near him, and it would give him hope and guidance through the darkness. But even when that light was right beside him, Izuku never felt seen by it. He never felt like… like the light was actually there to make him visible in the darkness. Izuku wasn’t meant to glow like a star. He was only meant to bask in the glow of one.

A few days had passed since Izuku and Katsuki had arrived in Venice. They’d spent most of the first couple days sight-seeing at all the tourist traps. They both knew there were much better things to see, but Katsuki knew his way around, and Izuku had never been here, so they tried to do a mix of both trap sights and local favorites. Izuku had a ton of pictures, almost all of them being scenery or landscape, along with a few selfies he’d taken. Katsuki never joined him in pictures. Why would he? They weren’t here ‘together’. Katsuki had invited him as a friend….not anything more. 

They’d decided last night to stay in on their fourth day, ordering room service for all their meals. Katsuki ran down to the lobby of the hotel to grab some snacks, cigarettes, and drinks for the day. Ectoplasm had already left after they promised him they wouldn’t leave the hotel without calling him first. He had some of his own sights to see, apparently. Why would he want a couple of teens dragging along after him?

Izuku had the hotel notepad and pen in his lap while lounging on the floor, his back to the end of the bed. Katsuki was leaning out the Juliet balcony with a lit cigarette in hand, a hotel towel casually tucked around his waist and otherwise naked. Izuku had on one of the hotel robes. They’d both just taken showers (separate obviously). Now, Izuku was drawing the curve of Katsuki’s spine and the way his muscles twisted as he leaned out to get a better look at the canals below, already packed with tourists. 

Honestly, Izuku had never once imagined himself sitting in Italy, watching his best friend stand in a window with his bare chest pressed to a balcony railing, water from the shower still dripping from his ash-blonde hair. The drawing had begun to take shape, now including the towel over his legs and his shoulders. Izuku decided not to add Katsuki’s face, or well, the back of his head. Somehow, that would make it far too personal. If Izuku left it just from shoulder to knee, he could convince himself it wasn’t drawn in adoration…or obsession. 

When he looked up from the drawing, Katsuki was looking at him, half turned back to the room. Izuku set down the pen, giving Katsuki a silent ‘what’s up?’ with only his arched eyebrows. The blonde laughed, took another pull of his cigarette. 

“You look…” The blonde sighed out a plume of smoke. “Comfortable.”

That’s not what he’d intended to say. Izuku could tell that much from his tone alone. ‘Comfortable’ had this disappointed growl behind the word. It wasn’t a lie, just a replacement for whatever word he’d meant to say, or wanted to say, or wanted to avoid. 

“I am.”

“Are you enjoying the vacation?”

Izuku nodded. “Of course. Besides, we start Hero School soon, so it’s nice to have a break before the real work begins.”

“Yeah. It is.”

Izuku picked the pen up again and carved a few more lines into the edges of Katsuki’s spine in the drawing. Katsuki came back into the room and sat down next to him on the floor. A tuft of damp blonde hair leaned over and landed on Izuku’s shoulder. Izuku didn’t react, he just finalized the little sketch by smudging a few inked lines with the side of his thumb, to add some shading. 

“I didn’t know you could draw this well… I mean, people. I’ve only seen you sketch hero gear and costumes.”

“I used to draw people all the time…I really enjoy how the human body can be soft and malleable or firm like marble. It’s fascinating, and you can even tell from a drawing what the body will feel like by the way the artist…” Izuku’s finger traced down the hard line of Katsuki’s spine in the sketch. “Anyway, mom told me the drawings were creepy, so I just stopped including faces and limbs in my gear and costume drawings. It seemed to make her happy so I thought it was better that way.”

Katsuki sighed. “Can we agree that anything your mother has ever said to you should be ignored with prejudice?”

“Yeah, you’re probably right.”

“So-” Katsuki gestured to the sketch. “-have you ever actually felt what that…that line is like on a human body?”

“Uhm…no? Why?”

“You’ve drawn it almost softer than it is. In bodies with little fat over thin places like directly over the spine or the shins, it’s actually pretty hard. Here- feel mine.”

“Huh?”

Katsuki scooted around until his back faced Izuku. He leaned forward, arms on his knees. He was purposefully making his spine stick out, and it really did. Every single vertebrae was identifiable along his spine. Izuku…really wanted to touch every single one. 

“Go ‘head.” 

Katsuki knew. Of course he did. Katsuki knew he was beautiful, he knew his body was sculpted like a marble statue. He’d worked hard for his strength. He’d been working hard since he could walk. They both wanted to be pro-heroes, but maybe Katsuki wanted it more. Maybe he’d worked for it harder, longer, or…or maybe Izuku was just jealous. 

Interesting. Izuku couldn’t remember if he’d ever felt jealousy before, not like this at least. He’d never been jealous that someone had a better body than him. Katsuki would probably say he had the best body, but secretly, the look in his eyes would make it clear he thought Izuku’s body was actually better. That was the silent language between them. Izuku would always say Katsuki is better, and Katsuki would talk himself up, always claiming exactly the same - that he was the best. But Izuku could always see in his eyes he truly thought he was far less than anyone else around him. 

That’s why he was so loud…if he was loud, no one would notice the silence between his breaths. No one would notice the pain behind his voice from all the exhaustive workout routines that probably felt like he was destroying his body and not yet seeing the results. But Izuku had seen it. Hell, they did their workouts together most days. Izuku knew first hand just how much he wanted this. But Katsuki would never see himself the way Izuku saw him. 

Izuku’s fingers pressed into Katsuki’s spine. The skin gave slightly, but the hard bone beneath didn’t budge. He could feel the blonde’s breath pushing his hand up and down. Izuku traced the edges of each vertebrae up from the base of Katsuki’s spine. The blonde’s breath picked up with every inch Izuku’s fingers moved up. Eventually, he was right at the base of Katsuki’s neck. His hair had mostly dried, but Izuku could still feel a few drops of dampness clinging to the other teen’s hair. Katsuki’s head leaned forward so Izuku’s hand could sink into soft blonde hair. A plume of rich caramel struck Izuku’s nose. The heavy sweetness was an incredibly familiar scent, but right out of the shower it meant Katsuki was nervous. 

“Kacchan?”

“Mnnn?”

Izuku let his right hand sink further over Katsuki’s head while his left hand pressed itself to the soft dip in the blonde’s spine just over his hips. A harsh intake of breath told him the touch was, though surprising, wanted. 

“Have you ever been touched like this?”

“No.” The reply was breathy. This was the first time Izuku had ever heard Katsuki unsure.

“Do you want me to stop?”

“You’re my boyfriend, right? Why would you stop?” Izuku leaned back, an immediate ick settling into his skin and twisting his face into a grimace. Katsuki noticed. He turned, confused. “What? We’re still in a bet, right?”

“That doesn’t mean you don’t have bodily autonomy, Kacchan. Did someone tell you you can’t say no to your significant other?”

“I mean-” He scoffed. “Mom always said I should treat my girl - or guy - like a queen, give them everything they want, make sure they’re happy.”

Izuku shook his head. “That doesn’t mean you do things you don’t like or don’t want just because I want them.”

Katsuki didn’t miss a beat. “Do you?”

“What?”

“Do you want to stop?”

“No.” Wait. “I mean…” No, no Izuku didn’t want to stop. “No. I don’t. But if you want to, we’ll stop, obviously.”

Katsuki held out a hand. It took a few moments, but Izuku did eventually take it. Katsuki pressed Izuku’s palm to his cheek, as if the shorter teen were cupping the blonde’s face or caressing it softly. 

“Don’t stop.”

Izuku tried not to think about what any of this could mean. It didn’t mean anything. It couldn’t mean anything. They weren’t actually a couple. So this wasn’t…love. This was just physical gratification. Izuku could live with that. If it meant he got to also enjoy himself, then yes, he could do this without it meaning anything. 

Trying not to second guess himself, or his decisions, Izuku leaned forward and pressed a kiss against Katsuki’s shoulder. The blonde’s chest rumbled softly. Izuku didn’t stop. He kissed down Katsuki’s back, forcing him to lean further forward as Izuku kept pushing. Eventually, they’d laid themselves out on the plush carpet. Izuku straddled Katsuki’s hips, leaning over the blonde’s back so he could kiss and nip his teeth along each side of Katsuki’s ribs. Izuku watched his friend’s fingers dig into the carpet. He was trying not to make noise, that much was obvious. Izuku wanted to hear Katsuki, but he wouldn’t force him to stop hiding. 

Izuku rolled his best friend sideways, putting Katsuki on his back so they were face to face, Izuku’s curls a gentle green curtain shutting the world out, and there was nowhere else to look but into each other’s eyes. Katsuki’s hands slipped into Izuku’s parted robe to grab at his hips gently. Izuku’s fingers trailed up over Katsuki’s face, one hand on the floor beside the blonde’s head to keep him upright. There was something behind Katsuki’s eyes, something Izuku couldn’t place. It wasn’t hunger, not quite. It was more like worry, something he was purposefully hiding from Izuku. Could Izuku really blame him? This was a very intimate place to be when the person you were with wasn’t even your real boyfriend. They were just playing a game, and they kept pushing each other, pushing boundaries. 

Was this truly just a bet anymore, or had it morphed into a game of chicken? How far could they go before the other said ‘oh no, that’s too much’? Were they just pushing until the other cried uncle? Izuku would never cry uncle. He’d put too much of himself into this damn bet. He’d put his whole soul into it, his crushed up heart and liver, too. Izuku had skin in this fucking game, and he feared if he gave in now, he’d lose it all and be left with nothing. 

“Say something, Idiot.” Katsuki whispered, the words ghosting over Izuku’s lips. 

“You look beautiful like this.” Is what Izuku settled on, using Katsuki’s words from a few days ago against him. But it wasn’t a lie, or even a game or just a test. It wasn’t a ploy to get Katsuki to cry uncle. Izuku meant those words. He truly, one hundred percent, meant all five words with every fiber of his being. There was a certain panic in offering up something so easily crushable. Izuku’s heart couldn’t take another blister or bruise, but here he was, holding it out in his hands like he didn’t just place it on a hospital bed; bandages and antiseptic prepared for the coming bleed. 

Izuku wasn’t sure how long they stayed like that. The sounds of traffic and tourists filtered in through the window, the smell of fresh bread and pastry made both their stomachs growl. But they didn’t get up, they didn’t get dressed. Izuku’s fingers explored Katsuki’s throat, the side of his face, the edge of his hairline. He was memorizing the lines of his best friend’s features. Katsuki had slipped his hands up along Izuku’s ribs, pulling him down…down, until they were chest to chest and their lips were a hair’s breadth apart. They could feel each other’s breath. If Izuku swallowed, his lips would graze over Katsuki’s and this horrible, wonderful spark would zap Izuku straight in the chest. 

A stream of sunlight finally breached their safe space. It blinded Izuku’s left eye, spread through the spaces between his hair, and shocked Katsuki’s eyes golden red like miniature suns. Izuku couldn’t look away. He didn’t know what this feeling was, but he couldn’t shake it. He couldn’t even put a name to it. He knew it meant something, but if he gave it any more thought, he might disappoint himself. So he just accepted that it was there and hid it away inside his mind.

A knock at the door and a soft ‘room service’ call brought them back to the world, breaking the spell they’d been trapped in. 

“Hungry, Nerd?”

“Starving, Kacchan.”

“Let’s eat.”

~

Izuku arrived home tan, with a faint smile still on his face. His mother greeted him quietly and asked if he had a good time, but their interactions had become clinical, business-like, nothing too personal or intimate. Izuku preferred it this way, anyway. Clinical was safe. So the little interaction didn’t ruin his mood, or the high he was still riding from his two weeks in Europe with Katsuki’s family. 

They spent a week in Venice alone, with their babysitter, Ectoplasm. Katsuki showed him every single local favorite store and restaurant. He also pointed out every major location from an old video game they played when they were kids. Katsuki might have bet him they could still do the Venetian Rush across the city’s rooftops like they were playing as assassins again. They only got halfway through before a police officer tackled Katsuki when he tried to climb one of the residential houses. Ectoplasm had to fetch them from the police station with a very angry Venetian police officer giving them a harsh scolding in Italian that no one but Ectoplasm understood. 

When Katsuki’s parents called to ask the teens to join them in Milan, Ectoplasm drove them back and finally went on his own actual vacation. Fashion week was wild. Izuku had never guessed he’d experience anything like it. They spend days getting dressed up like dolls in silly outfits for his parents' personal fashion show. This year’s theme was ‘absurdist media’ and oh lord was it crazy. Izuku was still getting glitter and sequins out of his hair. He was sure some of them were just a part of him now, and honestly, he was okay with that. 

Summer vacation might have a few more weeks left, but Izuku knew, without a doubt, he wasn’t going to top his experiences in Europe, or hell, any time he spent with Katsuki. They planned to spend the rest of the vacation working out, studying, and preparing for Hero School. 

~

The first day of high school arrived way too fast. Izuku was ready, but he still felt unprepared. He’d packed up his whole life into one trunk, a duffle bag, laptop bag, and his backpack. They had to be at UA the day before school started so they could move into the brand new dorm buildings. Today was Sunday, the day before the first day. They were ready, and packed, and it was time to head over for the first day of the rest of their lives. 

Izuku stood outside his apartment building, waiting for Katsuki’s parents to pick him up. They had a car that would fit two teens’ packed up junk. When they arrived, it took a solid fifteen minutes to figure out how to fit Izuku’s trunk into the trunk of the car. Mitsuki and Masaru fought over putting the trunk on the bottom or on the top. Ultimately, they unpacked most of Katsuki’s stuff to shove the trunk into the bottom back of the car. It worked out in the end, so Izuku just kind of went along for the ride. 

Katsuki gripped his hand the whole way over to UA. Izuku was nervous, and Katsuki could tell. Izuku knew Katsuki was nervous, too, he just hid his nerves a hell of a lot better than Izuku ever could. At some point, he started playing with Izuku’s hair to soothe the smaller teen and ease his nerves.

The gates had been opened wide enough for vehicles to pass through so parents could drive up to the dorm buildings on wide, decorative sidewalks, and the students wouldn’t have to lug all their crap a mile from the parking lot onto campus. Apparently, they were still working on a student parking lot, so they only had the teacher’s lot, which was already mostly full. So driving up to the buildings was the best option for now. As they pulled up, there were already a few cars unloading, and a couple more pulled in right behind them. 

Izuku clung to Katsuki’s hand as his parents got out. The blonde pulled the door closed gently. 

“You okay, Zu?”

“Yeah, I just-” Why did he want Katsuki to stop? “This isn’t middle school anymore, and these people don’t know about the bet, either. Our former classmates just put up with it because they knew we were both trying to win something. But here, they’ll actually think we’re boyfriends.”

“Okay. And?”

“Kacchan.”

“I’m serious. Who cares what they think? They’re fucking extras. You and me, that’s all that matters. Keep your fucking eyes on me, Zu.”

Izuku smiled, entirely refusing to admit he knew exactly why. “Okay.”

“Come on.”

Izuku grabbed his backpack from the backseat and clambered out after the blonde. Katsuki’s parents were already unloading everything beside their car. Masaru paused and waved Izuku over. Uh oh. Hopefully he wasn’t about to get a pep talk. Though, could Izuku really complain about a good, old fashioned ‘dad pep talk’? Not really. He could use good dad advice. They walked around the far side of the car and leaned against it together. 

“You two are such an interesting pair, do you know that?”

“Uhhh, yeah.” Izuku rubbed the back of his head. “I know this whole situation is weird but…it works for us, I guess? I mean, it wasn't easy at first, you know? Kacchan did hurt me in the past, but he’s still my best friend.” A faint grin played over his lips. “I also would like to win the bet, so there’s that.”

Masaru laughed softly. “Yeah, I get it.” But the way he said that didn’t make Izuku believe he actually understood. If anything, it made Izuku wonder if Masaru was talking about something entirely different. “Anyway, you kids are going to do great here. I have no doubt about that. I just wanted to make sure you were okay with this whacky situation.”

“Yeah, I’m okay.”

“Alright, kiddo.” Masaru would have ruffled his curls like he always did, but Katsuki had done two Dutch braids on the way over, to distract Izuku from his nerves. So instead, Masaru pulled Izuku in gently, and hugged him. Izuku was more than happy to squeeze him in return. 

Izuku grabbed his trunk to prop it up on the wheels. Katsuki came over and tossed an arm over his shoulder, leaving a peck on his forehead. Izuku didn’t look up while checking that he had his other bags situated atop the trunk. 

“You good?”

“I’m good, Kacchan.” Izuku returned the kiss with one on the blonde’s cheek, since that’s all he could reach on tiptoes while burdened with bags. “If we get to pick, I want a room next to yours.” He’d been thinking about their argument on the beach on the ride over, and he realized that if he did have a choice, he’d want to be close to his boyfriend. His fake boyfriend. Izuku had to remind himself about that. 

“Damn right. Let’s go.”

Izuku waved at Katsuki’s parents. They both grabbed all their bags (Katsuki grabbed a couple of Izuku’s too), and hauled their luggage up the three short stairs at the front of the building. The doors were open to what appeared to be a common room full of work tables and couches, split half and half - one side for recreation and the other for work, or maybe eating. There was a large kitchen at the back and broad windows around the room. 

Just inside the door stood Present Mic with an overzealous smile and a clipboard in hand. Izuku’s nerves almost instantly vanished when the well-known happy-go-lucky voice hero. 

“Welcome, listeners! We’re so happy to have you. You can pick your rooms, the only rules are boys on the odd floors and girls on the even. The elevator is in the back past the kitchen, and every room has your welcome packet on the desk with all your orientation information about the school. Sound good?” They both nodded. “Alright, now that my spiel is over, tell me your names and I’ll get you both checked in.”

“I’m Katsuki Bakugo, this is Izuku Midoriya.”

But, weirdly enough, Present Mic checked them off before Katsuki even finished speaking. Izuku assumed he just recognized them from their student files. All teachers received those ahead of time, right?”

“Will you be teaching us, Present Mic?”

“Oh, please, call me Mic-sensei, everyone does. And yes - I teach English and Language Arts. Your homeroom teacher is…uhhh- there!” The voice hero pointed across the slowly filling common room. “Eraserhead. I promise, he’s not as much of a grouch as he looks.”

“Thanks, Mic-sensei.” Izuku bowed politely. Katsuki just clicked his tongue and started leading them off before any further conversation could be had. Besides, there was a line forming behind them, so it was probably best they actually start unpacking and meeting their new classmates. 

Izuku stayed a bit behind Katsuki. Fear suddenly gripped his mind. This was a whole new class, a whole new school. It didn’t matter if Izuku had a quirk now, he didn’t always have one, and he still wore the red shoes, because his feet were still too big for regular shoes. His feet were practically dragging on the carpet when he realized this would just be a new hole to escape from, a new place he’d constantly be avoiding the bullying and hate, and he didn’t even have the advantage of the class already being afraid of Katsuki. 

Izuku was vulnerable again. He was vulnerable and it terrified him. 

“Hey, stop.” Katsuki pulled him to the side. “What’s going on?”

Izuku couldn’t say it. He couldn’t. He kept his eyes down and shook his head. “Can we just find our rooms, please? There’s too many people, and I want out of these…shoes.”

Katsuki pulled back. It took him a second, but he understood what Izuku was saying without it being said. That was their relationship. They might be faking this affection, this relationship, but underneath, they knew each other inside and out. Izuku didn’t have to voice his fears, Katsuki had used them against him often enough to see them plain on his face. 

“Come on.”

A couple students tried to introduce themselves but Katsuki (shockingly politely) waved them off, citing a long car ride. They made their way up to the third floor via the elevator and grabbed the first two rooms that still had keys on the doors and were left unclaimed. They actually managed to get rooms next to each other. Katsuki tossed his bags into the room he claimed and pocketed the keys before following Izuku into his room. Izuku immediately slid down the side of the bed so he could sit on the floor and tuck his face into his knees, utterly ashamed of his own reaction, but unable to calm his thudding heart. 

“Zu, talk to me, what’s going through your head? You know these Extras aren’t like-”

“Like you were?”

Katsuki sighed heavily and plopped down beside him. “Yeah, like that.”

“Sorry. I’m sorry.”

“No, I deserved that. Look- can you- look at me, please?”

Izuku tilted his head, cheek on his knees and teary eyes focused on Katsuki. The blonde frowned. He gently brushed a few stray curls from Izuku’s face and tried to give him a reassuring smile. God, Katsuki looked so beautiful when he smiled. 

“These kids want to be heroes just as much as we do. There’s no way they’re like all those assholes back at Aldera, okay?”

“Kacchan, of course they are. They were raised just like us. This generation has almost no quirkless people, we’re being eradicated."

“You aren’t quirkless anymore, Izuku.”

“But I was born that way! I was until this year. Just because I did manifest a quirk, that doesn’t negate the sixteen years I spent being quirkless and-” Izuku sucked in a breath and Katsuki cut him off. 

“Whoa, stop, take a breath. I wasn’t trying to diminish what you went through. I just meant, if you don’t want them to know, they don’t need to know. We can paint your shoes or I’m sure my folks would get you a new pair, maybe black and green or something.”

Izuku wasn’t ashamed of being quirkless for most of his life, he just didn’t want to be bullied for what he used to be. A part of him was proud of what he endured, and he knew he should be. He survived. Well, he survived until he manifested a quirk by dying. But still, he was here, and in hero school on his own skill and merit, that meant something. 

“No. I don’t want to hide it. I’m just scared they’ll all be cruel.”

Katsuki rolled his eyes. “Let them try. I’ll blast their faces off.”

Izuku ducked under Katsuki’s arms, much to the blonde’s surprise, and hugged him tightly. “Thank you, Kacchan.” Katsuki placed a couple rough, playful kisses atop his braided hair. 

“Anything for my personal dumbass husband.”

“You’re a good wife.”

Katsuki laughed. “Yeah, I know. The fucking best.”

A couple hours later, they both got a ping on their phones at the same time. They’d unloaded Katsuki’s room first, setting it up together. They were almost done with Izuku’s room when a group chat on their new UA school app popped up. It was a message from their teacher, from Eraserhead, asking them to come down to the common area in about twenty minutes for a meet and greet. 

“Do we have to, Kacchan?”

He threw a pillow at Izuku after putting the case on. “Yes. You’re a hero in training now, heroes in training make friends.”

“Ew. I’ve never had friends. Just you and the jerks who bullied me. Do they count as friends? Hideki did eat lunch with us…even if his only contribution to the conversation was how serious we took this bet.”

“No, that doesn’t count. Come on. Put on your big hero pants. Go make friends. I will drag you if I have to.”

Izuku immediately let his body drop with an oversell on the dramatics. “Drag me!”

“Don’t test me, Nerd. I will drag your ass down the fucking stairs, all three floors of them.”

“I don’t want to make friends. They could hate me. You don’t know. I could be the ultimate villain in disguise and not even know it, and one second of being in the room with me, they’ll all know it, and I’ll get arrested, and our new teacher, Eraserhead himself, will throw me in jail and you’ll never see me again.”

“Fucking hell, you’re the most dramatic fucking boyfriend I’ve ever had. You asked for this.” He grabbed Izuku’s wrist and, as he’d done plenty of times in their long-sordid history, Katsuki threw open Izuku’s dorm room door and started dragging his limp body down the hall while Izuku threw a hand over his face. 

“I’m the only boyfriend you’ve ever had! Don’t you care about my needs, Kacchan?”

“And what need am I supposed to care about? The fact that you’re too dramatic to walk your ass downstairs and make friends like a normal fucking teenager?”

“N-” Izuku’s body started thudding down the stairs as Katsuki pulled them both down. He grunted from each hit, glaring up at the blonde who was smirking like a fucking fox above him. “My need…to…be…invisible.” He said between stairs. 

“Your need to be self-sacrificial to the point of becoming invisible so the room won’t be bothered by your presence, you mean?”

Izuku picked his head up the minute they hit the last step. “Don’t psychoanalyze me. I’m not the one in asshole-bully recovery here, you are.”

Katsuki barked a laugh. “Whatever you say, babe. Whatever. You. Say.”

Izuku groaned loudly as Katsuki continued to haul him across the floor towards the common area of the dorms. They were obviously the last to arrive. The room was full of color and life, quirks in all shapes and sizes. Izuku saw all of this upside down, by the way, because he still refused to actually get his ass off the floor, so Katsuki was still dragging him across the carpet. 

“Uhhhhh, is he okay?”  A guy with spiky red hair and shark teeth asked. 

“He’s fine, Shitty Hair, he’s being dramatic because he’s terrified of making friends.”

“Yes, advertise my teenage insecurities to the world. Thanks, Kacchan.”

“Wait, what did you just call him?”

“If you use that name, I’ll blast that lightning bolt out of your hair, Pikachu.” Katsuki pulled Izuku up by his arm (because yes, he was absolutely strong enough to do that, and Izuku was not thinking about how awesome that was) until he was on his stupid feet again. “Big hero pants. Smile. Make friends.”

Their teacher cleared his throat. “Take a seat boys, enough teenage angst. Quit the name calling.”

“Oh, Kacchan does that as a sign of affection.”

“Now who’s advertising insecurities?!”

Izuku made a heart with his hands in front of his chest, grinning like a devil. “You know you love me.”

“Fuck off.” Katsuki shoved his face away and collapsed on a nearby couch with Izuku plopping down right beside him, the blonde’s arm already thrown over his shoulder as soon as he sat down. 

“Well, if we can get back on track now?” Eraserhead grumbled. The whole class nodded or gave their energetic agreement. Most of them were still staring at Izuku and Katsuki though. “Alright. Welcome to UA. From this moment on, you are both under my care, and beneath my boot. You are here to become heroes, not practice at adulting like all those other kids in regular high school. I’m not here to teach you to balance a checkbook…you will probably learn that in math class. I do not teach math class. Please ask Ectoplasm if you have checkbook questions." He paused. “Any questions so far?”

Izuku leaned over. “You didn’t tell me Gramps teaches math.”

“What did you think he taught?”

“I don’t know, Science?”

Katsuki snorted. “He seems like a science guy to you?”

“Well no, but-”

Eraserhead cleared his throat again, this time louder, and more insistent. “The two of you have the best shot at making Problem Child number one, and Problem Child number two. Can I continue?”

“Sorry, Sensei.” Izuku muttered. Katsuki just tutted his tongue and looked away. Of course, leave Izuku to the doom all to himself. 

“As I was saying. Your time here will be harsh, you will bleed, and you might break some bones. I make no promises to keep that to a minimum. My rules are simple; you are a class, you are a team, act like it. You work together, you train together, you live and eat together. If you have a problem, any problem, you come to me or another teacher. Other than that, refer to your student handbooks for school rules - as Nedzu would say, not knowing the rules will not exempt you from them. Behave, work hard, and you might not get expelled. That’s all.” The older hero waved a hand. “Mingle or get to know each other, or whatever teenagers do.” He then pointed directly at Izuku and Katsuki. “And cool it on the PDA. Alright, go beyond or whatev-”

“Plus ultra!” almost the whole room joined in finishing the school motto. Their teacher winced at the noise. He left without saying anything else. 

A student with long purple hair meandered over and sat himself down on the coffee table in front of Izuku. Katsuki didn’t seem to like him, or maybe he just didn’t like the resting bitch face this guy had on. 

“I saw you two, in the entrance exams. A well oiled machine.” The class had started chatting around them. Izuku leaned into Katsuki a little bit. The guy just gave an awkward grin. “How long have you been together, huh? Seems like a lifetime.”

Izuku shrugged. “Uhm…like five months, I guess. But we grew up together, so we’ve been best friends since birth, basically.”

“And who are you, anyway, Eye Bags?” Katsuki asked. 

“I’m cool enough for a nickname? Awesome.” Sarcasm laced his voice, but he held out a hand. “Hitoshi Shinso.” 

Izuku stared at the offered hand. Katsuki took it, offering a firm shake.

“The Nerd is particular about touch, don’t take it personally.”

“No worries.”

Weirdly, Izuku didn’t actually know what Katsuki meant right away. Izuku wasn’t particular about touch. Katsuki touched him all the time. Katsuki’s parents did, too. So did- …oh. No, that was it. No one else touched Izuku, and if they did - he could only think of those hands causing him pain. His mother rarely offered him any pleasantries other than throw hands and shouted words, until recently, anyway. Their classmates were either freaked out by his ‘weird genes’ as a result of his late manifesting quirk, or they just shoved him or picked on him - before the bet, that is. 

Izuku had become so accustomed to unpleasant touch that he didn’t expect hands to be kind to him when they were offered. He expected, from almost everyone, to be met with pain and violence. So yeah, Katsuki was right, Izuku was particular about touch. 

He could still try to be polite, though, right?

“I’m Izuku Midoriya, and this is Katsuki Bakugo.” 

“Pleasure. I uhh- I agree with what you said earlier, when he was dragging you in, about not wanting to make friends. I’m just here to be a hero, making friends is a side quest I don’t plan on completing.”

“Oh, buddy, you just made the worst mistake of your life.” Katsuki chuckled. 

“Huh?”

“Wait, you took that seriously?” Izuku asked. “I mean, I was serious, but not…like- uhh…not like that. I’m not used to people wanting to be my friend. Anyway, I’ll totally be your friend if you don’t want friends. That makes friendship way easier.”

“How did you…how did you get instant friendship from any of what I just said?”

Katsuki was still chuckling in the background, trying to hide his face from the both of them behind Izuku’s head. Izuku was now leaning forward on the couch, ready and willing to be an active part in this conversation now. 

“You were honest.” Shinso stared at him. “I’m pretty used to people lying to me, or faking that they want to be friends. But if you don’t want to be, and you’re up front about it - I know you’re not trying to fake me out.”

“Your boyfriend’s kind of screwed up in the head, ain’t he?”

Katsuki nodded. “A bit, yeah.” He kissed the top of Izuku’s head. “But you certainly won’t escape him if he wants to make friends with you.”

“Kacchan - you make me sound insufferable.”

“You are insufferable, just in a good way.”

“Because that makes any sense at all.” Izuku grumbled. 

The whole class had been, as their teacher put it, mingling with each other. Slowly, they were all introduced to each other. Izuku got to know the names of every student he’d be working with going forward. Every student introduced themselves along with their quirk, well, everyone but Shinso. He never did tell anyone his quirk, which, to be fair, he didn’t have to. Izuku told his classmates he had a healing quirk, no details. 

It was better they didn’t know, and better they couldn’t guess what kind of situation Izuku had to go through in order to manifest it. 

Izuku was glad there seemed to be a variety of physical and non-physical quirks. They even had a classmate who could call on animals, and one that could create anything she knew the makeup of. They were all very utilitarian. Izuku’s quirk seemed to be the least physical of them all, not accounting for Shinso’s unknown power, that is. Still, he was glad the class wasn’t made up of just powerful physical quirks like Explosion. He might love how strong Katsuki was with his quirk, but the world needed more than just one type of hero. 

Iida, a guy with glasses and engines on his legs, volunteered to make them all lunch while they discussed their new class arrangement. Katsuki got annoyed that he wasn’t making the rice the right way (meaning the only way Katsuki makes rice, which is the way his father taught him, because no other way was acceptable), and joined him in the kitchen to bark orders and control how their meal was prepared. Izuku got a kick out of it, the rest of the class seemed to understand, pretty easily, that Katsuki’s brash attitude was just a facade of some kind. So they were laughing right along with Izuku.

Honestly, it was a pretty damn good first day at school, all in all. He was still afraid that maybe his classmates would see him differently if they knew about his past, before his quirk manifested. But for right now, he’d enjoy the simple pleasure of getting to know the people he planned to become heroes with. 

Izuku was exhausted by the time they all began filtering out of the common room after dinner. They’d spent the entire afternoon going through their school handbooks, electing class representatives, and even organizing study groups based on what subjects they all excelled in. Izuku was confident they were starting the school year off right, but now he wanted nothing more than to collapse in bed and relax for a little while. 

Katsuki threw an arm over his shoulder as they left. He pretended to kiss Izuku’s temple while whispering. “My room.” Izuku nodded covertly. They’d read the handbook, so they knew students weren’t supposed to fraternize or be in each other’s rooms after curfew. Thankfully, there was still a few hours before that, so they could hang out for a bit, even if Katsuki was an early sleeper most nights. 

“Get some rest, yeah? I want to do weight training with you at your best, Baku-bro.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, Shitty Hair. After class tomorrow.”

“Deal!”

They waited for Kirishima to head into his room down the hall before they both snuck into Katsuki’s room and the blonde flipped the lock behind them. Izuku ran his hands over Katsuki’s desk. He had a few pictures in frames. His parents, Izuku and Katsuki as kids on the beach with their parents in the background. The last one, Izuku had never seen before. Or rather, he hadn’t realized someone had taken his picture. 

“This is from Venice.” 

Katsuki snuck up behind him, startling Izuku nearly out of his skin. Katsuki had to grab the picture frame to keep it from falling.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you. Yes, it is.”

“But- when did you-?”

Katsuki set the photo back down and hugged Izuku from behind. The shorter teen sighed into the embrace, happy for the warmth and comfort after a long, exhausting day. The photo was of Izuku. He was standing in the center of a cathedral at sunrise, before the crowds of tourists had come in. The picture showed him smiling up at the ornate ceiling, not a care in the world, and a happiness in his eyes Izuku didn’t think he’d seen in the mirror in years. 

“You just looked….you looked like yourself. I couldn’t resist.” A beat. “Is that okay? I mean, it’s normal for boyfriends to have pictures of each other on their desks, right?”

“Y-yeah, of course.” 

But if it was fake, why would Katsuki bother? They weren’t actually dating. So it might be normal for real boyfriends, but was it normal for them? Did it mean something?

“Get out of your head, Nerd.”

“What?”

“You’re stuck in your head, over-thinking something that doesn’t need to be analyzed. It’s just a photo.”

But it wasn’t just a photo. Katsuki was not a sentimental fool, he’d never been one. He kept very few pictures, even in his phone. He didn’t keep anything more than books, manga, and a very small collection of hero merch, and even those weren’t pieces he was desperately attached to. Hell, Izuku knew that even if Katsuki won this stupid bet, he likely wouldn’t even keep the prize. He’d probably give it to Izuku, anyway. 

“It’s not just-”

Katsuki’s hand slipped around Izuku’s face, pulling it to the side so their lips met before Izuku could finish speaking. Izuku’s eyes fluttered closed. There it was again, the kind of kiss one gave to someone they loved, someone they were actually dating. This wasn’t made up for an audience, it was real, it was private, and it was theirs alone. 

Izuku wanted to pull away so badly. He wanted to refuse whatever trick this was, because he knew if he gave into it, if he allowed it to happen, he’d be exposing himself to even more pain. But no matter how bad he wanted it, Izuku couldn’t get his body to cooperate with his thoughts. 

Katsuki grabbed his hips. He picked Izuku up by the belt loops and tossed him onto his freshly organized (and mostly empty) desk. Izuku tucked his legs around Katsuki’s waist. Their kiss didn’t break. They were gasping into each other, breathing air Izuku was sure would suffocate him if it were anyone else. 

“Kacchan.” Izuku rasped between breaths, lips never fully parting. 

“Mmmm, I’m right here.”

Izuku slipped his hand up into blonde spikes, held on tight when Katsuki’s lips started moving down his chin and over his neck. Shit - was this real? Was Izuku actually being held, touched, loved? Is that what this was? No, no it couldn’t be. They weren’t like this. This wasn’t real. He pulled Katsuki’s head back enough to make him stop, panic on his features. 

“Sorry, do you want me to stop?”

“No.” He really fucking didn’t. Izuku shook his head. “Why? It’s- this is- It’s a bet. It’s just a game of chicken - who can last the longest…. It’s all a lie, Kacchan. That’s all we are to each other.”

For a split second, Katsuki almost looked like he might break apart, like the skies had opened and he was ready to throw himself into a volcano to sacrifice his own body for something Izuku couldn’t name. But it was gone before Izuku could even finish finding the emotion. That cold, false love had settled into place over it. He lifted himself back up, so he was nearly looming over Izuku on the desk. He cupped Izuku’s face and offered the most honest smile Izuku had ever seen, one that begged Izuku to believe him. 

“I love the way you lie.”

Izuku didn’t believe him. Izuku didn’t believe him for one fucking second. 

But fuck it. They could lie to each other as long as they wanted. “Kiss me.”

Katsuki attacked. A full body shove pushed Izuku against the shelves. The bruises healed in seconds. Teeth nipped their way down Izuku’s neck as a hand worked under his shirt to pull it up while Katsuki made his way down. Izuku heaved air into his lungs, all at once confused, excited, and frightened by how easily his body gave into the affection overwhelming him. 

But his conflicting emotions were mostly thrown out the window when Katsuki picked him up and tossed Izuku on the bed. The blonde shucked his own shirt while Izuku sat up on his elbows to watch. Once again, Izuku was given a view of Katsuki’s bare chest, and he was (once again) entirely satisfied with what he found. 

“You know, even though it’s a bet, you’re terrible at hiding the fact that you like the view.”

Izuku looked away, well aware he was already blushing. Katsuki climbed back into the bed, immediately pulling Izuku’s face up so they were eye to eye. 

“You can look, Izuku. I don’t care if it’s a lie.”

“But how is that fair to either of us?” 

He shouldn’t have said it. Izuku knew better. He wanted this. Because even if it was a lie, Izuku was getting one small thing for himself, something he could cherish when the bet finally did end and they both went their separate ways. He could look back at this and remember one sweet moment where they held each other intimately. 

Katsuki leaned back, putting space between them as he settled beside Izuku on the bed. Izuku pulled himself up against the wall, still slouched on the bed but not quite as vulnerable as when he was laying down. 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to kill the mood.”

“Yes, you did.” Katsuki sighed. “But maybe you’re right. It’s not really fair to either of us to use each other like this.”

“Don’t…misunderstand me, Kacchan. I enjoy it. Like…you’re a good kisser, you know?”

He smirked. “I’m the best at everything, Dumbass.”

“Mhm. So it’s not a matter of not enjoying it. I do enjoy it. It’s just that-” Izuku tried to find the words. His mouth opened and closed a few times before he found them. “I don’t want to look back at this and think about how we hurt each other by faking this kind of intimacy.”

That was a bold face fucking lie, and he knew it. Katsuki probably knew it, too. Izuku knew the pain was coming. He’d known it from the moment he accepted the damn bet that hurt would eventually come. Izuku wanted to have this one thing for himself. God, he wanted it. But the second he said those damn words, he realized he couldn’t bear it if he hurt someone else. What if Katsuki looked back at this and regretted it? What if pushing himself too far for a bet made him feel violated in a way Izuku couldn’t take back? 

“You can’t hurt me, Izuku.”

“What?”

“You can’t possibly hurt me. I have done…unimaginable damage to you, and several other people at Aldera. Nothing could hurt me like that. I deserve it. Fuck, I deserve it. But I know you’d never hurt me, no matter how much I deserve it.”

“You don’t know that. What if you wake up tomorrow and find all of this disgusting. I mean, we’re best friends. It’s not like we’re in love.” Fuck, the way his chest ached saying that aloud, lying like that out loud. It hurt, it burned the back of his throat, but he wouldn’t believe for even a second that Katsuki could love him, so he wasn’t going to force the blonde to try, or to fake it to this degree. 

Katsuki’s tongue rolled around his mouth. He turned away, but Izuku swore he saw tears in his eyes. He wiped his hand over his mouth and nose before Izuku could catch any emotions. 

“Right. How fucking stupid of me. I know what I did. I know I’m a monster. I’m…”

Unlovable? Is that what he meant? Izuku tried to catch the blonde’s arm but he pulled away and stood up. Hands on the desk a second later, Katsuki glared at it, his jaw set and his body taught. He was angry, but not at Izuku. He was angry with himself. 

“Kaccha-”

“Leave.”

“Kacchan, please. Talk to me. Why would you think you’re-”

He snapped around. “I’m what, Izuku? Unworthy? Unlovable? I am. I can’t even look at you like this and not see the violence I’ve caused. Because this was never really about love, was it? It was never about friendship or brotherhood. It’s always been about guilt and grief, and fucking violence.”

“That’s not true!” Izuku stood up, too, defiant. 

“Of course it is! Do you really not think I don’t know why you accepted this bet? Do you think I’m stupid?”

They were trying to shout softly, shouting in near whispers to avoid being heard outside the room. Izuku’s chest kept clenching each time he had to lie to one person he wished he could tell the truth to, but he just. kept. lying.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

The blonde scoffed. “Yeah, okay. Because we don’t both know that you accepted this bet because the bullying stopped, and the violence ended, and the cruelty vanished overnight. You benefit the most from this arrangement, and that’s okay. I was okay with that, because you deserved better, and I deserved to serve some kind of penance, even if it meant I was playing a game for the rest of my life, betting on my own failure because you always deserved to win.”

“Then why are we still doing this, Kacchan? Playing my boyfriend isn’t penance, it’s torture, and there’s a difference. You don’t love me, I’m smart enough to know better, so you’re just torturing yourself kissing me and holding me, and how long will this go on? How much of ourselves will we give each other?”

Katsuki threw his hands up. “I don’t know, Izuku. It seems everyone in your life already took all your firsts. Your first beating, your first broken bones, your first concussion. Maybe I thought you deserved to have a few good firsts before we finally agreed this lie was over.”

Izuku wiped a stray tear from his face, desperately trying to retain his composure so he could make it ten feet into his own room for the night. Why? Why did they keep hurting each other? They could never agree on just how far this stupid game would go. Every single time they tried to push it further, they both pushed back, knowing the other couldn’t possibly want more because neither of them wanted it, and neither of them deserved it. 

Izuku was too broken and Katsuki was too guilty. 

“I don’t regret the firsts I gave you.” Katsuki had turned back to the table. He didn’t respond when Izuku spoke. His hands were gripping the edge of the desk like he wanted to break the corners right off. “I don’t regret any of this.”

The conversation was over. Nothing Izuku could say now would erase what they’d already said. Still, he hoped that maybe if Katsuki knew Izuku didn’t regret any of it, he could live with himself - maybe they could both live with themselves that way. 

Izuku locked his own door and slid down the back into the corner of his room. Why did he have to keep hurting himself like this? If he told Katsuki how he truly felt…that’d just make things worse, wouldn’t it? Of course it would. If he revealed his actual emotions (the ones he still wouldn’t fully admit to himself), Katsuki would realize Izuku was taking more advantage than assumed. Sure, it was great that the bullying ended, and that was the obvious reason for going along with the bet, Izuku benefitted that way. But to say that he truly had feelings for Katsuki…he was using the blonde, wasn’t he? Izuku was using him. 

The worst part in all this?

Tomorrow, they’d wake up, and they’d go right back to playing this stupid game. What else were they supposed to do? There was still a bet, a prize, or so they assumed. So they’d hold hands and kiss and support each other, even if they couldn’t stand to be in each other’s presence after a fight like that. 

~

Monday morning became a slog, at least for Izuku. He woke up crunched against the door, his body a knot of muscles he’d forgotten he had. His eyes were nearly swollen shut from how sore and red they were after hours of crying himself to sleep. Somehow, he uncrunched himself and got to his feet with a frustrated and pained groan. 

Was this bet really worth all the heartache he was putting himself through? Katsuki wanted penance for all he did to Izuku, and Izuku just wanted the violence of his former bully facing outwards instead of inwards. Did that justify all this aggravation? Was this not also torture for them both? 

A loud knock at the door behind him startled Izuku hard enough to knock him back to the ground. Katsuki’s voice came from behind it.

“I’m heading down to make breakfast. You want the usual?”

“Y-yeah, that’s fine, Kacchan. Thank you.”

“...you good?”

“I’m good, just shitty sleep. I’ll be down in a bit.”

“Okay.”

Izuku waited for his steps to recede down the hall before getting back to his feet once again. This was supposed to be his first day of hero school. Well, it was, but it was supposed to be a good first day. Maybe if he just pushed all of last night to the back of his mind, he could face this day as easily as Katsuki seemed to be doing. Izuku wasn’t as strong as his best friend, he never had been, and he wondered if he ever could be. 

When he finally got his shit together after a quick shower and change of clothes, Izuku finally emerged from his dorm room to head down for something to eat that might calm the nausea eating at his stomach. Shinso leaned on the wall with a hard thud of his shoulder. Izuku twitched, entirely off his game today. 

“You look like shit.”

“I’m aware, thank you. I thought I’d give the whole eye bags thing a go. It looks so good on you, Shinso.”

The taller teen laughed. “Fashion choices. Sadly, it doesn’t look good on you.” He gestured to Izuku’s face. “You’re much more suited to those thousand-watt smiles or whatever.”

“I’m fine, really.”

“Oh, you’re a good liar. I almost believed you. But uhh - I happen to share the other wall of Bakugo’s room so…I heard some.”

“Some?”

Shinso shrugged. “If my theory is right, he tried to get handsy, you weren’t ready for that, it led to an argument… I’m assuming it has something to do with the ‘asshole-bully recovery’ that you mentioned when he was dragging you into the common room yesterday. He did call you ‘particular’ about touch so…I guessed from what I could hear.”

“It’s not like that. He’s not abusive or whatever. He just-” And really, what could Izuku say? Oh, he’s not like that anymore? He used to be my primary bully and the rest of our class were the same, if not worse, than him? So what would make sense? The truth, maybe. Shinso was giving him an eyebrows up expectant look, waiting. “Can you keep a secret?”

“I didn’t realize we were such good friends yet. Sure. I love secrets.”

“I was quirkless…for the first fifteen years of my life. I manifested one this year.”

“Whoa.” He leaned his whole back on the wall and stared up at the ceiling for a while. He nodded a few times to himself and sighed. “I think I get it now. You were bullied, everyone hated you, and now that you have a quirk… they had to relearn how to act and you somehow ended up with this asshole who still needs to work on it, right? He took a step backwards last night?”

That wasn’t exactly right, but it was close enough that Izuku could let it slide. “Yeah, pretty much. You sound like you’re speaking from experience, though. You have a non-physical quirk, don’t you? Or something your peers didn’t like.”

He nodded. “Brainwashing. If you answer my questions, I can take over your mind. Guess we come from similar backgrounds, eh?”

“Yeah. We do.”

“Alright, enough moping. Let’s face the day and be heroes, or whatever.”

Izuku chuckled. “Okay.”

Katsuki wrapped an arm around Izuku’s waist when he wandered into the kitchen. He’d made Izuku a protein and veggie smoothie, which was actually one of his favorite things to have in the morning. The blonde made himself his usual granola, yogurt, and protein bowl with a bunch of added treats that totally diminished the nutritional value of the meal. This was Katsuki’s only splurge when it came to his hero training routine, and he only added chocolate and treats once in a while. Their first day of school seemed like a fair day to have it. 

Most of the class were already getting their bags together or finishing up whatever they’d made for breakfast. A few were already heading out the door towards the school building across the courtyard. Izuku and Shinso were the last to arrive. 

“Don’t rush, we’ve got time.”

“Thanks, Kacchan.”

Izuku was not an early riser, but given how poorly he slept, he wasn’t surprised he’d ended up waking early. He’d have to start setting an alarm. That, or Katsuki would just barge into his room every morning when he inevitably failed to get up. 

Shinso waved with a breakfast bar in hand. “You love birds don’t be late now.”

“Shut up, EyeBags.”

“Don’t bite my head off, Blasty.”

“The fuck did you just call me?!”

Shinso laughed. “Oh come on. You said your quirk is Explosion, and you literally drug your boyfriend into the room yesterday. Yeah, you’re a walking firework.”

“Kacchan, he has a point. Plus, you give everyone nicknames, why shouldn’t they make one for you?”

“Whatever.” He angrily stuffed a spoonful of granola into his mouth. 

Shinso winked at Izuku as he left. Thankfully, Katsuki wasn’t looking. Was he trying to help Izuku somehow? Or maybe he was trying to prove to Izuku that Katsuki wasn’t as reformed as Izuku had claimed earlier. But he didn’t know the full scope of this relationship. Sure, Katsuki had a long way to go in terms of his anger management, but the complexities to what Izuku and Katsuki felt for each other were still unknown by the people around them. 

For now, Izuku would just assume that Shinso was trying to be the good guy and help him out in some way. 

Izuku’s phone dinged in his pocket. “Hmm?” Izuku checked it. “Oh, Kacchan, there’s a message in the class chat - Eraserhead wants us to meet him on training ground Delta.”

“Weird. Don’t we have orientation today?”

“Yeah, I thought so, too. Maybe it’s different for the hero course?”

Katsuki shrugged. “I guess it’s good they have a universal locker system, we can grab our gym uniforms on the way over.”

“Good idea.”

Izuku practically chugged down his smoothie so they could get going. Katsuki grabbed both their bags from the wall cubbies by the door, throwing Izuku’s shoes at him while shoving his own onto his feet as they were both halfway out the door. So much for early, they now needed to change into gym gear before phys-ed. 

They ran into Shinso on the way, who seemed less than surprised by their teacher’s change of plans. Honestly, if Izuku was a betting type of guy, he would have immediately guessed that Shinso and their new teacher were related. They had the same tired eyes and grumpy attitude, but they had different last names….maybe Shinso was adopted. Yeah, that had to be it, right?

Izuku tried his best not to stare at Katsuki while they were changing into their gym gear. He tried, really. (Or maybe he was just telling himself that to pretend he wasn’t still thinking about the way Katsuki kissed his neck last night). Katsuki kept glancing at him, too. If they both knew the other was looking, neither of them were making any effort to avoid the looks. 

“Hey, Midoriya?”

“Huh? What’s up, Kirishima?”

“What happened? Your back, dude, it’s…how rough was your early training?”

Izuku’s body froze up, his back still facing the rest of the locker room. Katsuki was five feet to his left, jaw as tight as stone, hands nearly smoking. Most of his scars came from Katsuki himself, so yeah, they were both locked up and horrified at the idea they might have to explain them on such short notice. Izuku swallowed back his fears and sighed out his stress. 

“Uhm, my- my mom wasn’t…the best parent…” But nothing else came out. He wasn’t lying, but he couldn’t get the whole truth out, so he made do with that. His mother had put scars on his body, several on his back and stomach so no one else would see them, but it was the blonde beside him that Izuku was trying to save, once more sacrificing himself. 

“Hey, sorry, I didn’t mean to- I thought it was just your hero routine.”

“It’s fine, Kiri.” Izuku tried to force a smile through the tears dribbling down his face. He was pretty sure it worked. “It’s not a big secret or whatever. She’s better now.”

“Yeah, after I blew a hole in the wall two inches from her fucking head.”

“Kacchan…”

“Bakugo! Heroes don’t threaten people, especially women.”

“Shut up, Engines - the bitch tried to strangle him in front of me, would you have let her off the hook?” Izuku grabbed Katsuki’s wrist to try and shut him up. “Fuck- I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to dredge that up.”

“Just stop. Please.” Izuku leaned around him to the rest of the guys in class. “I’m fine now. I’m safe. I did have some rough training, but most of the scars are from other kinds of wounds. I don’t particularly want to talk about it.”

“I apologize, Midoriya, Bakugo.”

“It’s forgiven, Iida. You, too, Kiri.” They both nodded to Izuku.

He caught a hard look from Shinso across the room as he turned back to the lockers but tried not to analyze it right now. Katsuki had gone silent. He was glaring at his locker while strapping his boots on so roughly, one of the laces snapped off in his hand. Izuku sat down on the bench beside him and gently placed a hand on his boyfriend’s arm. The blonde finally let out a held breath, his hands relaxing. After he controlled himself, he cupped Izuku’s face and kissed the shorter teen’s forehead, his thumbs brushing tears from Izuku’s face in the process. 

“I’m sorry, Izuku.” Katsuki breathed the words out quietly. 

It wasn’t just an apology for revealing some of Izuku’s recent past. I wasn’t just an apology for losing his temper. It was still an apology for everything. Izuku worried that every single apology Katsuki ever gave for the rest of his life might just be an apology for every single wrong he’d ever done. 

“I accept your apology.” Izuku whispered back. He still couldn’t forgive Katsuki, but one day, he might. 

“Let’s get out there and give our best!” Iida shouted over the dull roar of guy chatter in the locker room. They were all ready anyway. So several of them shouted back ‘plus ultra!’ or ‘yes, class prez’. Katsuki made a grumbling noise and Izuku laughed while tying off the burnt shoelace that Katsuki had created so they could get going. 

“Welcome to the first week of hero training, brats. Today is day one, and I want to see what you can do. Hero Studies doesn’t get the usual boring orientation, so don’t get comfortable.” He tossed a clipboard onto a nearby bench and gestured to the mock cityscape that looked identical to the one they faced at the entrance exam. “I know you all know me as Eraserhead. My name is Shouta Aizawa. You can call me by hero name, or Aizawa-Sensei. Today, you will be proving your ingenuity and teamwork to me.”

Oh great, day one and they were already getting challenged to show off actual hero skills. Izuku leaned against Katsuki, hands around his waist with the blonde’s arms over his shoulder. The whole class seemed to pretty easily accept them as a packaged deal, even with their crazy antics and introductions. 

“Hidden in the training ground are 4 markers, colored flags. You will be divided into five teams of four. Work together with your team, work fast, and maybe you’ll get one of the flags. Passive quirk use for mobility and advantage is approved. The last team that doesn’t get a flag - gets expelled.”

“What?” “That’s not fair.” “How can you do that, Sensei?” 

The whole class was in an uproar immediately. Izuku didn’t instantly panic. The way Aizawa said their assignment made him consider the words before freaking out. There was something odd about it. 

“What’s your genius brain telling you, Zu?”

“Hmm?” Izuku looked up to Katsuki. “Oh…it’s just weird. Last night he said we were a team, the whole class. Now he’s splitting us up? That just seems weird. I don’t buy it.”

“Good point. That is weird.”

But their teacher called the class back to attention before they could discuss it more. 

“Alright! Alright. Enough. Do the assignment or don’t, if you sit out, you’re also expelled. So -” He grabbed the clipboard he’d tossed aside earlier. “Here are the teams. You will have five minutes to make a plan. When the buzzer sounds, you’ll have forty-five minutes to locate a flag and get back here.”

The teams their teacher built were entirely non-traditional, and honestly, made zero sense. It took Izuku less than thirty seconds to assess which quirks would work well with each other, and that was just from the short introductions they’d given each other yesterday. Aizawa had their full records, he knew everything about them, he should know how to effectively team them up. 

So when he split Izuku and Katsuki, they were both giving their teacher weird looks. He’d seen them work together in the entrance exams, hadn’t he? All the UA teachers watched, supposedly. So why would he break up a team that had professional level teamwork - if the goal was teamwork? Unless, of course, the goal wasn’t teamwork, it was something else. Izuku just hadn’t put his finger on it yet. 

Izuku ended up on a team with Shinso, Koda, and Tokoyami. Three of them had non-physical quirks (Healing, Brainwashing, and Animals), and Tokoyami explained that his power, Dark Shadow, worked best at night. At this early stage, literally day one, it would be difficult for them to find any team synergy. Izuku could probably figure something out, if he had enough time. But even their mobility skills were varied. Shinso was using a capture scarf like Aizawa (which was proof #2 of their obvious relation). Koda and Tokoyami were both ground fighters, and Izuku was accustomed to being tossed around by a guy who could actually fly. 

“So what’s the plan?” Shinso asked.

Izuku sighed. “I’m not sure. He’s intentionally sabotaging any chance of team synergy, which isn’t even that hard considering we’ve all just met and know little more than names and basic quirk functions for each other. Kacchan and I have been training together since we were toddlers. I know he saw us in the entrance exams, which means he knows we already have team synergy.”

“But wouldn’t he want to try and mix us up so we get practice with new quirks?”

Izuku shook his head at their resident avian. “Not on day one. Sure, a year of training under our belt, we’re comfortable, we’ve made friends, we think we’re unbeatable - throw us all under the bus. That makes sense. But day one, giving everyone teams that don’t mesh at all when we’ve had zero chances to try and find a way for our quirks to work? There’s a reason.”

“Well, I’d love if you could figure that out before-”

The buzzer cut Shinso off. A few groups dashed for the training ground entrance. Katsuki gave Izuku one last, withering look before he took off after the team he’d been assigned to. Izuku’s team was the last to head in. Izuku was still uneasy about this whole situation. 

They were relatively grounded due to the limitations of their team members, so Izuku led them as best he could from the street while Shinso swung from the light poles as their recon. Four flags. If Izuku was a betting man, he’d guess they were placed either in the four corners of the training ground, or they were in some kind of square or diamond pattern within the grounds. He also assumed they’d likely be high up, not necessarily on the roofs, but not on the ground. Once they were headed towards a corner, Izuku located a fire escape and led them up to the roofs. Thankfully, his team was athletic, which was kind of a requirement for hero work. They weren’t graceful, but they could land jumps safely over the rooftops. 

Shinso shouted from across the roof: “Midoriya - duck!”

Izuku didn’t let himself think. He hit the deck right as a blast of ice formed an arc over where he’d been standing. Todoroki spun into view, his ice side steaming from the temperature difference and a fog of cold coming from his mouth. Mina and Shoji came running over the ice bridge as the class ice user darted to the last building in the corner and snatched a bright blue flag from the corner of the building. 

“Fuck.” Izuku was not about to let someone take his place in this class, or risk getting expelled on day fucking one. He bolted after Todoroki. “Give that back!”

The icy teen barely turned his head, a black look on his face. “It wasn’t in your hand.”

“We got here first.”

He didn’t respond. Izuku dodged the multi-armed student and rolled to the side when Mina tried to trip him up with a puddle of acid (which he prayed wasn’t acidic enough to actually hurt him). Todoroki had already turned back to the entrance, the other teams all skirmishing around the rest of the training ground. Izuku heard Katsuki’s explosions nearby, but he was focused, chasing down his target with both their teams behind them. Izuku stretched out his arm, just barely grazing over the back of Todoroki’s gym shirt. It took several tries, but he caught up, grabbed on, and yanked hard to pull him backwards. 

Pain radiated up through Izuku’s arm as they both went tumbling over the roof. Izuku’s body hurtled towards the edge and fear shocked through his system, memories of that night he hurtled down a much taller building came to the forefront of his mind. Someone screamed. Someone called his name, and Todoroki’s name, and then explosions. All Izuku could hear were explosions. He blinked, bleary eyes staring at the ground twenty feet below him. His right hand barely had a hold on the roof edge, his left one limp and bleeding at his side. Where was Todoroki? What the hell happened? His arms were aching, but trying to heal at the same time. 

Just as his fingers gave out, the loudest explosion sounded from a few feet away, then he was flying, Katsuki having grabbed him in one arm and using the other to carefully get them back to the ground. 

“What the fuck just happened?!”

“I don’t…fuck I don’t know. Everything hurts.” 

Izuku stumbled out of Katsuki’s grip so he could actually take stock of his situation and what was going on. The class had started showing up, exhausted or breathless from running, and already asking what happened. 

Izuku looked down at his bleeding arm, confused by the shock of pain and…cold? Oh, there was an icicle sticking out of his upper arm. Todoroki appeared from around a corner, his eyes wide, terrified. He bolted forward but Katsuki threw himself between them. 

“If you fucking touch him-”

“I’m not.” Hands up, the ice user stopped. “I’m sorry. I didn’t…I didn’t mean to.” He was in rough shape, too. Hands and shins cut up and scratched from their tumble across the roof, his shirt scrunched and torn at the neck from where Izuku grabbed him. “He got me from behind. I- I didn’t mean to.”

“Kacchan, stop. It’s fine, Todoroki. I’m sorry I startled you.” He tugged his boyfriend’s sleeve so the blonde would turn around. “Hold my arm out.”

“Absolutely not.” Iida protested. “You need the school nurse!”

“What I need is to get this damn icicle out of my arm so it can heal. Hold it, Kacchan.”

He did what Izuku asked. Katsuki braced one arm on Izuku’s waist, the other holding out his left wrist. Izuku grabbed the tip of the icicle and snapped off the pointed end to flatten it. Bracing the heel of his hand against the flat butt, Izuku shoved it through his arm rather than pulling it back out. The icicle was actually thinner on the back end, which likely meant it entered from behind. Izuku was lucky it didn’t hit anything major - though he could probably still heal it, anyway. 

“Aw-dude, you really should wait for the nurse.”

“Shut up, Shitty Hair - the Nerd has a healing quirk, he just can’t heal around the icicle. Besides, he’s got a better pain tolerance than most pro-heroes.”

“Okay, but isn’t this still risky even with a healing quirk?” Momo asked. 

Izuku grunted. The icicle finally clattered to the ground and broke into a few bloody pieces. “Oh, ugh, that’s so much better.” The hole in his arm started closing instantly, though it’d probably take a little while to fully heal. 

“Yes, it’s incredibly risky.” Aizawa appeared with a few other teachers behind him. “I don’t remember authorizing offensive use of quirks, Todoroki.”

The dual-toned teen’s head dropped. “It wasn’t intentional, Sensei.”

“I’m fine. I grabbed him from behind, he just reacted. It’s my fault.”

“That doesn’t excuse that he caused you bodily harm, healing quirk or not. Todoroki, you’ll have detention for a few days, and I’ll be doing some reactive training with you in order to sort out this reactionary quirk use.”

“Yes, Sensei.”

“Class is over. Bakugo - take Midoriya to the nurse.” He held up a hand to stop the arguments. “Again, healing quirk or not. You were still injured. Go.”

Izuku held up a hand to stop Katsuki. “Wait - what about the test?” Their teacher looked back at him with a confused expression. “The group without the flag gets expelled. What about that? Which team lost?”

They all looked around to find the flags. Izuku realized he actually had the one he’d stolen back from Todoroki in their scuffle tucked into his own pocket; blue. Ojiro held out a red one. Kirishima had a green one. Iida was holding an orange one. Four. That was four. So who had- Katsuki pulled out a black flag from his pocket. Five. There were five flags the whole time?

Aizawa chuckled, drawing them all away from the flags. “It was never about working against each other. But it seems Midoriya is the only one who saw through that ruse. This was a test, but not the test you all imagined. I told you yesterday - you’re a class, a team. Let this be a lesson - do not believe everything you are told, and stand up for each other. You’re a team now, and I expect you all to work far better than this in the future. No one’s expelled. You’re released for personal training and study for the rest of the day. I’ve sent you all an email with the required reading for tomorrow’s class. Again, Bakugo - take Midoriya to the nurse.”

Shinso came over as the class started walking out after their teacher. “You okay? I know you have a healing quirk but that has to sting.”

“I’m fine. Can you toss our stuff into the universal lockers so we can grab it on our way back?”

“Yeah, of course.”

“Thanks.”

The class split. Most of the students went back to the locker rooms while Izuku and Katsuki headed towards the main building and the infirmary. Todoroki apologized again on his way into the locker room. Izuku assured him everything was good between them. If anything, Izuku understood his reaction. Being grabbed from behind wasn’t exactly fair play. Izuku knew better, he was just….well, angry, or annoyed. He thought he’d been cornered into a game of win or lose and Todoroki had been carrying the winning ticket. 

He’d fallen for the stupid trick, thereby losing the damn game.

Their visit with Recovery Girl was quick and honestly pointless. Izuku had a healing quirk, and by the time they got there, his arm was almost healed. She cleaned out the wound and put a bandage around it just so it would heal clean, but that was really all he needed. So she shoo’d them out pretty quickly. Izuku didn’t mind, he actually hated being anywhere near a doctor or nurse. They’d never done him any good, and often made things worse for quirkless people. 

Izuku bumped his good shoulder against Katsuki as they left the building. “Can we talk?”

“What, like talk talk, or just chat while we’re on our way to the gym for a workout?”

Izuku sighed. “Like actually talk.” 

He gestured to a nearby bench in the back courtyard so they could take a few minutes to themselves. Katsuki joined him, though he seemed hesitant at first. Hands in his pockets and eyes on the ground, he was closing himself off from whatever argument Izuku was about to start. Izuku really didn’t want this to become another argument. Still, here goes nothing- 

“Do you think… do you think any of this means anything?”

“Huh?”

“Middle school, high school, being stupid teenagers that make dumb mistakes and pretend we’re in love. Does any of it mean something? I want to be a hero, of course. I know that’s important. But all the rest? No one’s going to ask who we dated in high school, you know? No one’s going to interview us about our schoolyard bets when we’re on the top charts.”

Katsuki shrugged. “Okay, so what? Are you ready to give up on our bet after one bad argument? I mean…. Fuck. I’m sorry I pushed too far last night. I shouldn’t have done that. But that doesn’t mean I want to go back to being enemies or rivals, or fucking bully and victim.”

“But this is just a game of punishments to you. You’re just hurting yourself, Kacchan.”

“First of all, this isn’t a punishment. Penance isn’t the same as- you what, no.” He stood up. “This is just going to turn into a damn fight, Izuku. I’m not doing it.”

“I’m not trying to start a fight, I swear. I’m trying to understand why we’re here, why we’re even doing this. We could have called it off months ago. I probably should have called it off last night…”

“Well, why didn’t you?”

Izuku choked on his own words, mouth agape and words dying on his tongue. He wanted to ask why Katsuki was still doing this, he never thought his make-believe boyfriend would ask him the same damn question right back. They both knew Izuku benefited from the bet, so why even ask the question? Well, Izuku was using it as an excuse. He knew that, but he was hoping Katsuki wouldn’t figure that out. 

“You know why.” Deflect. Deflect.

“No, I don’t. I know that you benefit from us playing our game, but that alone can’t be the reason you didn’t tell me to fuck off after I touched you when you didn’t want me to.”

“I never said I didn’t want it…”

The blonde crossed his arms. “Let’s start there, then. What do you want, Izuku?” He’s asked that before, on the beach. Izuku gave him a non-answer that day. 

“I told you, I’m happy with the arrangement. I thought I was ready to…you know, push the game to that next level, but I guess I wasn’t. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have let it get that far before speaking up…I just- I was enjoying it…”

“Until you realized it wasn’t real, and we’re both just playing each other for fools.”

“I don’t know, Kacchan, maybe we aren’t playing fools.”

“And what the hell does that mean?” He huffed, frustrated, and sat back down with his head in his hands. “I don’t understand why you’d even want to be around me, let alone acting like we’re a couple. I just don’t get it.”

And that was it, wasn’t it? Izuku refused to believe that he was worthy of any of this, or that Katsuki could ever want it as anything other than torture for his own crimes, so what could either of them want out of this other than their own self-sacrifice?

“I miss…I miss what we had as kids. That day, on the beach, I got a taste of the good part of my childhood, and I really thought…” Izuku sighed. “I really thought maybe we could find that again. I thought this stupid bet might help us get back to what we had before.”

It wasn’t a lie, exactly. It wasn’t a lie at all. Izuku had missed their childhood friendship. That day on the beach was one of the best memories Izuku had in recent years. That was the most he was willing to reveal about this whole mess. Izuku was too afraid that Katsuki would completely reject him if he gave the full truth, if he unraveled his heart and let it sit between them unguarded. 

“I can work with that.” Is what Katsuki finally settled on. “I can work with that.”

~

“Midoriya.”

“Yes, Sensei?”

“Stay after class, I want to speak with you.”

It was Wednesday during their first week of classes. Izuku wanted nothing more than to curl up with a good book and maybe some good coffee and forget this week had even happened, and it was only halfway over. But it wasn’t likely he’d get that chance now that his teacher wanted to see him. 

“Of course.” He turned to Katsuki, who still had a firm grip on his hand. “I’ll be fine.”

“Mmm. Find me later.”

“Of course.” 

They shared a quick cheek peck as the room emptied out, leaving Izuku and his new teacher alone. Izuku grabbed one of the middle seats up front and plopped back down. Aizawa didn’t dive into this impromptu meeting right away, he was organizing a few papers in a file folder. Once he gathered everything and put away his UA branded laptop, the teacher sighed back into his seat. 

“Two things, kid.”

“Okay.”

Aizawa squinted at him, hard, as if he were trying to find something Izuku was hiding, or trying to understand something he couldn’t make sense of. Izuku wasn’t sure what that might be, so he opted not to try and figure it out, instead just waiting out the older man’s thoughts. 

“I’m going to work on a more challenging curriculum for you. Your scores on the entrance exam, as well as what I’ve seen so far all tell me that this class, at a base level, will not be challenging for you. Your angry boyfriend is just about at your level, but he has his struggles that I can focus on. You, on the other hand, need something more.”

“I’m not the best student, Sensei…” A folder was pulled from the man’s laptop case and slapped on the desk before Izuku could finish his thought. The folder had his name on it, and Aldera Middle School in bold letters across the top. “I mean, isn’t that evidence enough?”

“No, actually.” Aizawa sighed. He tapped his middle finger on the folder almost aggressively. “This is a lie.”

“Sensei?”

“I’m not sure what your middle school did to you, and I’m not sure I want to know, but despite how good these scores and report cards are, they’re nothing like what I know you can actually do. That show on day one helped me figure that out. So, the only two options are either A, you weren’t giving your all in middle school, or B, the school altered your grades on purpose. Since I see no reason for you to have not tried, since you seem to enjoy school quite well, I’m inclined to believe option B. Am I wrong?”

Izuku shifted awkwardly in his seat for a moment, but ultimately, he couldn’t lie about his love of school and learning. “No.”

“Okay. Good. Now we’re getting somewhere.” Another folder appeared on the desk. “Take this, work through what you can over the weekend, it will give me a better idea what level to place you on so we can design a curriculum around it.”

Izuku stood up to grab the folder but he didn’t bolt out right away. Aizawa had said there were two things he wanted to discuss, didn’t he? Izuku tucked the folder away after glancing at a couple pages, and yeah, they looked challenging for sure. Izuku welcomed the challenge. 

“The second thing, Sensei?”

“Bakugo.”

“What about him?”

Again, the hero sighed. “What’s going on there?” He paused to let Izuku answer, but the teen just offered him a confused look, unsure what he wanted to know. “You act like a couple, but at the entrance exam, you flinched when he touched you. That’s changed a bit now…I’m not sure why, but it has. Still, the way you look at each other is…fake, in some way. I can see the affection, sure, but the both of you are hiding it under layers of something….else. I know it’s not really my place to ask, but something feels off about it, and I’d be a shit-ass teacher if I didn’t check that all my students were safe, which includes being in safe relationships.”

“Oh! Oh, no no, Sensei. We’re fine. I mean, safe. I-” Izuku huffed. How did he explain this without just telling the man this was some kind of weird challenge they’d been doing for months? Maybe it was time to start explaining. He’d half told Katsuki why they were doing this so…maybe he could start admitting more. “Uhm…we grew up together…when I didn’t manifest a quirk and he got a really powerful one…well, it- it pulled us apart for a long time. But uhh, a classmate of ours challenged us. He got annoyed with Kacchan’s bullying and-”

“Wait, he bullied you?”

“Everyone did. That’s why my grades are off. The teachers didn’t believe a quirkless kid could be that good. Then I manifested my quirk this year and-”

Again he got cut off. “Sorry, what? You manifested your quirk at sixteen?”

“Yes. Anyway- this kid got so annoyed that he bet Kacchan that he couldn’t treat me like a best friend, like a boyfriend, you know, cuddles and hand holding, instead of bickering and shouting, and the prize was really good. I mean - limited edition All Might action figure. We both really want it an- oh…I uhh, I’ve said more than I meant to say.”

“Uh huh…so- hold on, rewind. You and Bakugo aren’t actually dating? This is all a game of who can be the good boyfriend the longest?”

Izuku nodded. “Pretty much.”

“Who’s winning?”

“I’m not sure. I mean, Kacchan and his parents took me to Italy. Actually, Ectoplasm was our babysitter while his parents were in Milan for fashion week, and we spent a few days in Venice together. So I think he’s winning right now. We’ve had a few fights since then, which makes me think maybe I’m leading now. But anyway, it’s actually really brought us back together. We’re actually best friends again, outside of the bet and all that. It’s only in public, the boyfriends thing, that is.”

“Uhm….right.” He pinched at his brow. Izuku imagined if he had glasses, he might have to take them off in order to relieve whatever stress Izuku had just created behind his eyes. “I guess that’s fine. I mean, you’re not really breaking any rules. Just…tone down the PDA? I- I was not prepared for that answer.”

“Of course. Uhhhh, can I go now?”

“Mmm. Leave me to my headache.”

“See you later, Sensei!”

An annoyed groan was his only response. 

Well, that went better than he thought it might. Maybe he should keep the second half to himself though, Katsuki didn’t need to know, right? Right. It would only add yet another layer to their already rather tenuous relationship when it came to the actual bet itself. Summer break had really changed things, and Izuku was so happy about that. That’s part of why he didn’t want to risk anything that might put a dent into what was slowly becoming a great friendship behind the bet that kept them apart, and glued together at the same time. 

~

The first moment he could relax on the first weekend in the dorms was honestly a welcome relief. Aizawa-sensei pulling him aside on Wednesday after class and changing the curriculum had been the inciting incident to Izuku’s weekend stress. Two hours of working on the new material that his teacher assigned him for the weekend as homework and Izuku was ready to pass out. 

Izuku collapsed onto one of the couches in the dorm common room between Katsuki and Shinso. The purple-haired brainwasher had quickly taken to Izuku and the pair had become fast friends since they bonded over their shared pitiful pasts. They both had this dry humor that no one but Katsuki understood, and a bad habit for sleepless nights. 

Katsuki threw an arm around his shoulder, not looking up from his phone. Shinso was reading a shonen manga of some kind, but Izuku didn’t recognize it. Across from them, a few of the class sat with Hero Civil Law books over their laps, reviewing a chapter for a discussion they had scheduled for Monday.

“Okay, but if the Quirk Compassion Act is what protects us from persecution when our quirks manifest, and allows us to use them in emergency situations… What about people without quirks? Do they gain any protections? It doesn’t talk about them in the chapter at all.” 

Uraraka was asking Iida for clarification. Izuku shifted in his seat and Katsuki’s arm tightened over his shoulder, a warning to keep his mouth shut. They both knew it would be dangerous. Their bet had just saved Izuku from the bullying recently, even though his quirk had come in eventually. This was still a very fresh fight for Izuku, and he’d just gotten over his fear of being potentially hated for his past. 

“Nothing protects them. Why would they fall under any quirk protections, Uraraka? They don’t have quirks.” Iida answered. 

“Well, yeah, but they’re affected by quirk manifestations and emergencies, too, right? It’s not like they don’t get into car accidents or building fires like everyone else. What would happen if someone used a quirk on them and they ended up dying?”

Momo, who they all knew had lawyer parents, interjected. “The law doesn’t protect them, there’s no real need to. They can’t use a quirk, after all. But, if a quirk was used on them, the person who used it would be protected by the Compassion Act as needed.”

“But that’s not the point. What about those without quirks? What about kids who haven’t manifested one yet? What about the aging population of quirkless people who just weren’t born into the newer generations where quirklessness is much rarer?”

“Uraraka, Quirkless people are so rare now, there’s no real need to regard them anyway.”

Izuku twitched so hard Katsuki’s fingers dug into his shoulder. He hissed a quiet ‘Zu, don’t.’ without even looking up because he, too, was trying to protect himself from the danger ahead. Izuku understood, and he desperately wanted to remain silent. He didn’t want them knowing he used to be quirkless, but he also wasn’t sure how much more of this he could take.

“That doesn’t seem fair, Momo.”

Iida sighed. “There’s only like ten confirmed cases of quirklessness in our generation, across the whole country. They don’t need to be included when they’ll be extinct in the next ten to twenty years.”

“So you’re saying that we should disregard ten human beings simply because they’re a minority, Iida? Why would they be extinct in twenty years? We’d only be thirty by then. Are you saying quirkless people live shorter lives?”

“Well, no- I’m just saying there’s no reason to make laws when the population won’t exist, soon.”

“And why is that exactly?!” Izuku snapped. His hands flew to his face, covering his mouth as if that might stop the words he’d already shouted across the room. Everyone turned to stare at him. Katsuki’s phone had landed on the carpet at his feet when Izuku surprised them all. 

The blonde stood up. “Come on, we’re going upstairs.”

“I don’t need to go upstairs, Kacchan. I want an answer.” And he did. He actually wanted to hear what Iida had to say about the subject. His resolution had shattered, and now he just wanted to know what the fuck these kids had been taught to believe. 

“I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean by your question, Midoriya. Quirkless people are just not born anymore. Is that what you’re asking?”

“No. I’m asking why quirkless people will be extinct in less than twenty years, and it’s not just because they’re not born anymore. It’s a hell of a lot more than that.”

“Izuku, stop-”

“Shut up, Kacchan. This isn’t your fight.”

“Well, it’s not yours anymore, either, Deku!”

The room fell dead. Izuku stepped back, his heels hitting the couch. Shinso was at his side, the book he’d been reading haphazardly dropped on the couch as the argument started. Katsuki knew what he’d said the second he said it, he knew he’d fucked up. Izuku’s face filled with shame and disappointment. He remembered a conversation they had on the beach before middle school ended. 

Katsuki had promised he’d never get angry again, not this kind of angry - the kind of angry that used slurs for nicknames. Now it felt like he’d lied, or didn’t know how to control himself, and Izuku wasn’t sure which was worse. Even if he knew it wasn’t intentional, Izuku couldn’t stop the hurt that creeped into his veins. 

“What…does that mean?” Momo asked. “I thought Midoriya had a healing quirk.”

“I do. I have a quirk now.”

Uraraka leaned around Iida. “Now?”

He might as well tell the truth. There was no reason to hide it, not anymore. “I was quirkless until this year. To be frank, I don’t believe it was a late manifestation at all. I’m fairly certain it was a stress manifestation.”

“Those are just a myth.” Shinso remarked.

Izuku glanced up at his make-believe boyfriend. Katsuki wore a mask of horror, this twisted look of realization that showed he completely understood what Izuku was saying. He took one step back and grabbed the couch to steady himself. It wasn’t just the realization that Izuku’s quirk manifested under stress…it was the exact type of stress it manifested under. He knew because Izuku had made a few hints over the last several months. He’d made hints, but he never pointed it out directly. 

Katsuki knew because Izuku had been trying to tell him for so long, but he couldn’t bring himself to say it.  

“No…nooooo no, don’t do that to me.”

“I’m sorry, Kacchan.”

“No. No! That’s not fair. That’s not fair, Izuku!”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“No. Fuck you. Fuck all of this. I’m done.”

Izuku stepped forward, but for the first time, it was Katsuki who flinched away. “Wait - please, Kacchan.”

“No. I’m done. We’re done. This stupid game, this bet, it’s over. You win, Izuku. You  fucking win. I’m done.”

“Kacchan, please! I’m sorry, I tried to tell you!”

Katsuki stormed off, shoving Kirishima and Kaminari to the side on his way through the common room to the front door, which slammed shut behind him. Almost everyone in the room winced at the sound. Shinso was trying to get his attention, but when he grabbed Izuku’s arm, the shorter teen yanked it away. 

“Hey, what just happened? I thought you said…”

Izuku looked up from the floor. “He just realized the day my quirk manifested was the day I tried to kill myself. We’re not…dating. We’ve never been dating. A classmate of ours got so annoyed by Katsuki bullying me over my quirklessness, that he bet we couldn’t act like a good pair, like boyfriends. He never could turn down a challenge and…and I just wanted the abuse to stop. None of it was real, and now he knows I didn’t just pretend. I also lied to his face about how bad it really got.”

Before anyone else could stop him, Izuku ran after Katsuki. He burst through the door, ignored the way his ankle twisted when he jumped off the front porch of the dorm building, and ran after the retreating blonde headed towards the back courtyard where most of the students ate lunch if they wanted to be outside. He wanted air, maybe space, but Izuku wasn’t going to give it to him. 

This time, they needed to actually talk. Katsuki had tried before, on the beach. He’d tried several times. He kept trying to get Izuku to actually talk, but Izuku always refused him, even when Izuku himself asked to talk mere days ago. Perhaps a part of that wasn’t just Izuku’s willingness to pretend that none of what they’d said and done in the last six months was real. The rest? Fear. Guilt. Maybe some of it was an aching sorrow that he almost wished he didn’t feel the way he did. Somewhere, deep inside of him, Izuku had wished this was truly just a game, a silly bet between teenagers. 

But it wasn’t. It wasn’t a lie, or acting, or a game. It wasn’t a fucking game. None of this was ever just a silly game for kids, not anymore. They’d played each other for fools, because it wasn’t ever fake. Their emotions were real. The happiness they felt on summer break with their hair whipping in the wind down long Italian roads, the breathlessness of chasing each other on the beach, the way they both kept touching each other, no matter how many times they were pulled apart (usually by each other). 

Izuku crashed into Katsuki, wrapped around his middle, pinning Katsuki’s arms to his sides. The blonde grunted, hiccupped a sob out of his throat. Izuku didn’t realize he was already in tears as well, until the back of Katsuki’s shirt started getting wet. 

“Please.” Izuku begged. “Don’t run away. Please let me speak.” Because this time, he actually needed to, he wanted to. He had to tell Katsuki the whole truth this time. 

Katsuki nodded, his voice likely too broken to reply verbally. 

“I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry, Kacchan. I never meant to hurt you. I didn’t want you to know how my quirk manifested because I knew you’d blame yourself.”

Katsuki’s voice came out shattered and crackled. “But I am to blame!” 

“Stop. Please. I- I need to say this.”

“Sorry.” He sighed. “I’m sorry.”

Izuku hugged himself tighter to his best friend’s body. Once more, that eternal apology washed over Izuku, and this time, it meant more than anything Izuku could voice, it meant everything.

“You didn’t say those awful words to me. You didn’t push me up to that roof. You aren’t at fault for the injury that killed me and manifested my quirk.” He took a shaky breath. “The bet is over. We’re not pretending anymore. Right?” Again, Katsuki nodded. “Then ask me again.”

“What?”

“Ask me what I want, Kacchan. Ask me again.”

There was a long silent moment where Katsuki considered the ground at his feet. He was shaking, his body still trying to cry despite how hard he wanted to keep it in. His fists clenched at his sides. Izuku knew this would be the most important question he’d ever been asked in his entire life, but it had to be asked, because Izuku needed Katsuki to understand, and he wasn’t sure anything else would work. 

“Izuku…what do you want?”

“I want you.”

Katsuki threw his arms out, pushing Izuku away, but only for a split second. Before Izuku could even react or find the time to be shocked at the rejection, Katsuki grabbed his face and pulled him back in. Their lips met and finally, Izuku could let that shimmering spark rushing through his chest fill him with warmth. He didn’t ignore it this time. This time, Izuku allowed himself to sink into it, to enjoy it. The kiss wasn’t long, or deep. It was almost chaste, maybe forgiving in some way, instead. 

“I want you, too. I can’t…I can’t keep pretending, Izuku. The last several months have been agony for me. I thought this was all just a bet. I thought I was just acting. Hell, I know how good of an actor you are. I thought I could tell when you were faking it…but I never knew if you were faking it, and I was so scared that you were.”

“I tried.” Izuku’s laugh came out with a coughed sob that caught in his chest. “I tried to fake it. I really did. I was so scared it all meant nothing. But that day in the hotel, looking into your eyes as the sun rose through our window…I tried to hide it all away inside of me, because it was just a bet, just a stupid game.”

“It was never a game to me, Izuku. Loving you was never just a game. I don’t think anyone has ever wanted someone more than how horribly I’ve wanted you.”

“That’s all I’ve ever wanted, Kacchan. I’ve just wanted to be wanted. I wanted to have the right to exist, I wanted someone to want me to exist with them.”

Katsuki pressed their foreheads together. “No more bets, no more games. We’ll spend every moment together. We’ll chase each other down the beach, chase each other to the top of the fucking hero charts. I swear it. Okay?”

“Yes.” Izuku pressed a soft kiss to his (REAL) boyfriend’s lips. “I want you. I want you, Katsuki Bakugo.”

“You have me, Izuku. I’m yours.”

~

A few weeks later:

Izuku shoved his way into Katsuki’s room, immediately shutting the door and holding out a little bag in his hand. Katsuki was sitting at his desk, glaring at a textbook with his laptop open to a large file of notes. Izuku bounced on his toes when the blonde finally looked up and saw the gift bag. 

“It’s not my birthday, Izuku, what’s got you so excited?”

“Oh nothing. I just thought since we’re actually dating now, you might want something to commemorate it.”

“We haven’t even hit an anniversary yet. It’s only been a few weeks. What’s really going on?”

Izuku tipped his head back and forth. “Okay, fine. You got me. I saw this while we were at the store and I thought of you. It’s kind of silly, but I know you’ll get it.”

“Alright.” He made a grabby hand gesture. “Let me see.”

Izuku hopped over with a light squeal and placed the bag on Katsuki’s desk. The blonde scooped him up so they were sharing the chair, Katsuki’s arms around Izuku’s waist. The bag was plain, white, non-descript. Inside was a small box with a cutout that showed the item inside. It wasn’t fancy, it was just a simple orange and black mug that read ‘World’s Greatest Wife’. 

The second he saw the writing, Katsuki burst into laughter. Izuku slipped around so he could straddle his boyfriend’s lap and place a dozen kisses on his face. Katsuki was trying to talk through the laughter and rain of kisses, but that only made it harder for him to speak. Eventually, he put the box down so he could grab Izuku and pull him closer. Their lips met, sparks once more filled Izuku’s body, coursing through his veins like fireworks in his bloodstream. 

“You’re such an idiot.”

“No.” Izuku kissed Katsuki’s cheek. “I’m the genius in this relationship, remember?”

“Uh huh, the genius who couldn’t just admit they’d caught feelings for me.”

Izuku scoffed. “Yeah, but I did admit my feelings first, so, I win.”

“You already won the bet, Dumbass, before that.”

“Uh huh. I’ll have to worry about that prize later…although, you are a pretty good prize to win.”

“Oh, I am, am I?”

Izuku shrugged. “Only slightly better than a limited edition silver age All Might action figure.”

“Oh! Slightly, is it?” Katsuki picked Izuku up, legs around his waist, and hauled them both over to the bed. Izuku was happily giggling the whole time. “I’ll have to change that.”

Izuku yelped as he was tossed onto the bed. The bed thumped against the wall as Katsuki jumped in after him, that wicked, signature grin plastered on his face. A second later, a loud banging knock came through the wall. 

“If you idiots want to go at each other, can you at least be quiet!?”

“Sorry, EyeBags! Can’t hear you!” Katsuki shouted back. 

“Asshole! Izuku, tell him to go back to therapy!”

“I promise, Toshi!”

Katsuki brushed a hand over the braids he’d just put into Izuku’s hair this morning. For several minutes, just like back in Italy, they stared into each other’s eyes. The world could be shut out, the whole universe was left at the door. Right now, nothing else existed. Nothing else mattered. Absolutely everything else didn’t matter a single bit. Everything Izuku could ever need, everything that had meaning in his life, was right here in front of him.

It could be any hot summer day, just like all the rest they’d spent together, and they both wanted nothing more than to be right here.