Chapter Text
The training field was supposed to be empty.
That was what Izuku Midoriya had been told, anyway.
He was halfway through putting his notebooks back into his bag when he heard footsteps behind him.
Heavy footsteps.
Fast footsteps.
Familiar footsteps.
“Deku.”
Izuku froze.
“Kacchan?”
Bakugo Katsuki stood several meters away, staring directly at him.
Izuku immediately noticed something was wrong.
Very wrong.
Bakugo wasn’t yelling.
He wasn’t scowling.
He wasn’t threatening to blast him through a wall.
Instead, he was smiling.
Not his usual smug grin, either.
It was soft.
Almost… fond.
Izuku slowly lowered his notebook.
“…Kacchan?”
Bakugo walked toward him.
Izuku took one step backward.
“Kacchan, are you feeling okay?”
“Never better.”
That was terrifying.
Izuku’s instincts screamed at him to run.
Bakugo stopped directly in front of him.
For several seconds, he just stared.
Izuku shifted uncomfortably.
“Um… do I have something on my face?”
“No.”
“Then why are you staring at me?”
“Because you’re cute.”
Izuku’s brain stopped functioning.
“…What?”
Bakugo smiled wider.
“You’re really cute.”
Izuku’s face turned bright red.
“K-Kacchan!”
“What?”
“You can’t just—”
“Why not?”
“Because that’s not something you say to someone!”
Bakugo tilted his head.
“Why?”
Izuku opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
Bakugo continued staring at him with an expression Izuku had never seen on his face before.
It wasn’t anger.
It wasn’t annoyance.
It wasn’t even his usual competitive determination.
It was pure affection.
And somehow, that was more frightening than any explosion.
“Kacchan,” Izuku said carefully, “did something happen during training?”
“No.”
“Did you hit your head?”
“No.”
“Did someone use their Quirk on you?”
Bakugo’s smile faltered for half a second.
“I don’t think so.”
Izuku’s eyes widened.
“You don’t think so?!”
Bakugo shrugged.
“I was fighting. Then I got hit by something.”
Izuku immediately reached for his notebook.
“What kind of Quirk?”
“Dunno.”
“What did the person look like?”
“Didn’t see.”
“Did you notice any physical changes?”
“No.”
“Any changes to your emotions?”
Bakugo looked at him.
“Yeah.”
Izuku’s pen stopped.
“What kind?”
Bakugo stepped closer.
“I really, really like you.”
Izuku nearly dropped his notebook.
“Kacchan!”
“What?”
“That’s not—”
Bakugo reached out and gently took Izuku’s hand.
Izuku stared at their hands.
His entire face burned.
“K-Kacchan…?”
“Your hands are warm.”
Izuku’s brain was rapidly approaching critical failure.
Bakugo intertwined their fingers.
“I like holding your hand.”
“You’ve never held my hand before!”
“I should’ve.”
“Why?!”
“Because I like you.”
“You’ve said that three times!”
“I’ll say it three hundred more times.”
Izuku stared at him.
Bakugo stared back.
There was absolutely no trace of embarrassment.
No hesitation.
No sarcasm.
He meant every word.
“Kacchan,” Izuku whispered, “you really aren’t acting like yourself.”
Bakugo smiled.
“Maybe this is who I really am.”
“No.”
Bakugo blinked.
Izuku immediately regretted how quickly he’d answered.
“I mean—! That’s not what I meant!”
Bakugo laughed.
Actually laughed.
Izuku’s eyes widened.
He couldn’t remember the last time he’d heard Bakugo laugh like that.
“Izuku.”
Izuku froze.
Bakugo almost never called him by his first name.
“K-Kacchan?”
“I like saying your name.”
Izuku’s heart pounded.
Bakugo lifted their joined hands and rested them against his chest.
“See?”
Izuku felt his own pulse race.
“You’re making my heart beat really fast.”
Izuku swallowed.
“Kacchan…”
“Yeah?”
“I think you need to see Recovery Girl.”
Bakugo frowned.
“No.”
“Why?”
“I don’t want this fixed.”
Izuku’s eyes widened.
“You don’t?!”
“No.”
Bakugo squeezed his hand.
“Because I like you.”
Izuku stared at him in complete disbelief.
“And I don’t want to stop.”
For once, Izuku had absolutely no idea what to say.
Bakugo leaned closer.
Izuku instinctively leaned backward.
“Kacchan…”
“What?”
“You’re really close.”
“I know.”
“Why?”
“Because I want to be.”
Izuku’s face became even redder.
Bakugo smiled again.
“You’re adorable when you’re embarrassed.”
“I am not!”
“You are.”
“I’m not!”
“You are.”
Izuku covered his face with his free hand.
“This is a nightmare.”
Bakugo gently tugged his hand down.
“It’s not a nightmare.”
“Then what is it?”
Bakugo looked at him with complete sincerity.
“It’s me finally telling you how I feel.”
Izuku’s heart skipped.
Except—
Something was wrong.
Something was very wrong.
Because Katsuki Bakugo did not behave like this.
He didn’t casually hold hands.
He didn’t call Izuku cute.
He didn’t smile like that.
And he definitely didn’t confess his feelings without screaming, threatening violence, or turning bright red.
Izuku stared at him.
“Kacchan.”
“Hmm?”
“I think you’ve been hit by a love Quirk.”
Bakugo’s eyes widened.
Then he smiled.
“Probably.”
Izuku blinked.
“That’s it?”
“Yeah.”
“You’re not worried?”
“No.”
“Why?”
Bakugo pulled him into a hug.
Izuku made a tiny startled noise.
“Because even if this is a Quirk making me love you…”
Bakugo rested his chin on Izuku’s shoulder.
“I don’t really mind.”
Izuku stood completely frozen.
Bakugo hugged him tighter.
“I like you, Deku.”
Izuku’s face was burning.
His heart was pounding.
And somewhere in the back of his mind, one thought became painfully clear.
They needed to figure out how to undo this.
Soon.
Because if this was really a love Quirk…
Then Izuku had absolutely no idea what Bakugo was going to do next.