Izuku leant back against the wall, the pounding of his heart echoing in his ears. He tried to silence his labored breathing, knuckles white with the tension of clutching his gun close to his chest. His eyes darted around his dim surroundings, trying to detect even the slightest movement. The heavy vest weighed him down, damp with sweat and sticking to his torso.
A shuffle to his right. Eyes narrowed, he turned sideways, gun cocked and ready to fire - shit, he had been found –
Faster than he could register, a hand grabbed the barrel of his gun, knocking it out of his hands. He was slammed back into the wall he was just leaning against, one of his attacker's hands pressing against his shoulder while the other held a gun to his chest.
They were at a standstill, their heavy breathing filling the silence between them. Izuku blinked furiously, focusing on the silhouette in front of him. Before he could open his mouth, the hand on his shoulder shifted, pressing him harder against the wall. Familiar lips brushed his cheeks and he felt warm puffs of air against his ear, before a familiar growl cut through the silence.
"Game over, Deku."
Whenever class 1-A did something, be it training, fighting against villains, or organizing a movie night, they went above and beyond per their school's motto.
When Kirishima proposed playing laser tag sometime during their 'Weekly Film Assembly' according to Iida, 'Bomb Ass Movie Night' according to Kaminari, or just 'Friday' according to the rest of the class, it didn't take long for them to divide into teams of two, declare it a 'deathmatch' and start a bet where the winning team would get the dibs on the training grounds for a whole month.
The rules were simple; no quirks allowed, no physical wounds that would require treatment, the last one standing would win the victory for their whole team.
"It would be a great exercise to strengthen our teamwork," said Iida, nodding to himself.
Kaminari cackled, "There is no teamwork or trust in laser tag, Prez."
"Are you shitting me," scoffed Katsuki from his place between Izuku and Mina, slouching back against the sofa and his feet kicked on the low coffee table. "What are you, twelve?"
At Kaminari's betrayed expression, Kirishima patted him on the back, misjudging his strength and sending Kaminari sprawling on top of Shouto. Izuku had to slap a hand on his mouth to smother his laughter at Shouto's quiet 'ow'.
"Come on bro, it'll be fun!" said Kirishima.
Katsuki quirked an eyebrow.
"I have better shit to do than running around with fake guns with you idiots. Don't get me involved in it."
Katsuki leant further back into the couch, throwing his arm around Izuku and pulling him down with him. Izuku had used to shy away at first (Kacchan, we're in public!) but after four months of dating, he had gotten used to Katsuki casually touching him in public.
Izuku called it 'sweet'. Katsuki called it 'staking his claim'.
Catching Kaminari's pleading gaze, Izuku sighed and drew back from Katsuki's side, gently laying his hand on Katsuki's forearm.
"Come on, Kacchan. Don't be a party pooper."
Katsuki frowned, straightening a little and crossing his arms.
"Don't you fucking tell me what to do. I'm not doing it."
"But Kacchan! We're the Wonder Duo, remember? We are a team."
Katsuki frowned. "Go team up with the damn half-n-half over there. I don't care."
Izuku let out an offended gasp, drawing his hand back. An irritated frown marred his features. "Are you serious right now?"
Shouto piped up from the other end of the couch. "I would gladly be your partner, Midoriya."
"Shut up, you glazed donut!" Katsuki jumped to his feet, his fists sparking at his sides.
Mina guffawed, slapping Katsuki's arm. She was ignored.
Izuku's eyes flashed with fury, glaring at Katsuki before turning to Shouto. He went to the other side of the couch to plop down next to him.
"Thank you, Todoroki-kun," he said, ignoring Katsuki's screeching, "I'm sure we can win, together."
Katsuki narrowed his eyes, glaring at both of them. "What the hell, Deku?"
Izuku glared back, crossing his arms. "This is how you wanted to play, Kacchan. There you go."
Katsuki hissed, losing some of his certainty. "You can't be serious."
Izuku leaned back, not budging.
Katsuki stiffened. "I'm going to obliterate you."
"Fine."
"Fine!"
Glowering at the bemused faces of his classmates, Katsuki sneered and stormed out od the common room with a slam of the door.
The rest of the week passed with passive-aggressive glares and cold shoulder from Izuku and Katsuki grew more frustrated with each passing day, as Izuku continued making nice with everyone but him. What was the damn nerd's problem, anyway? He must have known Katsuki hadn't meant the team thing seriously, because Izuku knew Katsuki. But he still took it and ran with it despite knowing how much it pissed him off.
He knew Izuku was stubborn, but damn, this time he took it to a whole new level. He avoided him so skillfully, if it was an Olympic sport he would be running for the finals. The only place he couldn't avoid Katsuki was on the training grounds and he took full advantage of it, until they cracked the flooring for the third time and were banned from entering the grounds for two weeks.
Fuck.
Had he ruined the progress they made, not just with their friendship but also with their relationship? But if Izuku acted this way because of something this small, what would he do when they had a real problem?
No, Izuku was more logical dealing with big shit. But what if?
No.
He took to the shooting range, slammed the mufflers on his head and let loose.
He would destroy him first, and then they would talk.
The atmosphere in the waiting room was tense. Their bet was about trivial things, the privilege of rubbing their victory on the others' faces was invaluable.
Not everyone was there for the victory. Katsuki kept glaring at Izuku and Shouto from where he stood at the corner of the room. He was going to the field alone. Tokoyami had opted not to participate, saying he didn't know how much he could control Dark Shadow in the dark hall where they would play. Mina and Kirishima had said he could join their team but were met with a glare.
"I can wipe the floor with you on my own."
Izuku caught Katsuki's eyes. He wasn't angry with Katsuki, really. He knew how he operated, what made him tick. He had known him for nearly whole his life after all. He just wanted Katsuki to think about what he said before he said them just a little bit more. He knew what he was doing was childish, but there was a saying for that, right? To catch the bus, you have to think like the bus? You have to be the bus? A bus for a bus?
Anyways. Something like that.
Though using their quirks wasn't allowed, the game turned into total chaos in less than five minutes. Izuku had predicted it, even without their quirks, they had fitness and combat training to compensate, which came in handy both in real situations and this. As soon as they were let inside, Izuku took cover and scanned the room for possible hiding spots, stairs and walls. Shouto was just as quick, hiding behind a low wall next to Izuku and waiting.
Mineta and Aoyama who were not as fast at hiding were shot in the first thirty seconds, wailing and complaining in disappointment. Izuku and Shouto laid low, waiting for the first hectic five minutes to pass.
Izuku kept track, counting down the numbers as Koda and Sato were shot while they floundered from one wall to another, the Ojiro-Sero team had a shootout with the Shoji-Tooru team, in which Yaoyorozu-Jiro team got caught in the crossfire.
'Wow', thought Izuku, 'One hundred percent fatality.'
He worried about his friends, honestly. What would they do if they were interfering with something like this and their quirks were erased? Just jump out and hope for the best?
After the frantic beginning, the hall came to a standstill. Quickly going through who was left, Izuku predicted Kirishima and Mina wouldn't be able to wait and make the first move. Iida was cautious, but Kaminari was more the type to go out guns blazing the moment Kirishima and Mina got out of hiding.
Snapping his fingers to get Shouto's attention, he quickly relayed his plan through hand signs. Shouto watched intently, eyes snapping towards the other teams' hiding spots and nodded.
They didn't have to wait long.
Something pink shifted in his peripheral vision, immediately followed by a blonde head popping out from the side of a low wall and starting to shoot.
Izuku gave Shouto the signal.
They shot out of their spot among the pew-pew noises and loud complaining – 'Oh come on, Bakubro!' – and zipped towards where they knew Uraraka and Tsuyu were hiding. Quickly taking in the situation – Iida had jumped into the fray and taken out Mina – Izuku saw Shouto shoot Tsuyu from behind, but Uraraka was nowhere to be found.
Dang.
Scanning his perimeter quickly, Izuku saw Uraraka moving to another wall, her gun aimed at Iida.
Undang.
Izuku crouched and got his gun ready. As soon as he saw her shoot Iida, he pulled the trigger, the pew sound of his gun synchronizing with the blinking light of her vest. Surprised, she looked around and spotted him.
Izuku smiled gave a small wave.
Uraraka shrugged and smiled back. She silently creeping out of the hall not to give away his position.
His part of the mission complete, he waited for Shouto to come to the wall they had agreed upon. Instead, he saw him walking towards the exit.
Okay, this time definitely dang. He must have been shot while making his way there.
This meant it was just him and Katsuki now, and he was determined to win.
Izuku tried to get his breathing under control, but it was hard with Katsuki's proximity.
Okay, maybe he hadn't though his plan through. He should have guessed avoiding Katsuki for the whole week would have its effect on him too.
He didn't have much time to dwell on it before Katsuki opened his mouth.
"If you pull some shit like this again, I'll make you wish you were dead, you damn nerd." he whispered, air puffing against Izuku's cheek with every word.
Izuku shivered. If Katsuki wanted to play dirty, so would he.
"Kacchan," he breathed, turning his head towards Katsuki's cheek, trailing his lips up to the corner of his eye. "I missed you too."
Katsuki shuddered, slightly drawing away to look into Izuku's eyes. The hand he was gripping Izuku's shoulder with made its way towards the back of his neck. Izuku's eyes fluttered close as he leaned forwards, anticipating Katsuki's lips.
After a whole week of not touching each other once, the kiss was like fire spreading from his lips to the tips of his fingers. It was harsh, lips and tongues meeting relentlessly. Izuku moaned low in his throat and raised his arms to cling onto Katsuki's shoulders. Katsuki groaned, shifting closer and it was water after drought, it was warmth and roughness and perfect.
Izuku ran his hands down Katsuki's arms – yes, he had it –, slowly pulling away to see Katsuki's kiss swollen lips, his eyes dark and wrecked.
"Deku." Katsuki growled.
"Kacchan," he said among strained breaths, leaning in again to put his lips on Katsuki's cheek in a chaste kiss.
Pew.
Katsuki's vest blinked, the red light illuminating Izuku's smirk and Katsuki's shocked face.
"I win."
Katsuki backed away, ire overtaking his features. Izuku opened his mouth again before he could start to spew some surely creative insults.
"And now I get to have the training grounds all for myself and Todoroki-kun for a whole month! Nice, isn't it –"
"The hell you do."
Katsuki pulled Izuku in by his vest, crashing his mouth against his. Izuku's hand immediately came up to tangle in Katsuki's hair. The gun fell to the ground, forgotten. He bit Izuku's lip, drawing out a short moan from his lips.
He pulled away, just enough to be able to talk, his lips still brushing Izuku's with every word.
"We're a team, and if you're going one on one against someone, it's going to be me." he said, voice deeper than normal.
Izuku giggled, giving Katsuki a peck before untangling his fingers from Katsuki's hair and turning towards the exit.
"But we'll have to ask Todoroki-kun, won't we? He's my partner after all."
Hearing Katsuki's stomp that indicated he would start yelling soon, Izuku laughed and ran towards the door.
"I'll kill you both, Deku! God damn it, get back here you dipshit!"