Archive of Our Own ^beta

It started when he joined an agency that required its employees to attend monthly counselling. Katsuki wasn't against therapy, or anything. He just didn't really have anything to talk about. The therapist was good—she never pried for information or tried to make him talk. She even let him nap on her couch once or twice. 

And then, one day, he had one of those days. One of those days that exists to serve as a reminder that he'll never be able to save everyone.

And suddenly he has something to talk about.

That was two years ago. Now he's twenty-five and he's just cracked the top five on the hero list and he's trying to figure why he's not... happier.

"Lately, I've been thinking a lot about this kid I used to know."

Miya crosses her legs. "What about him?"

Katsuki slumps in the chair and stretches his legs out. "I was a dick to him," he says, staring up at the ceiling and thinking about big green eyes filled with tears. "He was a quirkless little cry baby and I was awful. I gave him a shitty nickname. Got violent with him. In our last year of middle school I told him to fucking kill himself. And then I went to learn how to be a hero." He says this in disgust. Miya watches him closely. "And now I'm in the top five and I'm getting everything I want but I don't feel like a hero. What kind of hero tells a kid to kill themselves?"

"You have a lot of guilt." 

"Yeah." His palms are sweaty. Talking about his feelings always made him feel like blowing things up. "I just wish I could like… apologize to him, or something. Tell him that I'm not that asshole kid anymore. I've changed and I'm—saving people. Ugh." He groans in frustration "This is stupid."

"Why don't you?" 

"Why don't I what?" 

"Apologize to him." 

“I can't just do that.” 

“Why not?”

"I can't just contact him after a decade. He probably hates me. He should hate me."

"Ten years is a long time. Maybe he'd appreciate the closure, as well."

"Or maybe the sight of my face will give him a panic attack."

"If he owns a television, he'll have seen your face.”

And that’s the thought that does it, that convinces him. Katsuki's face and image is everywhere. He has a very extensive merch line, he’s on television fairly fucking often. And to think that every time Midoriya turned on the news, or saw anything related to the fifth most popular hero, that the memories he would have would only be of Katsuki bullying him…

He deserved an apology. He deserved much better. 

Bakugou:
do you still talk to Midoriya?

Old Hag:
Inko?? We're in a book club together.

Bakugou:
didn't know you knew how to read

Old Hag:
I have an arsenal of embarrassing baby pictures I could send to the media at any moment.

Old Hag:
why are you asking about Inko

Bakugou :
found an old yearbook. whats her son doing these days 

Old Hag:
he's out near you, actually. He teaches in the city.

And isn't that just fucking perfect. 

It is so remarkably easy to get information when you're a popular Pro Hero. It doesn't take long for Katsuki to track down Midoriya Izuku, and on a Sunday in July he stands outside a small house with a few shrubs out front. The welcome mat is All Might themed.

Katsuki rings the doorbell before he can convince himself not to. After a few moments of silence he hears yelling coming from inside.

"Coming! Sorry! One second! I— oof. Ow…"

Izuku opens the door, face screwed up in pain. He has a hand pressed to his head. When he sees who it is, his eyes widen, and his hand drops away.

He says, "Kacchan?" 

And Katsuki thinks, oh no. 

He's the hottest fucking man Katsuki has ever seen.

He's a few inches shorter than Katsuki, but he's stocky and muscular. He's wearing a pair of shorts that show off thighs that Katsuki wants to be crushed to death with, and his shirt—he's wearing Katsuki’s fucking merch.

Once Katsuki is able to drag his eyes up from where his logo stretches over a massive chest, he's assaulted by cheeks that still have a bit of fat, plush looking lips, and eyes that are far greener than Katsuki remembered. Midoriya's wild curls remain as out of control as Katsuki remembers them. He wants to run his fingers through it.

Oh this is so fucking bad. 

Katsuki says, "Wha?" like an absolute fucking moron. Izuku is staring at him like—well, like someone he hadn't seen in ten years just showed up on his step to gawk at him.

Katsuki bows. It’s easier to form words when he's looking at the stupid All Might welcome mat (You are Here!) than when he looks at Midoriya’s incredibly cute face or ludicrously hot body.

"I wanted to apologize for the harm I did to you in school. I was a complete asshole and my actions were totally out of line. I understand if you hate me and I won't bother you again. I just wanted to tell you—" he stands up straight and looks Izuku in the eye again. "I'm not that kid anymore."

Izuku's eyes are wide. He doesn't look like he's harbouring a ten year grudge against the Pro Hero who used to mercilessly bully him, but you could never be too sure.

Katsuki bows once more and then turns to leave.

"Wait! Kacchan!" Izuku runs out of his house in slippered feet and grabs his arm, yanking him around with surprising strength. Katsuki is shocked to see that he's smiling. "You can't just show up here after ten years, say that, and then leave! At least come in for tea, or something."

"You want me to come in for tea?" 

"I mean, it doesn't have to be tea," Izuku jokes, but at Katsuki’s stare he sighs. "Thank you for apologizing. It means a lot. But I don't hold any grudges, and if you have the time I'd love for you to come in so we could catch up."

Katsuki narrows his eyes. This was going way better than he ever could have hoped. "Really?"

Izuku gives him an exasperated look. "Kacchan. I'm literally wearing your merch."

Katsuki had actually been trying to ignore that, because if he thinks about it too much he's liable to pop a boner. "Yeah, okay," he says, turning back towards the house. "I have time."

"Okay!" Izuku says happily. He is still holding onto Katsuki's arm. Katsuki thinks he might be feeling up his muscles, but that might just be wishful thinking.

Izuku steers him inside the house. It’s tidy; there are plants decorating the front hall, and as Katsuki is toeing off his shoes an orange cat comes slinking between his legs.

Izuku smiles at that. "She doesn't normally like people," he says.

"Neither do I," Katsuki mutters, bending down to scratch the cat under her chin before he follows Izuku into the kitchen.

"What kind of tea do you like?"

"Doesn't matter," he says, ignoring the seat Izuku points out in favour of snooping through the pictures and magnets on Izuku's fridge. He sees a picture of him and his mom, wide matching smiles on their faces; there are an assortment of magnets from different stores or restaurants and a veterinary office. Katsuki sees a magnet of a bisexual flag, which he happily makes note of, and then a picture of him with his arms around some girl, which Katsuki not so happily makes note of.

"Girlfriend?" He tries to sound very cool and collected about it and like he doesn't care at all.

"Hm?" Izuku leans over to see what he's looking at. "Oh, that's Ochaco! She's my best friend."

Katsuki files this information away and takes the tea lzuku hands him. The mug has an All Might face on it.

"Never grew out of the All Might thing, huh?"

Izuku stutters and turns red. It’s stupidly cute. "You know how I feel about heroes," he mutters, leading Katsuki into his living room. "I've been following you too, you know!" He stops and looks at Katsuki sheepishly. "That sounded creepy. I meant your career. Actually, I kind of use the fact that we were friends as a way to impress my kids."

Katsuki chokes on his tea. "Kids?" 

"Oh!" Izuku's eyes go very wide. "I m-mean teaching! I'm a teacher! I teach!"

"Right. My mom mentioned that."

"Oh, how is your mom!" Izuku twists his whole body around, folding his legs beneath him so he’s facing Katsuki straight on. "Is she enjoying this month's book? My mom is having trouble getting through it, mystery isn't really for her."

Katsuki pulls one of his legs up beneath him, arm resting on the back of the couch so he's facing Izuku, too. He tries and fails not to be completely charmed. He asks, "What do you teach?” Completely ignoring the question about the book club.

"Third grade!" He says excitedly. Katsuki is beginning to realize he still does almost everything excitedly. "It’s really wonderful and rewarding to be able to watch the future generation gain control of their quirks and chase after their dreams!"

Katsuki snorts. "You haven't changed much, huh?"

Izuku bends one of his knees up to his chest, wrapping his arms around his leg. He rests his chin on his knee and gives Katsuki… a look. It’s a look that makes Katsuki’s mouth dry. "I've certainly changed in some ways," he says, and this time he's definitely looking at Katsuki's biceps.

He needs to buy his therapist flowers. 

"I—"

His phone rings. He groans and gives Izuku an apologetic look before he answers.

"What."

"Emergency! Could use some backup!" Kaminari shouts into his ear.

"It’s my day off," Katsuki hisses into the phone.

"I don't really think villains care much about your PTO, bro."

"Are you all so fucking useless you can't beat some scummy villain without me?"

"It’s six scummy villains, and don't pretend your ego doesn't love it. Hurry up!"

Katsuki hangs up and takes a breath through his nose. He's going to go murder these villains, and then he's going to murder his useless friends.

"Gotta go," he says. "Thanks for the tea."

"Kacchan, wait!" Izuku stands up and walks with Katsuki to the door. "C-can I give you my number?"

Katsuki almost drops his phone in his haste to hand it to Izuku. It’s very uncool of him.

Izuku gives him his number and then hands Katsuki's phone back.

"I'll text you when I'm done with this bullshit," he promises. "Don't sell my number on the internet."

Izuku leans against the wall and laughs. "I promise. Be safe."

"Please,” Katsuki says with a slightly feral grin. "These shitty villains are gonna regret interrupting me." He throws one last look at Izuku. "See you later, nerd." 

Izuku gives him another one of those looks. "You'd better."

Kirishima:
how did it go?

Bakugou:
I need to fuck him 

Kirishima:
oh my god

Katsuki deals with the villains, bitches Kaminari out, heads home and showers, and then, only when he's settled in bed, does he get his phone out.

It takes him a while to find him; he's not under Midoriya or Izuku. He'd entered his number under the name Deku.

Bakugou:
Deku, huh?

He texts back almost immediately. Katsuki is intensely grateful for his enthusiasm.

Deku:
y’know its funny, the name kind of stuck with me thru high school 

Deku:
i kind of…….reclaimed it??? lmao. and now a lot of my kids will call me that because its easier than midoriya

Deku:
i’m gonna keep calling you Kacchan, you can still call me Deku!! I don't mind!!!

Bakugou:
okay, deku

Deku:
did you beat the villain?? 

Bakugou:
who the fuck do I look like

Bakugou:
of course I did

Deku:
Kacchans amazing!!

Deku:
actually can I ask you a question?? I wanted to ask you before, but you had to go

Bakugou:
ya sure

Deku:
why did you seek me out? Like, why now?

Katsuki thinks about this before he answers, but he decides on the truth. Deku deserved it.

Bakugou:
I dream about you sometimes

Bakugou:
okay now i’m sounding creepy 

Bakugou:
I just mean. When I cracked the top five and everyone started making a big fucking deal out of it, I kept dreaming about all the shit I did to you

Bakugou:
didn't make me feel like much of a fucking hero.

Deku:
how did you find out where I live?

Bakugou:
fuck this is gonna sound so goddamn creepy but it is so easy to get information when you’re a pro 

Deku:
wow I can't believe I'm being stalked by dynamight

Katsuki is dimly aware that he’s grinning. It's very embarrassing, and he's happy there's no one here to see it.

Bakugou:
you had way too much of my merch in your house to talk about stalking

Deku:
merch isn’t STALKING and also p sure all my merch helped you buy that fancy watch i saw

Bakugou:
that's a support item. can't always have the gauntlets

Bakugou:
I can tell from how long you've been typing that you're about to fanboy all over me

Bakugou:
oh my god deku 

Deku:
wow!!! that's so cool!! What does it do?? does it function the same way as your gauntlets? I assume the power output isn't as good since it's not as big but it's such a subtle support that it's easy to hide which must be good because that means you can be prepared even when you don't have your costume! was it designed by hatsume mei too?? she's been designing support items for you since you started at UA!!

Bakugou:
I can't believe you had the nerve to accuse me of stalking, you big weirdo

Deku:
it's not stalking if its on your wikipedia page.

Bakugou:
I don't think its fair that I have a whole page of info you can read about me but I had to bribe a government official just to find out where you live

Deku:
omg is that what you did 

Deku:
why didn't you just ask your MOM 

Deku:
but kacchan

Deku:
if you wanna know something about me you just need to ask 

Deku:
i'll tell you anything (*^ω^)

Deku:
actually I'll tell you anything tomorrow bc I just realized how late it is and I have school tmrw! 

Deku:
start thinking about q’s!!! 

Bakugou:
night, nerd

Bakugou:
k my first question is 

Bakugou:
why did you forgive me 

Deku:
wow i don't think that's the kind of information available on a wikipedia page

Deku:
but i guess……. I'm not the same person I was when we were kids, and I’ve changed a lot, so its easy to believe you have too 

Deku:
and I have been watching you over the years! so I've seen it 

Deku:
lmao like remember 

Izuku immediately sends through a picture from Katuski’s first sports festival, the one where he’d had to be chained to the podium. A little too immediately, actually.

Bakugou:
did you already have that on your phone

Deku:
no comment

Deku:
anyway the point is you're not him anymore

Deku:
also your biceps are huge and you're really hot

Bakugou:
k so second question 

Bakugou:
are you busy tonight 

Izuku was busy that night—as he pointed out, it was a school night. They made plans for Saturday, but every night that week they text into the night. Katsuki asks Deku questions and he answers them like he said he would; questions about his friends, his work, his interests, his past relationships. Izuku answers them all.

Katsuki is falling fast.

On Thursday night around eight Deku texts him.

Deku:
where do you live? 

Bakugou:
why do you wanna know stalker 

Deku:
shut up

Deku:
I have so much marking to do and it's your fault because I normally set aside time to mark every night but instead i’ve been talking to you 

Deku:
so I was thinking if you lived close you could come over and keep me company

Deku:
and also bring wine 

Deku:
if you want

Katsuki does not live close, but he's sure as shit not going to tell Deku that.

Bakugou:
ya sounds good. what kind of wine?

Deku:
ok!!! White pls!!

Katsuki was in so fucking deep.

Deku answers the door in an oversized All Might sweater and a pair of honest to fucking god bunny slippers. Katsuki snorts and holds out the bottle of wine.

"Should you be drinking on a school night?"

Deku elbows him and smiles. It’s a really fucking nice smile. "I'll get glasses," he says, but Katsuki grabs him and redirects him back towards the living room.

"Don't bother," he says. "I have simple tastes." He holds up the bottle of vodka. Deku laughs.

"Am I supposed to be impressed?”

Katsuki leers at him. "Are you?"

Izuku rolls his eyes good naturedly. "Go sit down." He pushes Katsuki towards the couch, and this time he sits right next to him, shoulders pressed together. He opens the bottle of wine and takes a few impressive gulps before he reaches out and grabs a pile of papers from the table. Then he pulls his feet up and leans into Katsuki's shoulder, resting the papers on his lap and pulling a pen out from behind his ear. Katsuki takes a few shots of his vodka; he has a feeling he's going to need it. 

"So what are you marking?" 

"We had a history quiz on Monday I'm supposed to hand back tomorrow."

"Sounds fascinating."

"I'm glad you think so," Izuku says sweetly, before he drops half the pile on Katsuki's lap. "Here's the answer key," he says, placing a laminated piece of paper and a pen on top of the pile.

“Are you suggesting I won't know all the answers to a third grade history quiz?”

Izuku laughs. "Kacchan is so smart." He takes another swig from his wine, and Katsuki takes another from his vodka.

And then... they mark. Izuku ends up sitting with his back against Katsuki's side, legs stretched out across the couch cushions. As the night progresses (and as they get drunker) he slumps lower so his head is resting back against Katsuki's shoulder, his knees pulled up to use as a surface for marking. Every time Katsuki turns his head to talk to him, he can smell Deku's shampoo.

"My students would flip if they knew you were marking their tests."

"Your students are fucking stupid," Katsuki says, scribbling an angry 7/20 on top of the paper he was marking.

"No they're not," Izuku says. "They're just eight. They don't care about history, they just want to learn how to use their quirks. Think about all the things you blew up when we were eight."

Katsuki likes the way he says ‘when we were eight’. "I was still passing my quizzes." 

Deku tilts his head back. "Well, we can't all be as amazing as Kacchan."

Katsuki snorts. He finishes off the last quiz Deku had given him (14/20) and then says, "Any of your students got cool quirks?"

Izuku finishes with the test he'd been marking before he grabs both piles and drops them on his table. Then he flops down, legs stretching out over the couch cushions and head in Katsuki's lap. Katsuki’s drunken brain tells him he should finally reach up and bury his fingers in Deku's wild hair, and for once his drunken brain is 100% right. Izuku practically purrs in contentment as Katsuki's fingers card through his hair. He arches into the touch. Katsuki wants to do so many fucking things to and with and on top of him. He lets his other hand rest on Izuku’s stomach, and Izuku’s fingers start tracing along the skin of his hands and wrists. 

"One of the girls has a truth telling quirk, which can be terrifying, but she hasn't quite figured out how to control it. She can ask you any question and you'll have to answer truthfully to the best of your abilities. It will be a great quirk when she's older and working with law enforcement or something, but it's not as helpful for an eight year old who loves personal questions. There's... oh, one of my students can control blood. He's not mastered the whole body, but he got into a lot of trouble the other day because he controlled my arm so I couldn't hand out the homework." Izuku laughs. He has a really wonderful laugh.

"Do they ever…" he tries to think of the best way to phrase this and completely fails, tripping over his tongue and saying, rather tactlessly, "When they find out you don't have a quirk.”

Izuku hums, still pushing into Katsuki's hand like a cat, which hopefully means he wasn't offended at the question.

"Depends," he says. "Most of the time they're just really sad for me, although there are a few kids who take it to mean that my being quirkless means they can walk all over me and not listen, but that usually only lasts a few days. Very rarely do I have to escalate it. But it’s so worth it when I get a student who’s also quirkless. I get to tell them all the things I wish people had told me when I was a kid." 

Katsuki clears his throat. "Well, if they ever give you a hard time, I'm not afraid to kill a minor." 

Deku looks up at him with wide green eyes before he bursts into delighted laughter. "My hero," he giggles. It's offensively cute. It makes red creep up Katsuki's ears.

Izuku's fingers slide through Katsuki’s. "Your hands are so calloused. Is that from using your quirk? Oh also, I always wanted to know, you know how your mom's quirk keeps her looking really young, does that happen to you too? Is that why your skin is so nice?"

Katsuki files this compliment away. "Does your brain ever stop?"

"No," Deku grins up at him. Katsuki hears the low buzz of a phone vibrating, and Izuku shimmies around until he's pulled his phone out of his pocket. He looks at it for a moment, seemingly uncomprehendingly, before he groans.

"It’s so late," he says, dropping his phone on his stomach. "I'm gonna be so fucked tomorrow."

"Your fault," Katsuki says. "You told me to bring booze."

Izuku sits up, leaving Katsuki’s lap cold and empty. He takes quick stock of himself and comes to the decision that yep, definitely too drunk to drive home. He'll have to call a cab, and then he'll have to get back here tomorrow to get his car. Ugh. Annoying.

Izuku stands up and then holds his hand out. Katsuki flashes back twenty years, kneeling in shallow water, staring up at green eyes. Katsuki takes his hand.

"You're drunk too," Izuku says. "Stay here. You can't drink and fly."

Katsuki’s drunk brain latches onto the wrong part of that sentence.

"I didn't fly here, nerd, I drove." Then his brain catches up and he says, "Wait, what?"

"Stay here," Izuku repeats, grabbing Katsuki's wrist and leading him towards the stairs. Katsuki doesn't let himself feel what he wants to about that. Instead he says, "Where do you want me to sleep?"

Izuku stops and turns around. He has a deadly little smirk on his face. "Kacchan," he says. "It's too late for this. I would like you to sleep in my bed with me, but if you're not comfortable with that, there's a cot in the cat's room."

Katsuki says, "You have a whole room for your cat?" 

Izuku looks at him flatly. "Kacchan."

Katsuki rolls his eyes. "I want to sleep in your stupid bed with you," he says, words coming only slightly easier because of the alcohol.

Izuku grins at him. "Thank you for the open communication," he says, like a fucking teacher.

"Nothing sexier than open communication," he sneers as he follows Izuku upstairs.

"I know you're being sarcastic, Kacchan, but you're not wrong." 

He keeps expecting some lull between them, keeps waiting for awkwardness to spring up, but it never does. He follows Izuku upstairs and into the bathroom, where he pulls out a spare toothbrush for Katsuki. It isn't awkward as they brush their teeth next to each other, and it's not awkward when he follows Izuku into his bedroom. Izuku starfishes face first on his bed, on top of the covers, and Katsuki takes the opportunity to check out his ass.

"Do you have an extra phone charger?" Izuku moves to fumble around in his side table before flinging a cord onto the other side of the bed. "Get the light," he mutters, and Katsuki plugs his phone in before he shuts the light off and gets into bed beside the dude he’d ruthlessly bullied as a kid.

Surreal.

A hand comes up and touches Katsuki's chest, moving so it’s resting on his waist. "You're warm," Izuku mutters. "S’that your quirk? I guess that makes sense, your whole thing is pretty dependent on you sweating—"

"Holy shit, do you ever stop mumbling?" 

Izuku laughs. "I'm trying to distract myself."

He can see Deku better now, his eyes having adjusted to the dark. "From what?"

"Hm," Izuku says, a noise that comes deep from his chest that makes Katsuki desperately want to hear what other noises he can make. "I really wanna kiss you."

Pleasure spikes through him. "Then do it," he says.

"Don't think I'd be able to stop if I did," he whispers. Katsuki's mouth is very dry.

"Do you want to?" 

Izuku grins sharply. "No," he says, voice low and husky. "But I wanna take my time, an’ I gotta teach tomorrow."

Katsuki is 45% sure he's having some kind of wet dream. He's just gonna go with it.

"Tell you what," he says, trailing a hand along the line of Izuku's body from his shoulder to his hip and delighting at the shiver it draws out of him. "You kiss me, and I'll make sure to stop it if it goes too far. We're way too drunk, anyway. I want you to be able to remember everything I do to you."

Another shiver. "Promise?” Izuku says, although Katsuki isn't sure if he means promise that he'll stop or promise that he'll absolutely wreck his shit when he gets his hands on him for real.

"'Course," he says confidently, no matter which one it is. "I'm a fuckin' hero, ain't I?"

Izuku's lips quirk up. "Do you take part in this kind of hero work often, Mr. Dynamight?” He teases.

"Shut the fuck up and kiss me, Deku."

He does, leaning forward and pressing their lips together. It’s sloppy and messy and somehow completely perfect. Izuku moans into his mouth, arm wrapping around Katsuki's back and pulling himself closer, bodies pressed together. Katsuki can feel every hard line of muscle, can feel Izuku's half-hard cock pressed against his thigh. Every time Izuku tries to shift closer, or his hands wander too far below the belt, Katsuki pulls back, with fucking impeccable self-control, may he fucking add.

"Slow down," he says right into Izuku's ear, loving the way he grasps at Katsuki's back and bites at his lips. "You have to teach tomorrow."

"I'll just play a movie," he mutters. Katsuki smirks and bends his head to nip lightly at Izuku's collarbone. He wants to bite so many other places.

"I promise to make it worth it," he says. 

Izuku pulls away with a whine, moves in for one more kiss, and then says, "Fine, fine. You're right. Shit." He runs a hand over his face and then laughs breathlessly. "You're really good at kissing, Kacchan."

"I'm good at fucking everything." 

"Mhm," Izuku says, in a way that seems far more like he's humouring Katsuki than anything else. "Night, Kacchan."

Katsuki, still drunk on vodka and the taste of Izuku's lips, leans forward to press his lips sloppily to Deku's forehead.

"Night, nerd."

In the morning, Katsuki wakes up slowly, the smell of cheap shampoo flooding his nose as Izuku whispers his name. He forces his eyes open and grunts when he sees how close Deku is. "Wha?"

Izuku smiles. "I have to go to work," he mutters. "The spare key is in the front hall, you can leave whenever you wake up. You can give me the key back tomorrow."

Katsuki tries to get up. "Wait, I can—" he cuts off, because he's not sure what he was going to say, given that he's going to need at least forty five minutes and a very strong cup of coffee before he'll be even half functional. He really doesn't drink much.

"No, stay," Deku says, pushing him back down. "It's stupid early. Go back to sleep." His lips brush against Katsuki's in a timid kiss, and Katsuki is too tired to chase another. "I'm so hungover. Last night was a horrible idea. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

Katsuki grunts a vague affirmation and then turns over to shove his face in Izuku's pillows; he falls back asleep almost immediately. 

"Wow, this is going so fast. Can I be the best man?"

Kirishima makes a wounded noise. Katsuki rolls his eyes. "In what fucking world would you be my best man?" He asks Kaminari, who pouts. "And also, fuck you."

"It is moving fast though," Mina says. Katsuki glares at her.

"Why are you here? Go bother your own agency."

"Your cafeteria is better," Mina says. "You're falling fast for this dude.”

"No I'm fucking not," he says, even though it feels like a lie. "He's hot as shit and I want to bang him." 

"And you spend all day texting him.”

"Mind your own fucking business," he snaps at Kaminari.

"Don't get so huffy," Mina says. "We're very happy for you."

"Fuck you. Go back to work." 

Mina checks her watch and then swears. "Shit, it's later than I thought!” She grabs her coat and smiles at the table, one hand lingering on Kirishima's shoulder. "Can't wait to meet your new boyfriend!" She bounds away before he can protest. Katsuki scowls at his lunch.

"Hey," Kirishima says, sounding worried. Katsuki looks up at him. "I'm gonna be your best man, right?"

Katsuki says, "Go to hell.”

Deku:
where are we going tonight? 

Deku:
like should I dress up 

Bakugou:
fuck no who do I look like 

Bakugou:
wear what you like.

Katsuki sends this and then resumes freaking the fuck out about his own wardrobe. He sends a text to Mina. 

Bakugou:
if you mention this to anyone I'm never telling you anything about my life again 

Bakugou:
what the fuck should I wear 

Ashido:
okay those jeans your dad got you that you said were too tight look really good on you whether you like them or not 

Ashido:
do NOT wear khakis 

Ashido:
and then wear that button down you wore to Yaomomo's birthday it makes your tits look great 

Bakugou:
i swear to fucking god 

Ashido:
sorry sorry i take it back 

Ashido:
it does though

Ashido:
keep the top three buttons undone and roll up the sleeves

Ashido:
he's gonna jump your bones and you are so gonna owe me 

Bakugou:
get me results first

He gets results.

He does look good, although he still thinks the pants are too tight. Izuku opens the door, stares at Katsuki's chest for almost an entire minute and then says, "Gimme three minutes," in a very high pitched squeak. Katsuki gets his phone out while he waits.

Bakugou:
thank you

Ashido:
was it your tits 

Ashido:
leaving me on read is an answer

Deku opens the door a few minutes later in a different outfit. He’s wearing a shirt that shows off his arms, but what gets Katsuki's attention are the gray leggings he's wearing, which show off his massive fucking thighs and the best ass Katsuki has ever seen.

"That’s playing dirty."

Izuku glares at him. "You show up here looking like that, what else was I supposed to do?"

"Looking like what?" Katsuki asks, grinning. Izuku glares at him again. It’s a really cute glare; it makes Katsuki lean in and kiss him quickly, which wipes the glare right off his face.

"Ready for dinner, or did you want to skip straight to dessert?"

Izuku snorts at him. "That was a bad line. And I'm hungry. Where are we going?” He finishes locking his door and Katsuki slings an arm around his shoulder as they walk to his car.

"Sushi."

Izuku brightens. "Oh good, I'm starving.” Then he fucking pinches Katsuki’s ass and does a cute little skip to the car. Katsuki stares at him with what he's sure must be a dopey smile on his face. He has a feeling Izuku is going to make him really embarrassing. 

Dinner is… it’s fucking great. Every fucking minute he spends with fucking Deku makes him feel light and happy. He even signs a goddamn autograph at the end of the night for one of the waiters. Izuku chatters as Katsuki drives him home, but when Katsuki parks in front of his house Izuku undoes his seatbelt, leans across to kiss Katsuki, and says in a low voice, “Park your car and come inside, Kacchan.”

And Katsuki fucking listens. 

When they get inside he hangs out a little awkwardly near the door, not wanting to push his luck, or assume, or whatever. Izuku closes the door and then grins, pushing into Katsuki’s space and standing up on his tiptoes to speak directly in Katsuki’s ear. “Kacchan. You have been a perfect gentleman this whole time. But,” he says, taking Katsuki’s hands and leading them down to grab his ass. “I really don’t want you to be a gentleman anymore.”

It’s all Katsuki needs to unleash himself. He maneuvers them so he can slam Izuku against the wall, hands still groping his ass. Izuku kisses him back, mouth open, and Katsuki pulls away long enough to growl out, “You have thirty seconds to get upstairs or I’m fucking you on the couch.”

And just like Katsuki had, Izuku fucking listens. 

Katsuki tackles him into the bed, one of his hands immediately going to Izuku’s ass, the other into his hair, using it to tilt his head. Izuku’s fingers start fiddling with the buttons of Katsuki’s shirt, and he has half a mind to tell him to just rip it off. He attaches his lips to Izuku’s neck and sinks his teeth in, relishing in the way Deku moans and arches his neck to give Katsuki more access. 

“How do you, uh, want to do this?”

Izuku says, “Face to face, so we can look each other in the eye as we make love.” 

Katsuki says, “Um. Ok—”

Deku bursts out laughing. “God, I’m kidding, but you really are a gentleman.”

Katsuki bites down again, hard. “Fucking shithead.”

Izuku fists a hand in Katsuki’s hair and drags him up to kiss him again. “Kacchan,” he says against his lips. “I’m willing to bet you fuck like you fight. And I know how much you love to win.”

Katsuki lets out an animalistic growl. “You have no fucking idea,” he snarls, before resuming the attack on Deku’s neck. Izuku continues to undress him, pushing his shirt off his shoulders before he starts tugging at Katsuki’s belt. Katsuki pulls back to strip Izuku of his clothes, and then he takes a moment to soak in the sight of him, hair spread out around his head, incredibly toned chest heaving. A wet fucking dream, laid out for Katsuki to devour. 

“Fuck, Izuku,” he breathes out. “Gonna eat you alive.”

“Get your fucking clothes off,” Izuku says. 

“Bossy,” Katsuki says, sliding his underwear off his hips and throwing them behind him. “Where’s your stuff?”

Izuku rolls over to fumble around in a drawer beneath his bed. Then he scrambles up, materials clutched in his hand, and says, “Kacchan. Are you clean? And if you lie to me I will tell the media that Dynamight is going around giving people sexual diseases.”

Katsuki snorts. “Yes, you nerd. Are you? Or is this part of some big revenge plan?”

Izuku laughs and launches himself back at Katsuki, shoving him down and straddling his lap. “You caught me. The minute I saw you again on my front porch I concocted a brilliant plan to seduce you so I could give you gonorrhoea as revenge for middle school.”

Katsuki grabs two handfuls of Izuku’s wonderful, perfect, incredible ass and thanks whatever gods exist that helped him end up here, underneath the most beautiful man he’s ever seen in his life. Izuku leans down to kiss him, teeth clashing as his hands slide into Katsuki’s hair. “Fuck me bare, Kacchan,” he mutters. “Wanna feel you. Want you to come inside me.”

“Fucking hell, Deku,” he says. He throws Izuku off his lap and grabs the lube from him, nipping at his collarbones as he coats his fingers and drags them down between Izuku’s legs. “Gonna fuck you up.”

Izuku whines beneath him, back arching and legs spreading as Katsuki pushes one of his fingers inside Deku’s tight hole. Katsuki is leaving a mosaic of bites on every part of Izuku he can reach while he continues to fuck his finger inside him. Izuku is making the most delicious noises, whimpers and moans and bitten off cries and a never ending litany of Kacchan, Kacchan, Kacchan. 

“More, Kacchan, more,” he says, hips rolling down on Katsuki’s fingers. Katsuki is harder than he thinks he’s maybe ever been; he bends his head to take one of Izuku’s nipples in his mouth, teeth clamping down as he slips another finger inside. Izuku wails, feet digging into Katsuki’s back from where his legs are hiked up around his waist. 

“Ready for me, baby?” He says, licking the shell of Izuku’s ear. Izuku croons, clutching at Katsuki, arms around his shoulders and nails digging into the skin of his back. He leans forward to mouth at Katsuki’s Adam’s apple. 

“Yes, Kacchan, please, m’so ready for you, gonna be so good for you.”

“Fuck.” He slicks up his cock and presses the head of it to Izuku’s hole, gritting his teeth as the warmth and tightness surrounds him. He leans down to kiss Deku again, marvelling at how fucking perfect he was. He keeps pushing in, fingers flexing in the sheets beside Izuku’s head, and when their hips are flushed and he's all the way inside he lets his head drop to Izuku's shoulder, taking a heaving breath as he fights to keep himself under control. 

"So big, Kacchan," Deku moans. "Gonna feel you for days." 

Katsuki starts to move, hips pumping slowly as he continues to press his lips to every bit of Izuku he can reach. It's like nothing he's ever felt before; he can't pinpoint exactly what's different from any other guy he's fucked, except for some vague feeling deep inside of him that this is right. That this is where he's supposed to be, and who he's supposed to be there with. And that was probably a lot of feelings after only a week, but he can't help the way his chest feels tight when he looks at Deku and he can't help the way he's been smiling more in the past seven days than he maybe ever has, and he can't help that he's never had sex that felt this good before. Deku cries and moans and begs for more and Katsuki gives it to him, gives him every thing he asks for, fucking into him hard, bruises and bite marks stark against his skin as Katsuki fucks him into the mattress. 

"So fucking perfect, Izuku," he says hoarsely, as Izuku continues clawing up his back like an angry cat. "Take me so fucking good, so perfect on my cock." 

"Kacchan please." Tears are streaming down Deku's face, and Katsuki has made him cry a lot in their lives but this is by far the best, as Izuku cries and jerks his hips and clenches so tight around him. "More, please, Kacchan—" 

"Shh," Katsuki says, licking away the salty tears on Deku's face. "I'll take care of you, baby." He sits back on his heels and pulls Izuku's body towards him, draping those impressive thighs over his own and shoving a pillow beneath Deku's ass before he shoves inside him again, angling their hips to drive himself even deeper. Izuku lets out a strangled scream, hands flying to his hair as he grips onto it for support, hard cock bouncing against his stomach as Katsuki fucks him. It's such a tempting sight that he reaches out and wraps a hand around it, pumping in time with his thrusts; Izuku loses it. He's so loud, sobbing and wailing and begging, and Katsuki knows with perfect clarity that he has been ruined for everyone else. 

For all that he does everything else at the top of his fucking lungs, Izuku comes silently, eyes shutting and mouth falling open and back arching as his cock spurts across his stomach. It’s the most beautiful thing Katsuki has ever seen; he buries his face in Izuku’s neck and shoves himself in deep and comes harder than he maybe ever has, until he’s shaking with it, and when he comes to Izuku has his arms around him and is cooing gently in his ear. 

“Holy shit, Deku,” he mutters. Izuku hums. 

“No kidding,” he says. Katsuki rolls off of him to the side, keeping his nose buried in Izuku’s neck, inhaling the scent of sex and sweat and shampoo. Izuku strokes his fingers through his hair, and Katsuki lets out a deep sigh of contentment. 

They lay intertwined together for a while, until Katsuki works up the courage to say something.

“Hey.”

Izuku opens his eyes. Katsuki says, “Why did you forgive me?”

Izuku’s fingers come up to trace over Katsuki’s wrists and fingers. “You’ve asked me that already.”

“Yeah, but… I still don’t understand. After everything I did to you, you should have— broken my nose, at least. Called the police for stalking. Done an exclusive with the press to let everyone know what I’d done, or something.”

“Hmm,” Izuku says. “D’you think I could get on Good Morning Japan?”

“Izuku.”

Izuku sighs and then nuzzles a little closer to him. “Look, Kacchan. I’m not going to lie and say it didn’t suck, or that it wasn’t something I had to work through later, and when you first showed up I might have been a bit… concerned. But I… I told you, Kacchan. I’ve been watching, following you. I’ve seen all the progress you’ve made. And—” he lifts his hand and strokes it through Katsuki’s hair. “God, Kacchan, even at your worst you were amazing. I could admire All Might from afar, but you were right there! This amazing person! How could I stop watching you?” 

Katsuki thinks that Deku is far more amazing than he could ever be, but he doesn’t say that. “I didn’t deserve a second chance.”

“if you say so,” Izuku says noncommittally, fingers slipping down to trace along his jaw and to his neck. “But you got one anyway, and you’re certainly making the most of it.”

Katsuki grabs his hand and presses his lips to Deku’s knuckles. “No one’s ever accused me of not going after what I want.”

Izuku giggles. “Very true.” He kisses Katsuki again, and Katsuki kisses him back, and then Izuku slides one of those ridiculously thick thighs in between Katsuki’s legs, and Katsuki allows himself to just have this.

Katsuki wakes up Sunday morning before Izuku does; he takes a few minutes to look at him. In his sleep it’s easier to see the boy Katsuki had used to know, the scared cry baby he’d tormented for years. He smooths Izuku’s hair off his face and then gets up carefully. 

By the time he hears feet behind him in the kitchen and arms wrap around his middle, he’s almost done cooking. 

“Hi,” Izuku says sleepily, shoving his face in between Katsuki’s shoulder blades. “You’re making me breakfast.”

“You’re out of eggs,” Katsuki says. Izuku laughs. 

“Could get used to this,” he mutters, and Katsuki bites back a pleased grin. 

Izuku raves about breakfast the entire time, even though it’s literally just fucking eggs and rice, which means he’s going to have to make Izuku every meal because clearly he’s not eating properly. When they’re done eating Izuku slyly asks if Katsuki wants to shower with him, and that ends with him on his knees as he eats Deku out like he's his last meal. 

It’s nearly noon by the time Katsuki heads out, and before he leaves he turns back. 

“Hey.” Katsuki is almost certain he’s being too clingy and creepy and he’s going to scare Izuku away but he still finds himself saying, “Come over tonight and I can make you a real meal.”

Izuku smiles brightly, but then it drops. “I’m so sorry! I have dinner with my mom every Sunday night.” He actually looks bummed about it, too, which makes it sting less. Like he really is disappointed he has to see his mother when he could be spending more time with Katsuki. “But, um… tomorrow?”

Katsuki puts his arms on the doorframe so he can lean down into Izuku’s space, face split wide with a grin. “But it’s a school night.”

Deku grins and leans forward to kiss him. “Some things are worth being tired for,” he says.

Katsuki receives a text later that night; it's the line of Deku's neck, and Katsuki can see the angry red marks there that he remembers sucking into Izuku's neck last night. 

Deku:
thank you very much for warning me about the giant hickeys on my neck before I went to dinner with my MOTHER 

Bakugou:
Its just such a nice colour on you 

Bakugou:
what did you tell her? 

Deku:
I said I fell 😭😭

Bakugou:
oh my god Deku 

Deku:
I PANICKED 😭😭

Bakugou:
next time I'll mark you lower 

Deku:
god I hate you 

Deku:
yes please. 

He works the midday shift on Monday, and he and Kirishima are getting dressed in their normal clothes when Katsuki's phone rings, and he sees that it's Deku. This is the first time Izuku has called him. He picks up immediately.

"Hey, nerd," he says, sounding worried. Kirishima glances over when he hears Katsuki's tone. "You alright?"

"Um, yeah," he says, sounding very much not. Katsuki’s concern spikes. "I—um, well—I needed to—"

"Deku," he says calmly, despite the way that his heart is jackrabbiting in his chest. "Take a breath."

Izuku does, and then he says, "Sorry, sorry. Okay, um, you remember my best friend? Ochaco? I obviously told her about you—"

"'Obviously,' huh?" Katsuki can't help but interrupt, a smirk on his face. Deku sputters.

"You—shut up! Anyway, I told her about you, but she actually works with me, and today at the staff meeting… a-and I didn't want to ask because I didn't want you to think I was only interested in you because of that and I was scared you'd think this weekend didn't mean anything but Ochaco mentioned you to everyone and they wouldn't stop until I said I'd ask you, but—”

"Deku," Katsuki snaps. "Stop fucking mumbling and ask me whatever the hell you need to ask me."

"Willyoudoprodayatmyschool?" Before Katsuki can ask him to say that again at a speed appropriate for human speech, Izuku keeps barrelling on. "We've never really had an exciting pro, just minor heroes or sidekicks—n-not that there's anything wrong with that! All heroes have dedicated their lives to helping others! But I can't deny that the kids would be so excited to see you, all our Pro Days have been boring—"

"Oh, you just wanted to ask if I'd do your Pro Day? Was that it?" Katsuki finally clues in.

"I—well I didn't want you to think I was using you, or whatever! Also, you don't exactly seem like you'd enjoy standing in front of a room full of children answering a neverending barrage of questions." 

That’s—a fair point. But doing this would impress Deku, and make him happy, and maybe he'd give Katsuki that crinkly eyed smile when he saw him—

God, he had it fucking bad. "Remember how shitty Pro Days were at our school?"

Izuku laughs and then sighs. "They're even worse here," he says morosely. "That's why everyone wanted me to ask you so bad. B-but don't feel any pressure! I said I'd ask, I never gave them any—"

"Yeah, I'll do it," he says, before he can think better of it.

Deku pauses, then says, "W-wait, really?” 

"Yeah," he says. He looks over at Kirishima, who isn't even pretending not to be listening, and gets an idea. "Want me to bring someone else? I could drag Kirishima along." Kirishima sends him a questioning look a second before Deku screams in his ear, "Red Riot?”

Katsuki winces. "Yes, nerd, him." 

"Oh my God, Kacchan, really? Really? The kids are going to be so excited, they're not going to believe it—” Izuku suddenly gives an evil little chuckle that Katsuki is very interested in hearing again. "Monoma didn't believe that I knew you, he is gonna be pissed. Thank you, Kacchan, I can't believe—I have to go tell everyone, they're going to be thrilled—"

"Better idea," Katsuki says, cutting him off. "I come to pick you up, we both tell them so I can see the look on this idiot's face who didn't believe you, and then I make you that dinner I promised."

“I—" Izuku laughs breathlessly. "Yeah, Kacchan, that sounds good."

"Great. Text me the address of your school."

When he hangs up Kirishima is giving him a stupid soft look. "You really like this dude, huh? I've never seen you smile like that."

Katsuki immediately scowls. "Fuck off, Shitty Hair," he says. Kirishima has known him long enough that he ignores this outburst.

"What did you volunteer me for, anyway?"

"Pro Day at his school," Katsuki says as he finishes getting dressed. Kirishima grins and punches his fists together.

"Alright! Pro Day! I always loved Pro Day! And now we get to do one! Together! This is awesome, dude! Tell your boyfriend I'm pumped!"

"He's not—” Katsuki cuts off. Denial comes quickly to him, but he doesn't want to deny this. Is Deku his boyfriend? "Thanks, Ei," he says. Kirishima blinks at him before he grins.

"Wow, you're so much nicer when you're in love—eep!” He ducks out of the way when Katsuki fires a shot at him. "Point made, dude.”

Izuku meets him outside the school gate. He's wearing a bright orange polo and a pair of khaki shorts. He's somehow still hot as hell. It’s really fucking annoying.

"Sup, nerd," he says. Izuku bounces on the balls of his feet; he still wears those stupid red shoes.

"Hi," Deku says excitedly, grabbing Katsuki's arm. "Thanks for coming."

Katsuki knows that he has to be professional and not act inappropriately at Izuku's work place, but fuck if he doesn't want to shove Deku up against the wall and tear those hideous khakis off of him.

"Everyone is in the staff room. I told them you were going to call me back." He keeps his arm looped through Katsuki's, which is not his favourite form of PDA, but he'll let Deku take the lead here.

It's weird being in an elementary school when he is... big. Everything looks miniature sized. Izuku leads him to the office, but he gestures to Katsuki to hide behind the door out of sight as he sticks his head in.

"Hey! I asked Dynamight if he wanted to do Pro Day."'

"And let me guess,” a loud, obnoxious voice calls out. "Your imaginary Pro Hero friend said no?" 

Deku reaches behind him and drags Katsuki into the room. He sees a group of people sitting at a table scattered with takeaway containers. He sees a man with long black hair who looks incredibly unimpressed, a girl with a round face who is grinning like she'd just won a fight, a guy with blond hair and a pinched look on his face, and a few other faces that don’t particularly interest him. 

Katsuki raises a hand. "Hi. Red Riot and I are gonna do your Pro Day."

A bunch of different voices start talking all at once. He sneaks a glance at Izuku and bites back a laugh at the smug look on his face.

"Well—how do we know that you’re the real Dynamight?" Ugly blond says. Must be this Monoma asshole. Katsuki turns his palm up and makes a small explosion before he bares his teeth at the table.

"Any other questions?" Deku's arm snakes around his waist. Round face gives a wicked grin when she sees it before she stands up and bows. "Thank you, Mr. Dynamight. We appreciate both you and Red Riot, and I know all of the children—and most of the teachers—will be very excited. You didn't have to come all the way down here to tell us, though.” She raises an eyebrow and grins at the two of them, and Katsuki very belatedly makes the connection that this must be Ochaco.

"He's making me dinner," Izuku says, very smugly. Ochaco looks right at Katsuki and winks. 

"I don't know what this is," the dark haired man says, "but thank you. I can only presume Midoriya will give you the details."

Katsuki gives a very predatory grin. Izuku's arm around him and the way round faced Ochaco keep leering at them make him feel powerful. "I'm sure we'll talk about it later," he says. Izuku giggles.

The man rolls his eyes. "Get out of my sight, kid."

Deku grins. "Yes sir! See you guys tomorrow!" He grabs Katsuki's hand and tugs him away. Shouts follow after them.

"Wear protection!" Ochaco yells. 

"Can I have an autograph?” Monoma calls. Without looking back, Katsuki yells out, "No!"

"I think that went well," Izuku says, fingers clasping Katsuki's. Katsuki, for his part, is trying to figure out if it's too early to say I love you (almost definitely). Izuku smiles up at him and Katsuki absolutely does not start thinking about engagement rings. "So, what's for dinner?" 

Katsuki's plan is simple and hinges entirely on the hopes that Deku's favourite food hadn't changed in ten years. Judging from the way Deku pins him down and sucks him off until Katsuki comes down his throat, operation katsudon was a huge success.

(He runs into a bit of trouble when they get to his place, when Izuku crosses his arms and glares at him and reprimands Katsuki for letting Izuku think he lived close. “That was a conclusion you drew yourself,” Katsuki points out, before he kisses him and makes him forget about it.)

"I never would have suspected that you'd be such a good chef, Kacchan," Izuku says as he's helping clean up. Katsuki shoots him an offended look.

“The hell's that supposed to mean?"

"I just mean—I meant… well, I guess that did kind of come out wrong." Izuku laughs. Katsuki, filled with something unbearably light, reaches out to smear dish bubbles on Izuku's nose. Deku makes an affronted noise, and then splashes Katsuki, who just smirks and strips his shirt off.

They don't finish the dishes.

Kirishima doesn’t mention anything because he’s a good friend, and Mina doesn’t say anything because she knows Katsuki won’t tell her a goddamn thing ever again—but Kaminari has never really known when to shut up. 

“Dude, seriously? Did you seriously take the morning shift so you could be done when your dumb boyfriend finishes school?”

Yes, he absolutely did. He crosses his arms. “The fuck you talking about?”

“Dude, the morning shift is mine. I really think I’m getting close to getting a date with that new sidekick.”

“You’re not,” Mina says on speaker phone, because she and Kirishima were disgusting. At least he and Deku weren't like that. “She thinks you’re pathetic and that your sunglasses make you look like a bug.”

“Ouch,” Kirishima says solemnly. “Rest in pieces, Denki." 

“You’re all a bunch of morons,” Katsuki says. 

“And you’re whipped,” Kaminari says. 

Katsuki gets written up for blowing up Kaminari’s lunch tray, but it’s absolutely worth it. 

Pro Day is in September, when the kids get back from summer break. Katsuki uses his vacation days for the first time since his mom had broken both of her legs and he'd had to stay with her while his dad was in France. That had been the worst week of his life.

The three weeks he spends with Izuku over summer break, however, are some of the best of his life. They don't spend all of it together, because it's only been a month and he doesn't want to scare Deku away, but they spend a lot of time together, including a weekend alone in some kind of resort where they barely leave the room.

By the time September rolls around, Katsuki is completely in love and convinced that there is no one else he will ever want.

"So," he says casually, sitting around the restaurant table with his friends. "What is the socially acceptable amount of time to be dating someone before it's not weird to tell them you love them?"

Mina says, "Oh my God." 

Kaminari says, "Dude, it's barely been a month."

Kirishima says, "So when do we get to meet him?'

"Never," Katsuki replies automatically, before he thinks about it. "Well, actually, you'll meet him next week, but you fuckers—" he nods at Kaminari and Mina— "can eat shit."

This, predictably, causes an uproar.

"That's not fair!” Kaminari complains. 

"Yeah!” Mina agrees. "Kaminari and I can tag along and do Pro Day too! The kids'll love more heroes!”

"Sure, because your quirks are so kid friendly."

"You make explosions in your hands," Kaminari counters.

"Don't worry, guys," Kirishima says. "I'll give you all the details."

Katsuki glares at him. "I swear to God I'll bring Jirou and then none of you will get to meet him.”

Kirishima shuts up. Mina sits back and crosses her arms. "Fine," she huffs. "But sneak pictures!" She says to Kirishima. “His socials are tragically locked down." 

“Do not stalk my fucking boyfriend on the internet," he growls. 

"Introduce me to him then."

“Finally!” Kaminari says, as Sero comes back from the bar with a tray of drinks.

"What'd I miss?" 

"Hey, Sero has a kid friendly quirk,” Mina says. "He could do Pro Day."

Sero looks excited. "I'm in! I want to meet Bakugou's boyfriend."

"You're not coming," Katsuki snaps. 

"Ah, come on. I could help out around the school! I could like, tape up posters, and shit."

"How heroic," Mina drawls. "Fine, you grump, but we're going to have to meet him eventually."

"Hopefully before the wedding," Kirishima says.

"None of you are coming to the wedding," Katsuki says petulantly.

"I thought I was the best man!" Kaminari whines. Katsuki reaches across the table and steals his beer, downing half of it. The night's just getting started—he's going to need it with these assholes.

"It's weird being here when we're adults," Kirishima says as they enter the school. "Everything is so low."

"It doesn't help that you're stupidly big," Katsuki mutters. He brings Kirishima to the office and then gives him a look. "Do not embarrass me."

"Please. When have I ever embarrassed you?"

Katsuki doesn't get a chance to list any of the many examples he has, because he opens the door to the office, and Deku is there. He's standing next to who Katsuki knows now is the principal, Aizawa.

"Hi!" Kirishima says with a bow and a pound of his fists. "I'm Red Riot! Thanks so much for having us!"

"Thank you for coming!" Izuku says excitedly. “I was so excited when Kacchan told me you would do Pro Day too!"

Katsuki thinks, oh shit, I should have thought about that.

Kirishima chokes on air, and then he says, "Kacchan?!"

"Oh!" Izuku blushes and shoots him an apologetic look. "That's what I called him when we were kids."

"Kacchan," Kirishima says again. 

"Shut the fuck up, Shitty Hair." 

"I ask that you keep the cursing to zero around the students,” Aizawa says dryly.

"Oh, sh—shucks," he corrects. Deku's lips twitch. "Sorry. I'll watch my mouth."

Aizawa sighs. "I need a nap," he says. "Deal with this, Midoriya."

"Yes, sir," Izuku says. As soon as Aizawa is out of sight he turns to Kirishima and starts firing off questions.

"So tell me about your quirk! I remember in the sports fest in your third year you fought against Kacchan and almost won!"

"Yeah, almost," Katsuki says, upset at the lack of attention. "The hell am I, nerd, chopped liver?" 

Deku throws a look over his shoulder. "I already know all this stuff about you, Kacchan."

"Yeah, Kacchan," Kirishima says.

"I'll kill you," Katsuki says. Izuku reaches back and pinches him.

"Everyone is in the gym. There will probably be a lot of screaming at first.”

"I bet they'll cheer louder for me." Katsuki says.

"Has he always been like this?" Kirishima says.

"Oh, always," Izuku says happily. "One time when we were kids, someone in our class broke his ankle from climbing a tree, so Kacchan climbed higher and then jumped off to prove he," Deku makes air quotes to indicate Katsuki’s words, “‘Didn’t have weak-ass bones.’”

"This was a mistake,” Katsuki mutters, as Kirishima doubles over laughing. Izuku looks at him and then smirks.

"Would you give us a minute, Red Riot?"

Kirishima gives his spiky grin. "Take your time," he says with a wink. Katsuki smacks him on the head as he goes past.

Izuku pulls him into the meeting room, although the lights are off and the room is empty.

Izuku grins up at him and says, "Hi." Then he grabs Katsuki and kisses him.

Katsuki drops his gauntlets to the floor so he can grab Deku's face and kiss him back. He pushes him up against the wall, tongue shoving eagerly in Izuku’s mouth. Izuku lets his hands wander over Katsuki's chest and bites down on his lip in a way that makes Katsuki's head spin.

"You're coming over after, right?" Deku mutters.

"Fuck yeah,” he says. Izuku kisses him again and then steps away with a grin, opening the door. Katsuki grabs his gauntlets and bares his teeth at Kirishima's grin.

"Um, okay, so every class gets a question for each of you and they'll have a student rep ask them. And then, uh, it'll be a quirk demonstration, although we're going to have to go outside for that so you don't blow the school up."

"Hey! I have perfect fucking control." 

"Yes, but the kids are going to want to see big explosions and you're easily goaded into things."

"I am not.”

“Dude, once you chugged a whole bottle of hot sauce because Denki called you a little bitch."

Izuku giggles. "Oh, Kacchan."

"Oh, Midoriya! Can I take a picture of you? Bakugou wouldn't even show us what you looked like, and my girlfriend said you're hard to stalk on the internet."

"Oi—”

"Oh! Well, um, you can just tell her to add me on Instagram? I can tell you embarrassing stories about Kacchan when he was a kid if you tell me about all the stuff from high school."

"Deal!"

"I hate this," Katsuki says, which is a complete lie, because he feels happier than he maybe ever has.

Izuku beams at him. He knows when Katsuki is lying.

Kirishima:
ok not a lot of time before we start but 2 important things.

Kirishima:
mina he said you can add him on insta

Ashido:
YES

Kirishima:
but most importantly 

Kirishima:
Midoriya calls him Kacchan. 

Ashido:
no

Kaminari:
holy shit. holy shit.

Kaminari:
this is the greatest day of my life.

Sero:
Kacchan

Kirishima:
Kacchan 

Ashido:
Kacchan

Kaminari:
Kacchan

Bakugou:
I'm going to fucking murder all of you

"Especially you," he growls at Kirishima.

"I'm happy for you, man," he replies, clapping Katsuki on the shoulder. "The way you two look at each other is revolting."

"Fuck off."

They're standing behind the stage in the gym; they can hear the excited chatter of hundreds of students. Deku had to go sit with his class, so Kirishima and him are backstage with the principal, who is leaning against the wall with his eyes closed. They stand in silence while the kids filter into the gym; Katsuki checks his phone and sees that Mina keeps sending him pictures from Deku’s Instagram and a bunch of keysmashes. 

Ashido:
he is way too hot for you

Bakugou:
fuck you i’m the number five hero

Ashido:
he’s got the number one ass 

Bakugou:
keep your fucking eyes to yourself 

Mina sends him a picture from Izuku’s Instagram of him at the beach from a few summers ago, which means she’s deep in his profile. Fucking creep. 

Ashido:
this is obscene 

Ashido:
you could grate cheese on those abs

Bakugou:
what the fuck does that even mean

Ashido:
is it possible you all just thought he was quirkless?? Maybe his quirk is being the hottest guy on earth 

Bakugou:
I'm telling your boyfriend that 

Ashido:
Ei is not threatened by hot school teachers 

Ashido:
you better lock this dude down or one of us is gonna steal him from you 

Bakugou:
he's locked down 

Bakugou:
fuck you 

Aizawa goes to the mic and sighs. “Uh, today for—”

“No, no, unacceptable,” someone says, pushing past Katsuki and onto the stage. It’s a blond dude with a speaker around his neck, and he shoves Aizawa out of the way. “A Pro Day this good deserves just as awesome commentary! Can I hear some screams!” A chorus of screams rise up from the students. “Alright! Put your hands together for your number nine hero, Red Riot, and for your number five hero, Dynamight!!!”

“I definitely got the most screams,” Katsuki mutters. 

“They were waiting for him to stop talking! That doesn’t count.”

“Sounds like a load of excuses, to me,” he mumbles, as they walk out onto the stage. Kirishima is handed a mic, and they wait while the students scream and the teachers try to get them to stop. Katsuki’s eyes flick around the room until he finds Deku, sitting with his class, who are all clapping excitedly, but are significantly more under control than some of the other classes. He watches them all struggle for a few seconds before he lifts his palm and lets out a very controlled explosion. 

“Oi!” He yells out, and say what you want, it’s a very effective method of getting a room of children under control. “Brats that don’t listen to their teachers can’t be heroes,” he says. He looks over at Izuku, who looks like he’s hiding a smile. He’s sitting on the ground with his kids, and a bunch of them are sitting near him and whispering to him occasionally. It’s making Katsuki have a lot of feelings. 

“Hi!” Kirishima yells, taking over to be charming and lovable the way he always does. Katsuki really doesn’t know where he’d be without Kirishima balancing him. Probably not number five. He’d probably have been murdered by now, actually. “Thanks so much for having us! We’re really excited to be here!”

The questions drag on, and most of them are really fucking stupid, but Katsuki answers them properly (if only a little sarcastically) because Deku is there and he wants to impress him because he’s a fucking pathetic asshole. 

Nothing interesting really happens for most of it, unless you count when it was time for Izuku’s class to ask questions and Katsuki completely tripped over his tongue because he was too busy looking at his beautiful fucking boyfriend. It isn’t until one of the last classes that a small girl stands up; her hair is brown and plaited down her back, and her hand shakes slightly. “Um,” she says, and she looks back at her teacher nervously, who gives her a wave of encouragement. “Um. D-do you think that, um, people without quirks… do you think they can be heroes?”

And Katsuki can’t help the way his eyes go right to Deku; they lock eyes and Katsuki can see a hundred different memories pass before his eyes, of things he’ll never be able to truly repent for. He sees big green eyes filled with tears, Deku’s knees in the dirt; he sees a hand reach out to him that he pushes away; he sees a notebook that he explodes with vicious glee. He sees Izuku’s face when Katsuki told him to kill himself. 

How many ripples of cruelty and hatred had he pushed into the world? Would he ever be able to make up for it?

He could sure as hell try. 

“Yeah,” he says hoarsely, and he tears his eyes away from Deku because he thinks it’s important to look at the girl, even though he wants to look at Izuku, because that’s who he’s saying it to. “It might not—there’s a lot of different ways to be a hero,” and now he does look at Izuku, whose eyes are shining. “Just ‘cause you ain’t got a quirk doesn’t mean you can’t be strong as he-ck,” he quickly corrects. “And it doesn’t mean you can’t be a hero.”

The girl who’d asked the question beams at him, and it seems like as good a start as any. 

Quirk demonstration goes by much quicker than the Q&A, partly because he gets to beat the shit out of Kirishima, which is always nice. After that it’s mostly a free for all of children coming up to them for a time, firing off dumb questions that he doesn’t have to answer, autographs he reluctantly signs, and children who cheer every time he makes an explosion. 

He doesn’t get near to Deku the whole time, too busy; at 2:30 the students give him and Kirishima a huge resounding thank you before they’re brought back inside to finish up for the end of the day. Aizawa gives them an unenthusiastic nod. 

“You sticking around?” Kirishima asks. 

“Yeah,” Katsuki says. “Thanks for doing this.”

“My pleasure,” Kirishima says with a grin. “He’s great. I really like him.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Katsuki says, ears turning red. 

He walks through the school and tries to pretend like he knows where he’s going, and nobody questions him because he's a Pro Hero, which is nice. He finally peeks through the right door and sees Izuku sitting at a desk, and he knocks on the door. Izuku looks up, and a slow smile spreads across his face when he sees Katsuki, standing up and coming over to stick his head out the door. 

“What are you doing?” He asks, grinning. 

“Figured I’d make you look really cool in front of your kids,” he says. 

“God, I want to kiss you right now,” Deku says, before he turns around to his class and says, “Everyone! Look who came by!”

He opens the door and Katsuki walks in, giving an awkward wave at the group of students who are freaking out. Izuku pulls him to the front of the class. “Everyone say hello to Dynamight! He came by to say hello.”

“Wow! So you really do know Dynamight, sensei!”

“Why does everyone think I’m lying about you,” Izuku mutters to him. 

A chorus of questions ring out, voices so loud and excited that Katsuki almost takes a step back from the onslaught. Izuku giggles again, a sound that has very quickly become one of Katsuki’s favourites. Izuku takes a step forward, presumably to get his class's attention, when a girl sitting near the front asks a question that Katsuki is compelled to answer. 

“Are you and sensei friends, Dynamight? Are you close?”

And Katsuki, without even really thinking about it, opens his mouth and says, “I’m in love with your sensei.”

And gee, that sure doesn’t help the shitstorm of screaming. Deku’s head whips around to stare at him with wide eyes, and Katsuki stares back, heart threatening to beat out of his chest as the students continue to yell in excitement. 

Izuku turns away from him and then raises both his hands before he sings the first half of a call and response tune that Katsuki remembers from when they were in school; he had never answered back to them. He really had been the worst. 

The kids all sing the second part and then sit back down, obediently quiet. Katsuki might have been impressed by Izuku’s control of his class if he hadn’t been having a goddamn mental crisis. 

Once the class is quiet Deku walks to the girl’s desk and crouches down next to it. “Mako-chan,” he says, voice soft and judgement free. “Did you mean to use your quirk there?”

One of the girls has a truth telling quirk, Katsuki remembers. She can ask you any question and you'll have to answer truthfully to the best of your abilities. 

Well, shit. 

She shakes her head. 

“That’s okay,” Izuku says. “But what do we do when we use our quirk on someone without permission?”

Mako-chan turns to Katsuki with wide grey eyes filled with tears. “I’m sorry, Mr. Dynamight!”

Katsuki clears his throat. “Uh, s’fine, kid.”

Izuku smiles at him and then turns back to Mako-chan. “Do you want to know a secret?” He asks, but he says it loud enough so the whole class can hear. “Dynamight used to lose control of his quirk all the time, too.”

All eyes swivel towards him. “R-really?” She asks hopefully. Katsuki nods. 

“Yeah,” he confirms. “One time I blew up two desks during the same science test.”

Giggles erupt from the students in the class, including Mako-chan. Izuku turns to look at him again, and there’s something in his gaze that makes Katsuki’s stomach clench in the best kind of way. “Well,” he says, standing back up and coming back beside Katsuki. “That was a hard test, in your defence.”

Katsuki grins at him. “Ikeda-sensei hated me.”

“Maybe ‘cause you kept blowing up your desks.” Izuku moves away, but he very carefully lets his fingers trail across Katsuki’s lower back. 

Izuku finishes up class for the day, showing remarkable control over an entire group of children considering there was also a Pro Hero in the room. The students are all quiet as he goes through end of day announcements, and when the bell rings for the end of the day and all the kids get up to run off to their cubbies, Katsuki crouches down in front of Mako-chan’s desk. “Hey, kid,” he says. “Can you do me a favour?” He tells her his plan and is rewarded with a wide smile. 

“Sensei!” She calls, and when Deku looks up from where he’d been talking to another student, she says, “Do you love Dynamight too?”

Deku says, “Yes.” Then he blinks and glares at Katsuki. “Which he could have known if he’d just asked, instead of misusing my student’s quirks.” 

Katsuki grins and holds his hand up; Mako-chan high fives him. 

Izuku takes the bus to work, so there’s no issues with Katsuki driving him home. They get into the car and he starts it up, and Izuku says, “Pull off school property and park please, Kacchan.”

“Sure,” he says, confused, but Izuku seems completely confident so Katsuki just does as he says. He pulls out of the parking lot and drives up the street to an empty parking lot for a doctor’s office, a big CLOSED sign on the door. Katsuki puts the car into park, and Izuku unbuckles his seatbelt and throws himself across Katsuki’s lap. 

“Wha—” Lips crash down on his, and Katsuki’s arms wrap around his back to hold him as Deku shoves his tongue in Katsuki’s mouth and rocks back and forth on his lap. 

“You were so good, Kacchan,” he mumbles between kisses. “When you—and then—” he bites at Katsuki’s lip, and he slips one of his hands up Izuku’s shirt and strokes over bare skin. “God, Kacchan, you’re so fucking—” His hands slip beneath the straps of Katsuki’s outfit to grope at his chest. “Take me home,” he whines. “Take me home, take me home—”

"Get off my fucking lap, then,” Katsuki says, and with one last filthy kiss he does, scrambling back into his seat and putting his seatbelt back on, chest heaving. Katsuki looks at him incredulously. “You drive me fucking insane,” he says. Izuku just grins at him. 

Katsuki breaks more than a handful of laws as he drives back to Izuku’s, speed limits more of a suggestion than anything else, and one he ignores. He parks haphazardly in the driveway and then he and Izuku tumble out and up to his door; Deku unlocks it, and Katsuki immediately shoves him inside, kicks the door closed, and lifts Izuku up completely. He squawks and wraps his legs around Katsuki’s waist, arms around his neck as he ducks his head to bite and kiss at Katsuki’s neck as he carries him up the stairs. 

“This is the hottest thing that’s ever happened to me,” Izuku says in his ear. “Kacchan’s amazing.” He can’t help the way his chest swells up with pride at that. 

They tumble onto Izuku’s bed. Katsuki pulls back to strip off his uniform, throwing it on the floor as Izuku shimmies out of his own clothes. He makes a bitten off sort of whine when Katsuki lets his uniform slump on the floor. 

“You should fold that!”

Katsuki snorts and climbs back over Izuku, kissing up his body until he gets back to his perfect mouth. “No fucking way,” he says, before kissing him again. Deku kisses him back for a moment before he rolls them over, looming over Katsuki with a look in his eyes that sets Katsuki on fucking fire. 

“Your answer to that girl about the quirkless,” Izuku says, lips trailing down Katsuki’s neck, “And later, with my students…” he nips at Katsuki’s collarbone. “You’re so amazing, Kacchan,” he whispers against Katsuki’s skin. “Let me show you how grateful I am.”

“Fuck,” Katsuki hisses, as Izuku takes his cock into his mouth and sinks down nearly all the way. He grabs a fistful of Izuku’s hair, not guiding him so much as just hanging on. Izuku’s throat is fucking bliss, tight and warm as he takes Katsuki to the base. His eyes flick up to Katsuki’s, green and bright and pricked with tears from Katsuki’s cock in his throat, and Katsuki tightens the grip on his hair, keeping Izuku’s head still even as he feels his throat start to spasm around him. Izuku moans, and Katsuki loosens his grip, lets Deku pull off of him, watches as drool and precum spill from his mouth down to Katsuki’s dick. He takes a deep breath and then dives back in, licking up the mess dripping down his cock before dipping down to take one of Katsuki’s balls in his mouth. Katsuki groans and tips his head back. “God, you’re perfect. I fucking love you. Didn’t want to tell you—” Deku sinks down on his dick again, and he moans. “Didn’t want to—scare you away.”

Izuku pulls off and laughs. “Right, because I could forgive years of bullying, but love is where I draw the line.”

“God, see.” His hips jerk, cockhead smearing across Izuku’s mouth. “You always fucken—rise to meet me. You challenge me like—fuck, no one ever has, Deku, shit—”

Izuku grabs the bottle of lube, holding it out of reach when Katsuki reaches for it. “No,” Deku says with a wicked grin. “You’re going to sit there and watch me get ready for you.” 

He groans, hands running up Deku’s thighs as he coats his fingers, balancing on Katsuki’s thigh as he reaches behind to finger himself open. He looks so fucking beautiful. Katsuki is going to give this man anything he fucking wants. 

Izuku leans down to kiss him. “Keep your eyes on me, Kacchan,” he says, and Katsuki couldn’t look away even if he wanted to. Izuku winks at him and then turns around on Katsuki’s lap, so he has a perfect view of Izuku’s perfect ass. He smears an excess of lube on Katsuki’s dick and then guides it inside him, and Katsuki watches in rapt amazement at the way his cock disappears into Deku’s hole, the way it stretches around him as Izuku leans forward, palms on the bed. Katsuki’s hands come up to grab Deku’s ass, spreading his cheeks so he has a better view. He smacks one of Izuku’s ass cheeks, delighting in the way it jiggles as Deku rides him. 

“Fucken hell, Deku,” he moans, unable to look away from where his cock is disappearing into Izuku’s body. 

“So good, Kacchan,” Izuku moans, rocking back and forth, ass shaking and head thrown back. 

Katsuki reaches out and grabs Izuku’s ass again. “Slow down, baby,” he says, thumb tracing around where Izuku’s hole stretches around him. He slips his thumb in alongside his cock and Deku whimpers, hips rolling as Katsuki stretches his hole even more. Smirking, Katsuki brings both thumbs to open Izuku up, using his hands on Izuku’s cheeks to rock him forward and back so he can see his cock fuck into the gaping hole. The sight of it almost causes him to bite through his fucking lip. “Yeah, Izuku, let me watch you take my cock. Fuckin’ made for me.”

“Yes,” Izuku cries, voice sounding wrecked. Katsuki keeps moving his hips until Izuku gets the memo and starts riding him again, and Katsuki reluctantly lets go of his ass so they can go a little harder, Deku’s hips slamming down onto his cock over and over. “Made for Kacchan,” he whines, and Katsuki can’t really see but he’s pretty sure by the movement of his arm that he’s jerking himself off. Katsuki watches the strong muscles of his back and shoulders, and he feels it more than hears it when Izuku finally comes, ass clenching down on Katsuki’s dick. Katsuki moans and drags Deku all the way down as he comes inside him. He has to pull his hands away from Izuku’s hips because they start fucking burning. 

“You just made me come so hard my fucking quirk activated,” he says in disbelief. Izuku laughs breathlessly above him. 

“Sucks when one of your proudest achievements can’t be brought up in polite conversation.” He lifts his ass off of Katsuki’s soft dick, but Katsuki stops him before he can go far, spreading his ass cheeks so he can watch the way his cum leaks out of Izuku’s hole. It’s the hottest thing he’s ever seen, and while admittedly he’s been saying that a lot since he’s been with Izuku, this one definitely is the hottest. 

“Kacchan,” Deku whines, as Katsuki uses his thumb to push his cum deeper inside Izuku. 

“You are so fucking hot,” he says reverently. He sits up to grab Izuku around the waist and pulls him down, spooning around him and pressing his lips to some of the bruises scattered around Izuku’s shoulders and neck. Deku giggles, and then he turns around so he’s facing Katsuki and kisses him deeply. 

“I love you,” he says. They’re the best words he’s ever heard. “Thank you for today.”

“Anything,” Katsuki says, and he means it. “Fuckin’ anything.”

They’ve been working towards the case for a while, but the mission still catches him by surprise. They’ve been closing in on another group who’ve been manufacturing a quirk enhancing drug (seriously, he wishes villains would get some original ideas), except this one had managed to find its way into a shipment of cough medicine and resulted in the death of hundreds, children included. This one acted a little differently than all the others he’d seen; while most of them enhanced a quirk for a period of time before it wore off, this drug didn’t wear off. It simply went until it killed you, until you’d used your quirk so much your body collapsed. It wasn’t a tool for the villains; it was a weapon made for chaos and destruction. 

It was a delicate fucking operation, and they’ve been working with a handful of other agencies for months, and he knows what the plan is, and yet he’s still somehow caught off guard when Mirko tells him, one day in late December, to get ready for their undercover mission.

“Hah?”

“Don’t squawk at me,” she snaps. “It’s time. Akane’s been fighting with her brothers and is being excluded from more and more,” she says, referring to one of the marks they’d been following, the sister of the twins who were in charge. “We’ve gotta take advantage of that and get the info we need out of her.” Mirko snaps her fingers in front of his face, and he jerks back and scowls. “You know this plan. You good?”

“I’m fucking fine,” he says. “When are we leaving?”

She narrows her eyes at him. He fucking hates when she looks at him like that. “Tomorrow at dusk.”

“Dusk,” he mocks. “I’m assuming you mean six-ish, or did you want to watch the sunset together?”

Mirko smacks him on the back of the head. “Everyday I regret knowing you. You can leave early and go say goodbye to your boyfriend, if it’ll put you in a better mood.”

“I don’t need to—”

“That actually wasn’t a suggestion,” she says. She grabs him by the arm and glares up at him. It’s been years and he still can’t get over how scary she can be when she’s so much fucking shorter than him. “This is gonna be dangerous. Go say goodbye to your boyfriend.”

Katsuki swallows, and for once he doesn’t argue.

When Izuku picks up the phone, he’s laughing. 

“Hi, Kacchan!” He says happily. “How are you?”

Katsuki can hear voices in the background, chatter and music. “Are you at home?”

“No, I’m at the bar with Ochaco and some others!” He still sounds happy, maybe a little tipsy. He hasn’t picked up on Katsuki’s tone. 

“Can I swing by?” He asks, unlocking his car door. “I need to talk to you, but it needs to be in person.”

There’s a pause before Izuku says, “O-oh?”

“I’m not like, breaking up with you or anything,” Katsuki tells him quickly. “It’s about—work. Can you text me the address of where you are?”

“Sure, Kacchan. Are you okay?”

“I’ll see you soon,” he says, because the answer to Izuku’s question is no, and Katsuki doesn’t want to admit that. 

He’s a hero. This is what he does. And it’s not like he’s never left people behind before. He’s just… never been quite so afraid of dying. 

Katsuki stomps into the bar when he gets there, ignoring anyone who notices him or looks like they might be brave enough to ask for an autograph. Izuku is sitting in a booth with his friends; Katsuki recognizes Ochaco, Shinsou, and to Katsuki’s surprise, Iida Tenya. He gives him a brief nod before turning his eyes on Izuku. 

“Hey,” he says breathlessly. Deku exchanges a look with Ochaco, some best friend language that Katsuki doesn’t understand, before he slides out of the booth and grabs Katsuki’s wrist. 

“Kacchan,” he says quietly. 

“I’ll bring him back in a bit. Ingenium,” he says, another nod goodbye. 

It’s too cold to go outside to talk, so Katsuki leads Izuku through the bar and then down a flight of stairs and through a couple doors before he finds a quiet spot. 

“Are we allowed to be here?” Izuku asks nervously. 

“I’m allowed to be wherever I want to be,” Katsuki says, and sure it sounds egotistical, but that doesn’t mean it’s not true. 

“Kacchan, what’s going on?”

Katsuki kisses him first, holding him close, trying to show him that this has nothing to do with him or with the two of them together. It seems to work; Izuku relaxes a little bit, not quite as tense when Katsuki pulls back. 

He runs his hand through Deku’s hair and then he says, “I have to go.”

“Go where?”

“I can’t tell you.”

Realization dawns in Izuku’s eyes, always so quick to catch on. “Will you be able to contact me?”

“Probably n—”

“You don’t have to sugarcoat things for me, Kacchan,” he says fiercely. Katsuki fucking loves him. 

“No. No contact. I won’t have my phone.”

“Do you know when you’ll be back?”

Katsuki shakes his head. “I’m sorry,” he says miserably. “I wish I had more answers for you.”

Izuku smiles at him; it’s a little shaky, but it’s still there. “I understand. Will you at least promise to contact me as soon as you can to let me know you’re okay?”

Katsuki brings both of his hands to Deku’s cheeks. “I promise. The minute I can, I’ll call you.” He leans down to kiss him; Izuku clutches at his shirt, fingers curled tight. “I love you,” he says. “I have a lot to do to prepare, but can I—can I stay with you, tonight?”

“Please,” Izuku says. “Let’s go home.”

“Your friends—”

“Will be here tomorrow,” Deku says firmly. “C’mon, Kacchan.” He grabs Katsuki by the hand and drags him back upstairs, and Katsuki follows. He’ll have to leave earlier tomorrow so he can get some shit in order, but he can deal with that if it means getting to spend the night with Izuku. 

Izuku leads him upstairs and back to where his friends sit; he ducks to whisper something in Ochaco’s ear before saying his goodbyes and apologies to the rest of the table. He wraps an arm around Izuku’s shoulders and keeps him tucked in close, enjoying his warmth and the weight against him. 

The drive to Deku’s is quiet; Izuku holds his hand the whole time, and when they get there Izuku feeds his cat before he leads Katsuki upstairs and into bed. They don’t make any moves to fuck; Katsuki tucks Izuku into his chest and they wrap around each other. 

Finally Deku says, “Are you scared?”

“It feels different this time. I think it’s ‘cause of you. Got something to come home to now.”

Izuku snuggles in a little closer to him. “There goes our New Years plans, I guess.”

Katsuki kisses him. “Every New Year after this,” he promises. “It’s yours.”

Three and a half weeks; that’s how long he’s gone for. He and Mirko get back early in the evening in mid January, and when she asks him where he wants her to drive him, he doesn’t give her his address. 

He’s in civilian clothes but he hasn’t even had a chance to shower yet. His muscles ache. He still doesn’t have his phone, because he didn’t go home. He leans against the door frame and rings the doorbell and lets his eyes close. 

He hears Deku’s gasp before anything else, feels arms draw him in tight, and he sags against Izuku, grateful for his strength as his body registers safety for the first time in weeks and gives out on him. 

He ends up on the couch somehow, Izuku kneeling in front of him with one hand on the back of Katsuki’s neck. He’s speaking in a low, confident voice. “Are you hurt anywhere?”

Katsuki shakes his head. “Not really. Minor wounds. M’sorry I didn’t call like I said,'' he says. “Still don’t have my phone. Came straight here.”

Surprise flashes in Izuku’s eyes. “You came here first? Why?”

“Wanted to see you,” Katsuki answers easily, too tired and worn down and flayed open to worry about it. 

Deku smiles and leans forward to kiss him. He pulls back slightly to say, “Is that why you smell so bad?” Katsuki laughs breathlessly. Izuku wraps him in his arms and pulls him in tight, and he lets his head fall onto Izuku’s shoulder, tension draining out of him. “Kacchan,” Izuku says into his ear. “Let me take care of you.”

Even now, he bristles at the words, at the implication that he needs help, that he can’t handle himself, that he’s weak. It’s the same ugly feeling Deku had brought out in him when they were kids, always so quick to offer a hand to everyone, even someone like Katsuki who didn’t deserve it. He’d punished Deku for caring, easier to do that than acknowledge that there was a part of him that wanted to be taken care of. 

Not anymore. He’d thought Izuku had been a pebble in his path—but he'd been the destination all along.

He nods in Izuku’s shoulder, letting him help Katsuki up the stairs and into the bathroom. Izuku sits him on the toilet and then strips him, grabbing two big towels before starting the shower and taking his own clothes off. He brings Katsuki in under the spray, wipes away the dirt and the blood, massages his muscles as the hot water hits him. It feels so good that his legs shake, and Izuku helps him until he’s sitting on the floor of the shower. He lets Izuku clean his hair and his top half before he helps Katsuki to his feet to clean the rest of him. It’s hard to tell under the shower, but Katsuki thinks he might be crying, too. 

When they’re done Izuku sits him down on the toilet again, one towel scrubbing at his hair before he dries the rest of his body. He disappears for a moment and then comes back with a pair of sweatpants and a tank top that Katsuki had left here, and when he’s dressed Izuku traces his jaw so tenderly that it feels like it’s burning. “Do you want me to make you something to eat, or do you want to lie down?”

Katsuki answers him by heading into the bedroom and slumping on the bed. Izuku turns the light off and then crawls into bed beside Katsuki, who has his face shoved in the pillows, breathing in Deku’s scent. Safe, his brain says. Safe, safe, his brain tells his body, and he feels muscles that have been tense since he left relax as he sinks into the mattress. Safe, he thinks. Deku. Safe.

Katsuki falls asleep. 

He’s not sure how long he sleeps for; the only thing Izuku had ever let Katsuki buy for him were proper blackout shades, but he made clear that he was only giving in because Katsuki wouldn’t shut the fuck up about it. Izuku is sitting up beside him marking under a reading light; Katsuki wonders if he slept right through Izuku going to work. 

“Kacchan!” He says, when Katsuki groans and stretches. Izuku turns the side light on and shoves his marking off the bed, lying back down to give his full attention to Katsuki. “Hi,” he says, pressing his lips to Katsuki’s forehead. 

“Time s’it?” Fuck, his mouth is dry. Izuku must realize that, because he grabs his water off the table and gives it to Katsuki, who drinks it down gratefully. 

“Almost eleven.”

“At night?” There’s no way he was only asleep for a few hours. 

“No, in the morning,” Izuku says, taking the water and putting it back. It takes Katsuki a moment to make the connections with what Deku had said. 

“Wait, what?” That meant he’d been asleep for almost fifteen hours, which he could definitely believe, but— “Why aren’t you at school?”

Izuku runs his hand through Katsuki’s hair. “I called in.”

"What?”

“It’s not a big deal,” Izuku says with an eye roll. “They got a sub.”

“But—”

“Shut up,” he says firmly. “Did you really think I was going to leave you? Idiot.”

Katsuki looks at the determined look on his face and says, “Have I ever told you that I’m in love with you?”

“It’s been mentioned,” Deku says with a smile and a kiss to Katsuki’s nose. “Now what do you want to order? Who knows how long it’s been since you’ve eaten.”

Katsuki wraps his arms around him and shoves his nose in Deku’s neck. “Not hungry right now.”

“But—”

“Izuku,” he says meaningfully, shoving his leg between Deku’s. “I’m not hungry right now.”

Izuku chuckles and kisses Katsuki deeply. “Okay,” he says against his lips. “Okay, handsome. Let me take care of you.”

That’s exactly Katsuki’s intention. “Fuck me,” he says, watching Izuku pull back and widen his eyes at him. 

“I—fuck,” he says, finding no hesitation in Katsuki’s gaze, leaning back in to kiss him hungrily. “Yeah, yeah, baby, wanna—fuck, Kacchan, gonna make you feel good, I promise.” 

Izuku fingers him open methodically and torturously, cooing and praising Katsuki as he writhes on Deku’s stupidly, delightfully thick fingers. Izuku keeps pressing kisses to his skin, murmuring about how good Katsuki was, how pretty he looked, how much Izuku loved him. Katsuki feels smothered by it, like a weighted blanket. Safe and warm and protected. 

“Izuku,” he moans, cock hard and leaking onto his stomach. “Please.”

Izuku makes a pleased hum, teeth scraping against Katsuki’s neck. “I love when you beg for me, Kacchan,” he says. 

“Need you,” he says. He thinks he’s crying again, but he might also just be sweating a lot. His emotions are all over the place. It’s fucking exhausting. “Deku—”

“I’ve got you,” Izuku says, pulling back and lubing up his dick, leaning down to kiss Katsuki soft and sweet as he pushes into him. Both of them moan as he stretches around Izuku’s dick, arms wrapping tight around his neck and pulling him close. “You feel so perfect, Kacchan,” Deku says, the praise and warmth in his voice wrapping around him. Safe. 

“Move,” he says, and if his voice seems wrecked Izuku doesn’t mention it. He hooks Katsuki’s legs over his arms and thrusts into him slowly; Katsuki growls and tries to fuck himself down on Izuku’s dick. “Move,” he hisses. “I need to feel you.”

Izuku kisses him. “Okay,” he says gently, before he pulls out completely and shoves at Katsuki to roll over. He does, shoving his nose into Deku’s pillow, scent enveloping him again, fabric muffling the groan he lets spill as Izuku shoves back inside him. His hands grip Katsuki’s hips as he fucks him, and Katsuki focuses on every part of him where they’re touching, where he can feel Izuku, hands on his hips and cock carving up Katsuki’s insides and his head between Katsuki’s shoulder blades as he keeps spewing the contents of his heart, as if Katsuki deserves any of the soft words that drape over him. 

He comes without even touching his cock; Izuku filling him up and pounding into him so well and the closeness between them is enough to push him over the edge. He’s definitely crying now, tears leaking onto Izuku’s pillow as he cries out Katsuki’s name and comes inside him. 

Katsuki stays frozen in that position until Izuku shifts him down onto his side, hands coming up to wipe his tears away. “You’re okay, Kacchan,” he says softly, and Katsuki buries his head in Deku’s chest and decides to believe him.

They get out of bed eventually, and Izuku does his best to cook before Katsuki can’t hold back anymore and shoves him out of the kitchen. Just as they’ve sat down to eat, Izuku suddenly jumps up and runs out of the room. 

“I didn’t get a chance to show you!” He yells out, and he comes back a few seconds later with something that he thrusts at Katsuki. He takes it and sees that it’s a framed picture from the front of a magazine; it’s a candid of the two of them at that bar the night before Katsuki left, Deku tucked into his side. The headline says Dynamight and Mystery Man, which is fucking absurd. “Our first tabloid picture!” Izuku says this as if it was an actual milestone they’d passed.

“Did you get this framed?”

“Yes,” Deku says unabashedly. “I missed you. One night I got drunk and wanted to get your face tattooed on me, you have Ochaco to thank for that not happening.”

Katsuki says, “Move in with me.”

Deku stops, cocking his head slightly as he studies Katsuki.

“I came right here because I wanted to see you before I wanted anything else,” he continues. “I didn’t want to go home. I wanted to see you. Move in with me.”

Izuku smiles and says, “Okay.”

Katsuki can’t stop the happy grin that spreads across his face. “Really?” Izuku nods. Katsuki lets out a shaky breath and then says, “Does this mean I can finally ask how the fuck you afford to live in this house?”

Izuku laughs. “My dad died,” he says, a little cheerily. He winces. “Er, sorry, that probably wasn’t the right tone for that.”

“Nah, fuck your dad.”

“Well, anyway, he died, and turns out he had way more money than we ever knew, which would have been great to have fifteen years ago, but whatever.” His voice has a hard edge of bitterness. “But he died, and his will still listed us, so.” Izuku raises his hands. “House. Which I guess means I should be asking you to move in with me." 

Katsuki’s condo is on the market the next day. 

A little over a year after he showed up on Deku’s doorstop uninvited, Katsuki is in a jewellery shop when it gets robbed. 

“Are you fucking kidding me?” He roars, as two guys run in. One of them is huge, with claws that extend like some goddamn Wolverine knockoff, and Katsuki watches as he slashes them through the shop; the other people in the shop scream and duck, and Katsuki curses his motherfucking luck. Katsuki immediately blasts an explosion at him, wincing when the guy dodges and he accidentally blows out the wall of the shop, jewellery scattering everywhere. Mirko was going to murder him. 

“Wait, Dynamight?” The villain’s partner yells out. He’s not sure what his quirk is; he’s kneeling in the wreckage shovelling jewels into a bag. “What are the chances? What are you doing here?”

“I’m trying to buy my boyfriend a goddamn ring, you fuck!” He screams, lunging at the guy, who lets out a shriek and scrambles out of the way. 

He’s able to take them both down with minimal issue, because they’re a couple of petty criminals with the horrible luck to choose the one jewellery store in the city one of the top heroes was also at. He files his report, gets a smack on the head for the unnecessary damage, and then heads home without even thinking much about it. 

The cat comes to greet him, but Izuku does not. He takes off his shoes and heads into the house. “You home, nerd?”

“In here, Kacchan!” Izuku yells out. He heads into the living room and sees Deku sitting on the couch; Izuku smiles at him widely, but before Katsuki can say anything, he lifts the television remote in his hand and presses play. 

Katsuki hears his own voice on their television: I’m trying to buy my boyfriend a goddamn ring, you fuck! 

Izuku presses pause and then smiles up at him patiently. Katsuki tips his head back and groans. 

“There’s always an asshole with a fucking cellphone camera,” he bemoans. Izuku stands up and walks towards him in a way that Katsuki is forced to call prowling. He comes up close to Katsuki, standing up on tiptoe so they’re right on eye level as he pulls him in close by his shirt. 

“So?” He asks, voice low and dangerous, a smirk on his face. It’s really hot, actually. “Did you buy your boyfriend a goddamn ring?”

Katsuki grabs Izuku by the belt loops and pulls their hips together, leaning in close to speak right against his lips. “No, because I realized I didn’t know if they made rings big enough to fit his stupid big fingers.”

Izuku laughs. “I don’t recall you complaining when those fingers are in your ass.”

Carefully, Katsuki says, “If I had a ring, would you say yes?”

Softly, Izuku says, “I’d say yes even if you didn’t have a ring, Kacchan.”

Katsuki kisses him. “Okay,” he says. Then he pulls away. “What do you want for dinner?”

Izuku gapes at him. “What—Kacchan!”

“What?” He asks. 

“You said you were going to ask me!”

“No I didn’t,” he says with a grin. “I asked if you’d say yes.”

Deku pouts. “But—”

“I’m gonna give you the best damn proposal ever, nerd,” he says. “Be patient and tell me what your fucking ring size is.”

Izuku grabs him again and pulls him in close. “Maybe I’ll just have to ask you first, then,” he says quietly. It sits between them like a challenge. 

“You trying to out-propose me, Deku?” He growls. Izuku smirks and steps away. 

“I already know your ring size,” he says. “So it looks like I’m already one step ahead.” He kisses Katsuki on the cheek before giving him an angelic smile and heading into the kitchen. Katsuki watches him go with a dopey smile on his face. 

He was gonna marry the shit out of him. 

As he's leaving his monthly appointment, he stops and turns back to Miya. 

"Would it be unethical or whatever for you to come to my wedding? You're the reason it's even happening." 

"All I did was make a suggestion, Katsuki. You are the one who made it a reality." 

Katsuki rolls his eyes. "Stop being a fucking therapist and answer the question." 

Miya considers it. "I work for this agency too. Technically we are co-workers." 

"Great," he says, grabbing the invitation from his pocket and leaving it on her desk. "I'll see you there."