Chapter Text
Izuku Midoriya had a problem.
A very big problem.
A problem that had been slowly growing for years, actually.
He was in love with Katsuki Bakugou.
There. He’d finally admitted it.
To himself, at least.
Izuku sat cross-legged on his bed, staring down at his phone.
It was late. Everyone else in the dorms had settled down hours ago, and Izuku had already finished his homework.
He should have been sleeping.
Instead, he was staring at the TikTok app.
His thumb hovered over the little plus button.
He didn’t even know why he’d opened it.
Maybe he just needed somewhere to put his thoughts.
Somewhere that wasn’t his journal.
Somewhere that wasn’t his friends.
Somewhere he could say everything he was too terrified to say out loud.
He pressed record.
The camera opened.
Izuku stared at his own reflection.
“Okay.”
He immediately stopped recording.
“Nope.”
He put the phone down.
Three seconds later, he picked it back up.
“Okay,” he whispered again. “I can do this.”
He pressed record.
His face appeared on the screen.
He looked exhausted.
Which was fair, considering he’d spent the last hour arguing with himself about whether having a crush on his childhood bully was the stupidest thing he’d ever done.
Probably not.
He’d jumped into a fight against a villain without a Quirk once.
So technically, this wasn’t even in the top ten.
Izuku took a breath.
“I don’t really know how to say this.”
He paused.
“Actually, that’s a lie. I know exactly how to say it. I just don’t know how to say it without sounding completely insane.”
He laughed nervously.
“There’s this person I really like.”
His cheeks immediately turned pink.
“Really, really like.”
He looked away from the camera.
“And I’ve liked him for… a long time.”
His fingers tightened around his phone.
“I don’t think he knows.”
Another pause.
“I’m almost certain he doesn’t know.”
Izuku swallowed.
“He probably wouldn’t believe me if I told him.”
He smiled sadly.
“Honestly, I don’t even know if he’d want to hear it.”
His voice became quieter.
“He’s loud. He’s angry. He’s competitive. He’s stubborn. He’s kind of a jerk.”
Izuku smiled.
“But he’s also incredibly hardworking.”
His eyes softened.
“He’s strong.”
A tiny smile appeared on his face.
“Really strong.”
Izuku stared at the camera.
“And he’s always trying to get stronger. Even when he thinks nobody notices.”
His cheeks grew warmer.
“I notice.”
He looked down.
“I’ve always noticed.”
For a moment, Izuku said nothing.
Then he whispered:
“I love him.”
His heart hammered.
“I really, really love him.”
He covered his face with one hand.
“Oh my gosh.”
He lowered his hand.
“I’m actually saying this.”
Izuku laughed nervously.
“I don’t know when it happened. Maybe it was gradual. Maybe it was always there and I just didn’t understand what I was feeling.”
He took another breath.
“But I know that when he walks into a room, I notice.”
“I know that when he’s hurt, I worry.”
“When he’s happy, I want to know why.”
“When he succeeds, I’m proud of him.”
“And when he’s angry with me…”
Izuku grimaced.
“Well, that’s terrifying.”
He laughed.
Then his expression softened again.
“But even then, I still want to be around him.”
He stared at the screen.
“I want to tell him.”
His voice cracked slightly.
“I want to tell him that I love him.”
Izuku’s eyes widened.
He quickly looked away.
“Okay. That’s enough.”
He reached toward the screen.
Then stopped.
His thumb hovered over the button.
He should delete it.
Obviously.
There was no universe where uploading this was a good idea.
This was supposed to be private.
It was just supposed to be him saying the words somewhere so they weren’t trapped inside his head anymore.
He looked at the video again.
His thumb moved.
Tap.
Posted.
Izuku froze.
…
He stared at his phone.
The video was uploaded.
The video was uploaded.
The video was—
“Oh.”
His entire face went white.
“No.”
He frantically tapped the screen.
“No, no, no, no, no.”
He tried to find the delete option.
His fingers were shaking so badly that he kept pressing the wrong buttons.
“Come on!”
He finally found it.
His thumb hovered over the screen.
Delete.
All he had to do was press delete.
Easy.
Simple.
Then nobody would see it.
Except—
A notification appeared.
Your video is processing…
Izuku’s soul left his body.
“Oh.”
Another notification.
Your video has been posted.
Izuku stopped breathing.
“No.”
His phone buzzed again.
Then again.
Then again.
Notifications.
Already.
People were seeing it.
People were watching it.
People were—
“What did I do?”
Izuku stared at the screen in absolute horror.
He could delete it.
He could still delete it.
He could—
His phone buzzed.
1 new follower.
Then another.
3 new likes.
Another.
Someone commented on your video.
Izuku’s eyes widened.
He couldn’t do this.
He couldn’t see the comments.
He couldn’t see who had watched it.
He couldn’t find out if someone knew.
Especially—
What if someone knew who he was talking about?
What if Katsuki saw it?
What if Katsuki somehow recognized his voice?
What if—
His phone buzzed again.
Izuku panicked.
He pressed the power button.
The screen went black.
Silence.
He stared at the dark screen.
For several seconds, he didn’t move.
Then he whispered:
“Okay.”
He stood up.
“I can fix this.”
He grabbed his hoodie.
“I just need to delete it.”
He put on his shoes.
“Tomorrow.”
He opened the door.
“Tomorrow I’ll delete it.”
He stepped into the hallway.
He stopped.
“…Maybe I should delete it now.”
He looked at his phone.
His hand shook.
Then he remembered what he’d said.
I love him.
His face burned.
“Nope.”
He turned around.
“Nope, nope, nope.”
And then Izuku Midoriya did the only logical thing he could think of.
He ran.
He ran down the hallway.
He ran down the stairs.
He ran out of the dorm building.
He ran without knowing where he was going.
He just needed somewhere—
Anywhere—
Where nobody could find him.
His phone remained switched off in his pocket.
And for the first time in his life, Izuku Midoriya wasn’t thinking about what came next.
He was just running.
Running away from the fact that he had accidentally confessed his love to the entire internet.
And, potentially, to the one person he was most terrified of hearing it.
Katsuki Bakugou.