Archive of Our Own ^beta

“They want to what?” Kacchan’s voice was a low snarl. Something bordering on the edge of incredulous and indignant. There was a promise of violence bleeding through the words. And the message seemed to be getting across just fine if the way their agent flinched back was anything to go by.

Not that Izuku could really blame the lady. Kacchan was hard to handle on a good day. Normally it would fall onto Izuku’s shoulders to bring his partner back from his anger. But in this case, Izuku didn’t really have the energy to. He certainly couldn’t blame the other boy for his reaction. Even Izuku felt like he’d had a rug pulled out from under him.

Because this wasn’t just a publicity stunt they were being asked for. Those were easy. Routine even. Appearing on a talk show, doing an interview, making an appearance at a charity event or the local children’s hospital. They were things that Izuku enjoyed doing.

Kacchan enjoyed them significantly less, but he also knew that it was part of the job. Pro-heros were always in the limelight. Always front and center in the media. The good, the bad, the pretty, and the ugly. In this line of work it was better to have a good rep with the public than it would be to have only a lukewarm response.

But this was different. Even their agent realized that what she and the agency were asking was a lot bigger than just showing up to an event.

“They want to make a movie based on your childhoods. Specifically about your experiences with Hanahaki.” Izuku admired the way the woman was able to speak with a steady voice. It was a hard thing to do when Kacchan looked closer to ‘Lord Explosion Murder’ than he did the pro-hero Ground Zero.

Speaking of the blonde, his eyes had narrowed into dangerous slits of ember-red. The sweet smell of nitroglycerin was starting to waft through the room. Izuku could already hear the quiet ‘pops’ of the small beads of sweat starting to heat up.

Kacchan’s voice was so angry that Izuku flinched. “And why the fuck would we left them do that? How did they even find out about that shit? We sure as hell never talked about to anyone. Right, Deku?”

Izuku nodded. This was true. For as often as they were in the public eye, both of them made it very clear that they didn’t want their personal lives in the media. It was bad enough that once they’d entered Yuuei, their class had unfortunately been front and center on many, many news channels.

It had made it hard to even have a private life.

So being able to keep their time with Hanahaki as secret was both impressive and important to them. The only people who would even have known about it would be their Yuuei classmates, their sensei’s, and -

“Um, well, your mothers may have mentioned it during the latest family interviews.”

Izuku really wasn’t sure what made him want to cringe more. The fact that their mothers had apparently outed them, or the fact that Kacchan had actually gone silent.

Maybe it was time for him to step in for damage control.

“We weren’t aware that our mothers did an interview recently. This is something we need to think about, Mari-san. We’ll give you a more definitive answer later. Please have someone forward the interview details to us.”

Mari-san gave him a grateful smile, bowed her head, and took off without looking back.

Once she was gone, Izuku didn’t know what to do. He didn’t know if he should call his mom right away, or deal with Kacchan, or if he should just panic. It wasn’t like he thought their experiences with Hanahaki would never see the light of day. Logically he knew that it would come up somehow.

But he’d always thought that when it did come up, they’d be the ones to talk about. To play it down as something that happened when they were younger that led to them falling in love. He had never thought about going more in depth than that.

Now though it didn’t really seem like they had a choice.

What did they say? How much could they have explained for someone to want to make a movie out of us? And who would even want to make a movie out of something like this? Would that even make a good movie? I feel it would make a sad movie. But I guess it did have a happy end? I mean, Kacchan and I did end up together. So maybe it would be okay?

Izuku once again didn’t notice he was muttering under his breath until Kacchan’s palm - surprisingly free of sweat, but no less warm - covered his mouth. He blinked, turning to look up at the blonde.

Surprisingly enough, Kacchan no longer looked angry. He looked irritated, sure. But instead of the barely reigned in fury from a few minutes ago, now he looked more exasperated. There was also a faint twitch at the corners of his lips that spoke of amusement.

“Shut up, nerd. There’s nothing we can do about people knowing. All we can do is figure out where to go from here.”

Izuku shook his head to dislodge Kacchan’s hand. “And where do we start?”

Kacchan gave him a smile that was one part amused, one part malevolent, and two parts completely fed up. If they were still in high school it would have been a look that would have sent Izuku running for the hills. As it was now though, it just made his skin crawl.

“For now we’re going to pay Auntie and the old hag a visit.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

After Deku had fully recovered from his third bout with Hanahaki, Katsuki had been quick to inform everybody that the nerd was his. It hadn’t taken anybody by surprise, really. The two had always been close enough that most of the class had a (horribly) hidden bet on if they were actually dating.

It had been slightly gratifying to know that the half n half bastard had needed to cough up quite a bit of money when everyone found out that the pair had only just confessed their love.

But then the weekend had rolled around and it was time to inform their parents about their change from ‘childhood friends’ to ‘boyfriends.’ Katsuki hadn’t been nervous to tell them. Not really. He’d had a sneaking suspicion that Auntie Inko was well aware of the feelings Katsuki had harbored. He even suspected that she knew about Izuku’s own feelings.

What he’d been truly been worried about was dealing with the hag. He’d inherited his loudness from her, and everyone knew damn well she’d probably seen it coming since she’d taken Katsuki to the hospital to have surgery when he was nine.

With that in mind, he’d been completely prepared for all of the fanfare and tears from Auntie Inko. He’d even grudgingly accepted the hug that his mother had pulled him into. What he hadn’t been prepared for was when the hag had pulled away and given him a very familiar shit-eating grin.

“I take it I don’t have to worry about you going through a third round of this flowery shit?”

Katsuki distinctly remembered spluttering, because how the fuck had she known about the second time? He’d been so careful not to let anyone know. He hadn’t even needed to get a second surgery because he’d made sure to confess to Deku when he’d been too high off of painkillers and anesthetic to remember shit.

His mother’s eyes had just looked so damn gleeful at his embarrassment that he’d honestly just wanted to set an explosion off in her face.

Much like he wanted to do now, as him and Deku sat across from them in his mother’s living room, as they explained that their agency wanted to make a goddamn movie about them. His mother positively radiated amusement.

Even Auntie Inko, who at least had the decency to look slightly apologetic, seemed to think the entire situation was funny.

“Oh dear. We hadn’t expected that story to become big enough for something like that.”

Katsuki pinched the bridge of his nose as he willed his temper to settle. He wasn’t a teenager anymore. He had six years of hero work under his belt. He would not snap over something like this. He wouldn’t.

The hag laughed. “This is too good, Inko. They want to make a teenage drama out of the brat’s shitty teenage angst.”

If it wasn’t for the hand Deku placed on his knee, Katsuki was fairly certain he would have exploded his mother’s favorite throw pillow. As it was he wiped his palms aggressively onto the couch until all the sweat was gone.

His boyfriend gave him a quick smile before he turned back to their parents. “We know you didn’t mean any harm, mom. It’s just we weren’t even aware that you had an interview. Let alone you both had talked about our Hanahaki. And then all of sudden Mari-san was telling us they wanted our cooperation for a movie about it.”

Auntie Inko frowned, her fingers twisting into the hem of her shirt. “I’m sorry, Izuku. We really should have warned you about it. It’s just that the interviewer had brought up your childhoods and when they asked about if either of you had developed Hanahaki in middle school, we couldn’t help but laugh. It really is quite a funny story, dear.”

As much as Katsuki would love to fault them on that, and rail into his mother for blabbing about his fucking secrets, he couldn’t actually fault them. They weren’t wrong. Looking back on that time in their lives, it was hilarious how neither of them had realized the truth.

The nerd seemed to realize it too. A soft smile crossed his face as he turned to look at Katsuki. He gave a little helpless shrug as the two women across from them started talking about the interview and the questions they’d answered.

They also asked about the movie and what they were going to do about it. Katsuki wanted to give them the evil eye and spit that it was none of their fucking business, thank you very much. But that would only make the hag angry and make Auntie Inko flustered.

Which would then make Deku mad at him. Which in turn would mean a very sullen and angry boyfriend who would have absolutely no pity for him tonight once they got home.

And Katsuki really didn’t want to risk that.

Not when he desperately need a fucking pick me up after the nerd agreed to let them make a damn movie about them.

Fuck, he thought. He barely resisted the urge to run his hand over his face.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

To say that the agency was excited was an understatement. Mari-san had been thrilled when Izuku called her once he and Kacchan had gotten back to their apartment. His boyfriend had been silent and unhappy with the whole situation.

“I don’t want our fucking childhood out in the open like, Deku. I never wanted people to know about how ridiculous that whole shit was.”

“Because it’ll show you as weak?” Izuku had teased lightly. He hadn’t wanted to admit that he was worried about the response. Was Kacchan embarrassed by that time? Was he protesting the movie so much because he was afraid of how it would portray him?

Kacchan had only sighed and pulled Izuku into a quick kiss. “Stop thinking so loudly, shity nerd. I’m not embarrassed about the flower shit.”

“Then what is it?”

Kacchan had raked a hand over his face. There was the slightest tinge of pink high on his cheekbones that left Izuku feeling slightly breathless. “Our lives are front and center for everyone to see. It’s the price of being a hero. Since we graduated everyone has known every fucking thing about us. I guess I just liked having a little piece to keep to ourselves.”

Izuku was not the same over emotional crybaby that he was in high school. He had grown up. Matured. His first instinct now was to push away the overwhelming feelings and to focus on whatever situation he was in.

Kacchan had an awful habit of making him feel like the same high schooler he was when they first started dating. Which was really the only explanation he had for when he burst into happy tears.

His boyfriend had groused about the tears staining his favorite shirt, but there was no heat in it. Izuku had caught the fond smile on his face.

That had been two weeks ago. Now they were neck deep in working on missions and patrols and also working with the script writers. Because Kacchan’s stipulation for the movie was that they had to do it right. He didn’t want an overdramatized version of their relationship. He didn’t want it to be twisted just so somebody could make a buck.

Mari-san and Best Jeaniest had been completely understanding of that decision and had made it clear that both the heroes would have the final decision on whether the script was approved or not.

Which is why both Izuku and Kacchan were sitting in the meeting room discussing the first draft of the script. Mari-san sat on Izuku’s left while Best Jeanist sat on Kacchan’s right. Across the table from them a team of nervous but excited writers and producers were babbling about how they were looking forward to hearing Deku’s and Ground Zero’s thoughts on the script.

The further he read, the more a sinking and insecure feeling was settling in his chest.

It wasn’t a bad script. It was a good script. Funny and heartwarming and filled with a good amount of teenage drama and hurt that come with the hard cases of Hanahaki. He could imagine the movie being good and well received.

But it wasn’t what happened. It focused more on Izuku’s time. Showing how he’d developed it three times without really mentioning Kacchan’s own experiences. Like Kacchan’s feelings weren’t as intense as Izuku’s.

A telltale crackling sound drew Izuku out of his thoughts. The hand Kacchan had rested on Izuku’s knee was now balled into a fist. His face had a dark scowl as his eyes scanned the pages.

He threw the script back on the table, ignoring the way the people across from him flinched. “What the fuck?”

The lead scriptwriter blinked. “You don’t like it, Ground Zero-san?”

“Fuck no, I don’t like it! Are you trying to fucking mock us?”

Izuku sighed. Mari-san wasn’t saying anything but he could feel her nervousness. Best Jeanist seemed content to watch things play out. After years of working with them, he knew that Kacchan wouldn’t protest something like this without a reason.

The team across from the were panicking. They stumbled over protests and explanations that put an increasingly darker look on Kacchan’s face. The blonde pushed himself away from the table and left halfway through their excuses. He didn’t look back.

All eyes turned to Izuku in hopes that he’d be able to explain what had just happened.

“The script it good. If it wasn’t about us I think it would turn out very well.” Izuku hesitated. His eyes flicked over to look at his boss, who just nodded. As if he understood what Izuku wanted to say. Which he probably did. Best Jeanist was oddly empathetic like that.

“But I think you’re forgetting that it’s about us. That it’s our story. I may have developed Hanahaki three times, but Kacchan developed it twice. His feelings are just as strong as mine, and you overlooked that completely.”

Izuku stood up. He thanked them, but informed them that they would not be able to approve this script.

Then he left to go find his angry boyfriend before he destroyed the agency gym. Again.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It took the fucking production team two months to figure out a script that didn’t make Katsuki want to light it on fire. The team breathed a sigh of relief when Katsuki had grudgingly admitted that it was finally up to par.

They’d decided to focus on their time in Yuuei, while giving flashbacks to the previous times. They’d also written background scenes with their parents. Who had apparently talked about how they always knew about the boys’ feelings for each other during their interview.

That tidbit of information had pissed Katsuki off.

Looking over the script now though, it was clear that the team had truly wanted to do it justice. It was funny and heartwarming. It played up Deku’s obliviousness while also making it clear to the audience that the two were in love.

Katsuki would’ve hated it when he was younger. But hindsight is a bitch and he’s well aware that he and Deku were fucking idiots when they were in high school.

Speaking of Deku, the nerd was grinning ear to ear as he read through the script. His eyes were practically sparkling as he talked about how he really liked this script and he couldn’t wait to see how the real production would turn out.

Katsuki had to scrub a hand down his face to keep his smile hidden.

One of the brightsides to the movie was that Deku was excited for it. Back during high school they didn’t talk about the Hanahaki. They didn’t talk about the flowers they’d grown in their lungs. Not even after they’d confessed to each other.

Instead they had simply gotten together and decided that it was fine. Even when their friends teased them about it, they had brushed it off. Very rarely in the past six years had they ever brought it up.

Now they were discussing it every week. Sometimes multiple times a week.

Most of the time it would be with the production team. Small stories during the time they’d each contracted the disease.Working on what mindset they were in when they’d made the decisions they did.

The stories and feelings got more in depth once the cast had been finalized and they really started filming. Both Katsuki and Deku were given time off so they could work with the movie team.

In some ways Katsuki thought it was harder than hero work. Movies took a lot of fucking work. The director wanted their input on certain things, and the actors were always trying to pick their brains for things. Whether it was how they acted in high school or just how they should be feeling at certain parts, they were always asking questions.

Deku fucking loved it.

“Kaito-kun is so dedicated to his role! Don’t you think he’s doing great Kacchan? Oh! And look! Hinata-kun is really trying to pull off your scowl. He needs to scrunch his eyebrows more though. He looks more annoyed than downright murderous.”

“Hah? You tryna pick a fight, shitty nerd?”

Deku was quick to refute that, but it didn’t stop Katsuki from wrapping an arm around his neck and pulling him in close enough he could dig his knuckles into his boyfriend’s green hair. Deku was half protesting, half laughing.

Katsuki himself couldn’t help but smile as the other finally escaped his grip. Deku’s wide green eyes were bright and shining.

Maybe this movie wasn’t such an awful thing after all.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

As the movie started to pick up pace, Izuku found himself getting busier and busier. He had been distantly aware that both the production team and his agency were running interference on anything to do with the Hanahaki movie.

Mira-san was fielding any calls or inquiries about the movie. Occasionally she’d send him an email asking for a statement, or even just asking for a quick opinion. But that was as far as it got. From what he’d overheard in the agency gym, Best Jeanist was taking care of all of the media aspects. Including press conferences about the movie.

Considering all that, Izuku really hadn’t thought much about how people would react. After the interview his mom and Auntie Mitsuki did, it was only natural that people were curious. It’s not everyday you find out that two high ranked heroes not only suffered through Hanahaki, but they suffered through it multiple times.

What Izuku had forgotten to factor in was the reactions from his friends.

Specifically the friends who no longer worked in the same town as him and hadn’t heard about the movie until the official promo ads were going out.

It also didn’t help that his boyfriend was so thoroughly amused by the long list of unread texts and missed calls that he wouldn’t stop laughing.

“I’m dead. Ochako and Shouto are going to kill me. Hell. Mina is going to kill me. Kaito-kun is her favorite actor and I forgot to tell her that he’s going to be playing me in a movie about our ridiculous love story. Oh my god. We’re never gonna live this down, Kacchan. Our friends are going to bring this up and hold it over our heads forever. It’s like we’ve given them permission now that it’s no longer a secret.”

It said something about how hard Kacchan was laughing that he didn’t even try and stop Izuku from rambling. If he wasn’t so busy trying not to hyperventilate, then he probably would have been angry.

Or amused. What could he say? Kacchan had a very nice laugh.

Izuku’s phone went off. A very familiar ringtone sang over the top of Kacchan’s laughter. (Which was suddenly, impossibly, louder. The traitor.) His palms felt sweaty as he picked up and accepted the call.

“H-hello?” He stuttered.

“Izuku! My boy!” All Might’s voice was just as cheerfully energetic as ever. “I hear you and Katsuki are going to have a movie about you. This is quite exciting, is it not? Your first movie. I’m only sorry that I haven’t heard about it sooner.”

“Ah! No! That’s my fault All Might. Our agency has been doing all the media work and Kacchan and I haven’t really talked about the movie to anyone. It just slipped my mind. I’m sorry!”

Kacchan was mouthing the word ‘kiss-up’ at him. Izuku stuck his tongue out.

“No worries, my boy. I remember how hard it was to be working on movies. I was calling to find out how the progress is going. And if they have a premier date in mind. I would very much like to attend, if you don’t mind this retired hero showing up.”

Izuku was a spluttering mess. It didn’t matter that this was his sensei, the man who gave him his quirk. It was still All Might. And for all the growing up and maturing Izuku liked to claim he’s done, there was still All Might memorabilia decorating the apartment.

“Of course! We’d love if you could attend.”

All Might laughed on the other end of the line and Izuku felt himself relax. It really had been too long since he’d last talked to his sensei. After the man moved to America last year, they hadn’t been able to talk much between the time difference and Izuku’s hero work.

He spent the next hour on the phone with his mentor. Until Kacchan had come out of the kitchen with two plates of food and set it down on their coffee table for him. Izuku had quickly bid All Might goodnight. They promised to catch up soon and then hung up.

Izuku had planned on spending the rest of the evening having a lazy night with his boyfriend. Both of them had been so busy lately that they barely got to see each other outside of their shared time on the movie set. Their patrols rarely lined up, and with no big missions lately, they couldn’t even use the ‘Wonder Duo’ excuse.

Best Jeanist had just given him a very amused look when Izuku had tried.

So Izuku had fully intended on taking advantage of their alone time. Once the dishes were taken care of he’d settled onto the couch and curled up next to Kacchan’s side. The blonde had raised an eyebrow but only shifted around until Izuku was laying between his legs with his head tucked under his chin.

One of Kacchan’s warm hands was just slipping underneath the hem of his shirt when the front door clicked open and they both tensed.

“I’m being courteous and am giving you ten seconds to make sure your dicks are covered! After that we’re storming the house!”

“Ochako!” Izuku spluttered at the same time Kacchan yelled, “That key is for fucking emergencies, Round Face!”

There were more than just one set of footsteps that made their way to the living room. Neither of them had moved from their current position, so they had the pleasure of watching Ochako roll her eyes and Eijirou’s cheeks flush a light pink.

“This was an emergency, Katsuki. What the heck is all this about a movie? About your idiot high school selves?”

Kacchan’s brow twitched, but there were already other voices chiming in. Soon enough more of their friends were piling into their living room. It was loud and rowdy and the very opposite of what Izuku had planned.

Shouto and Momo were asking him about how things with the movie and work have been. Mina and Tsuyu were talking about Kaito-kn and how they loved his acting. Over in the kitchen he could hear Kacchan’s explosions (quieter than normal and mostly for show) as he yelled at Denki for digging through their cupboards.

Everyone was laughing and talking over each other and it was very reminiscent of their years of living in the dorms.

Maybe it wasn’t how he wanted his evening to go, but somehow he felt like this was better.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The movie was in it’s final stages when Katsuki came to a realization. It wasn’t something that he had really thought about before. Not until he’d sat in an interview with Deku as some lady tried to pry into how accurate the movie would be compared to what actually happened.

Deku was laughing as he replied. “It’s fairly accurate. Obviously there are parts that are dramatized and extra bits, but we had quite a bit of a say in regards to the script and production. Probably too much, really.”

The lady wanted to follow that thread of information. It was clear from the way her eyes sparkled. But when she looked back down at her notecards it was clear that she wouldn’t be able to get through everything in her allotted time.

So instead she turned to Katsuki with an annoyingly bright smile and said, “We’ve heard rumours that Deku-san was the one who asked you to date him. Is this true?”

It had caught both of them off guard. Katsuki was torn between laughing in the woman’s face and storming out. Because that was a statement that was equal parts hilarious and insulting. The nerd hadn’t even wanted to admit his feelings on his deathbed until Katsuki had said the words first. To even consider that Deku would have been the one to ask Katsuki out was just ridiculous.

Until Katsuki realized that he’d never asked Izuku to date him. He’d never actually asked the other man to be his boyfriend either. They had both just eased into it naturally without thinking about it.

Because what else were they supposed to do after they confessed to each other? Dance around the fact? Act all fucking shy and awkward? Fuck no. They did what anyone else should logically do in that situation.

They started referring to each other as ‘boyfriend’ and that was that.

Except maybe it wasn’t? Because Deku’s face was red and he was tugging the curls on the back of his neck like he did whenever he was really flustered. He tripped over every other word, denying the rumor of him making the first move. He kept stating and restating that Katsuki had always been the one to make the first move in their relationship.

And while the younger man wasn’t technically wrong, Katsuki really didn’t like how he was only right by a technicality.

The rest of the interview wasn’t memorable. Katsuki answered questions, Deku laughed and entertained, and the interviewer asked for autographs at the very end. The two of them left the building together with Deku spouting some shit about whatever documentary he wanted to watch tonight.

Katsuki gave him the side eye, humming and nodding in all the right places. Deku didn’t seem to notice that he wasn’t paying attention. Which was a fucking godsend, really. The fucking nerd practically had a sixth sense for whenever Katsuki was trying to hide things.

Not that Katsuki truly had that much room to talk. It was like calling the fucking kettle black.

An idea was forming in his head. A rough plan that would take a while before he could really get a chance to polish it. But the finished product would be fucking amazing. Not that anyone would really doubt that. Katuski was the best fucking boyfriend in the world. Even if he technically never asked that question.

I’ll just have to fucking fix that. Won’t I?

A slow smirk crossed his face as he half listened to Deku ramble on. For once, Katsuki had never been happier for how oblivious his boyfriend was. It wasn’t hard to distract him. All he really had to do was direct him towards the grocery store and tell him to grab whatever he wanted for dinner so Katsuki could make a call.

Deku didn’t even try and ask who he was calling. Just gave him a quick kiss and promised not to be too long.

Eijirou picked up on the third ring. “Yo! What’s up, Kat?”

“You’re staying in town until after the movie premiere right? I need your help with something.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The last month before the movie premiere was somehow both more relaxed and more busy than it had been. Filming had finished up a long time ago and it had mostly been just the team putting final touches and whatnot. Izuku and Katsuki had participated in many promo events, both with and without the cast of the movie.

With the burden of the movie wrapping up, Izuku had expected to have more time to catch up with Kacchan. Unfortunately the blonde’s schedule was still packed.

He remembered the other night when both of their schedules had finally lined up. All day he had been looking forward to the evening. Once he’d gotten home though, Kacchan had only brushed a kiss across his cheek and slid past him to pull on his shoes. He’d explained that he left dinner on the stove for Izuku and he’d be out late.

“The guy on the mission needs my help. Said something about how it would be better handled by me. Probably means they need a tactic sorta guy. Stop with that look, Deku. You know you’re their number one fucking go to for rescue missions. Don’t know how late I’ll be. Don’t wait up.”

Izuku had grudgingly accepted that. Most missions weren’t picky about which hero showed up. Sometimes they gathered more combat-focused heroes, while others tended to have more stealth heroes. A majority of the time it was a mix.

Both Ground Zero and Deku were well-regarded combat fighters. But where Izuku excelled in rescue missions, Kacchan had always been a brilliant tactician. Even as children he’d always had a knack for it.

Combine that with his hero instincts and Izuku really couldn’t blame someone for requesting Kacchan as backup. Even if it was fairly bittersweet to watch his boyfriend leave him behind.

Today was different though! This morning he woke up to the smell of eggs and pancakes wafting through the apartments. He could hear Kacchan’s soft humming - something he only ever did on rare occasions - and Izuku knew today was going to be a good day.

It was the final week before the movie, after all.

Kacchan didn’t say anything when Izuku emerged from their room and wrapped his arms around his waist. He didn’t stop humming as Izuku rested his head on back. The only thing the blonde did was flip pancakes and occasionally offer up pieces of fruit for Izuku to eat.

And then all of a sudden tears were dotting the corners of Izuku’s eyes. Because despite the years he’s had to get used to things like this, it still threw him off sometimes just how domestic they could be.

Who would have thought it’d turn out like this? Not me, that’s for sure. I thought Kacchan would’ve ended up with someone like Eijirou, while I was left to pine away. Or have been suffocated by flowers. But I’m here! With Kacchan. Together.

“Oi. Nerd. You alright? I can feel your tears.”

Izuku shook his head. “I’m fine, Kacchan. Just. Really happy.”

Kacchan gave him a soft look over his shoulder. One that took his breath away. It wasn’t that Kacchan wasn’t soft and gentle. He was. It’s just the look he was giving Izuku right now, the satisfied and completely smitten look, those were rare.

“Yeah. Me too, ‘Zuku.”

Breakfast was just as pleasant. They made small talk, joking about different aspects of the movie. While they worked on the dishes together Kacchan looked over at him with that same soft smile on his face.

“So. I’ve got the day off today.”

Izuku almost dropped the plate he was drying. “Really?”

“Mhmm. Whaddya say to going on a date today, nerd?”

Izuku really couldn’t say yes fast enough. Kacchan laughed at his overenthusiasm, but Izuku couldn’t help it. He’d been wanting his boyfriend’s full attention for a month now. He was fully convinced that the opportunity would slip past him if he didn’t grab it now.

Two hours later found them on a train heading out of the city. They were both quiet, making casual small talk. Every now and then someone on the train would give them a sideways look. As if they couldn’t tell why the two men looked so familiar.

It made Izuku want to smile. Even after they got off the train and were just making their way down the streets people would give them looks.

The kids were probably the best part. They seemed to be the only ones who recognized the two underneath their disguises. Many of them would stand off to the side and try and whisper about the two.

Try being the key word, of course. Like many kids, they really didn’t know how to whisper, just how to talk slightly quieter than yelling. It was so cute and reminiscent of their own childhood that Izuku felt a pang in his chest.

He remembered how it felt to be that age and to look up to heroes. He also remembered how he’s stood on the sidelines and wished he could get an autograph from his favorite pros.

Kacchan groaned next to him. “Stop thinking so loud, shitty nerd. Just go talk to them already.”

Izuku blinked as innocently as possible up at his boyfriend. “You don’t mind, Kacchan?”

The blonde just shrugged. There was a hint of a smile at the corner of his mouth and that was enough for Izuku. He crossed the street to where the group of kids were and crouched down. They all looked wide eyed as he took off his sunglasses and said ‘hi.’

It was well into the afternoon by the time Izuku finally pulled himself away from the group of children. Both him and Kacchan had signed autographs and played with them. It had brought more attention to them, which had of course ended up extending the little break in their date.

For his part, Kacchan didn’t seem too annoyed. More than once Izuku had caught the other with a self-indulgent smile on his face. Or even crouching down to talk to some of the kids, letting them see his quirk as their faces glowed with wonder.

After they had pulled themselves away and had gone for a late lunch, they just wandered around town. The streetlights were starting to flicker on when Kacchan tugged on Izuku’s hand. They spoke quietly as they walked hand and hand down the familiar streets.

Kacchan didn’t speak until the old playground was in sight. “Do you remember when we were little and used to spend all day here?”

Izuku smiled. “Of course. You were a pint-sized terror, Kacchan.”

The blonde snorted. “And you were my sidekick.”

The green haired boy hummed in agreement. He took a seat on the swingset and thought back on those days. Back before Izuku was diagnosed as quirkless and he and Kacchan were always together. While Kacchan was the leader and very much unafraid to get in people’s faces, Izuku was his second-in-command. He had used his quick analysis to make gameplans that Kacchan would execute flawlessly.

And on the rare occasions they would get in trouble, all Izuku had to do was breakout the watery puppy eyes and they would get off the hook.

Of course, then things changed. Izuku had still followed after Kacchan, but it was different. The blonde was more content to ignore him and push him around for the show of it. Yet he still always managed to make sure nobody else messed with him.

“Do you remember how you that day what’s-her-face tried to tell everyone she was gonna marry me?”

Izuku did in fact remember that day. He also knew Kacchan could tell because the other man laughed when Izuku’s cheeks flushed bright red.

It was such a ridiculously innocent thing, now that he thought back. One of their neighborhood kids had admired Kacchan. As had most of the kids. Then one day she’d come to the playground and announced that she was ‘Going to marry Katsuki.’

And Izuku had been five years old and the only thing he’d felt at that time was that someone else was trying to take his best friend away from him. He hadn’t even looked to Kacchan at the time to see how the blonde would react. He had instead marched right up to the girl and told her she couldn’t.

Even now he still remembered her snotty looking face. “What are you going to do about it, Izuku?”

Izuku was not a violent kid. The only times he had ever gotten into fights or rough-housing was when Kacchan had decided he needed backup. Usually Kacchan preferred to do all the fighting because “‘Zuku’s quirk hasn’t come in yet. So I’ll protect him.”

But when that girl had said that, with that look that said Izuku was stupid, something snapped in him. He pushed her back - not hard enough to hurt her, just to startle her and make her back up a few steps. His face was red and there had been tears in his eyes as he yelled at her.

“Kacchan is mine! I’m the only one who gets to marry him!”

Kacchan was laughing at him softly. One hand ruffled his hair as Izuku tried to splutter excuses. He had been five after all. That alone should give him some sort of leeway. How did the blonde even remember that time?

“It was cute, you know. How mad jealous you got of her.”

“Well, Kacchan was my best friend. And she was trying to take you away!”

“Fucking nerd,” Kacchan’s voice was nothing but fond as he slipped around Izuku to kneel in front of him. Izuku smiled at him even though his face was still overly warm. “You know you’re the only one for me.”

Izuku snorted. “Yeah. Well I know that now. Five year old Izuku was a little more insecure than that, thank you very much.”

“Oh, whatever. You were just mad because she was trying to stake a claim in me.”

“I was mad because Kacchan didn’t stop her!” Which was true. Before Izuku had even stepped up to her, Kacchan had just stood there and stared at her.

From where he knelt on the ground, Kacchan smiled. Or maybe it was a smirk? It was too self-confident to be a true smile, but the edges were softer than the razor-blade lines of his signature smirk. It made something in his stomach flutter.

“I guess I should change that, huh?” Izuku watched, feeling oddly breathless, as Kacchan reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small box. When it opened, a small golden ring, studded with tiny gems in the same colors as all the flowers they had coughed up between them, was revealed.

“You know I’m shit at romantic gestures. I spent forever talking with Eijirou about what would be the best way to do this. But then I decided that this is where everything really began, isn’t it? This playground when we were just kids.

“And back then I didn’t stop that girl because she was irrelevant. I already knew that you were mine and nobody could change that. And while that’s still true, I got to thinking. Isn’t it time everyone knew?”

Izuku could feel the tears building behind his eyes. Kacchan’s smile softened as he took Izuku’s hand and slipped the ring onto his finger. “At some point I want to get tattoos of this ring. So we don’t have to worry about losing it or destroying it in a fight. But for now, I think it’s good enough. I love you, ‘Zuku. So much that I grew fucking flowers for you. Twice. So whaddya say, nerd? Will you marry me?”

Izuku couldn’t do anything but launch himself into his boyfriend’s arms, kissing him between laughter and tears and mumbling ‘yes’ over and over again.

After that night, the rest of the week flew by. Their friends had congratulated them by throwing a dinner party for them. The agency had decided to keep in underwraps until after the movie premiere, and the production team had made a special toast just for them.

At the airport All Might had cried at the sight of the golden ring on Izuku’s finger. He’d pulled both boys into a hug, telling them how proud and excited he was for them on this new journey in their lives.

Kacchan would deny it, but even he had gone pink cheeked at All Might’s words.

On the night of the movie, everyone gathered for the first screening. All their friends and old senseis had been invited, along with Mari-san and Best Jeanist. Both of their parents were there, and were gushing over how exciting it was.

Izuku had never felt more content with his life than he did when Kacchan leaned down and kissed him in front of everyone. For a second he was reminded of the time he had done the same thing when they were teenagers. Like he was announcing their relationship for the whole world to know.

And if the media suddenly caught sight of the rings on their fingers, well, Izuku didn’t really care. It would only help with the movie publicity, really.

Izuku had everything he could ask for. And from the smile on his fiance’s face, Kacchan wholeheartedly agreed.