Incinerate

by KyuukaKoinu

Bakugou Katsuki is a workaholic hell bent on never dating because it's too much of a 'distraction'. Enter Midoriya Izuku: A walking contradiction that is giving Katsuki an actual lethal goddamn migraine along with a mysterious set of arsenal crimes that walked right into town with him. But the most frustrating part is that Katsuki can't seem to get his fucking mind off either.

4. Flare

Hello All! :D I bring another juicy chapter for you.

Just as a note updates will be getting mildly slower. My class schedule shifted this semester and I reworked out my writing free time. It's shorter than the leeway I had last semester. Gotta prioritize my grad degree ^.^ but I love writing and it's a stress outlet so still be looking out for updates!

Alrighty, let's get started!

Warnings: denial pining, violence, purely fluff, drama stewing.

---

Chapter 4 - Flare

.

.

.

When the bathroom door creaked back open, Izuku quietly walked out. He was fully bandaged again wearing a long sleeve dark green shirt with awkwardness rolling off him in waves.

Katsuki sat on the edge of his bed not knowing what to do other than just study him. Those green eyes were glanced downwards, his shoulders were tense and the shorts he was wearing allowed for Katsuki to see very tiny scars climbing up around his calves.

Izuku walked back over to his bed without saying a word, but that's when Katsuki finally spoke up.

"You lied," he whispered, slowly. "It's more than just a phobia." The oldest gripped his hands together, tensing them. He was trying to make himself less angry about Izuku lying to him, right after he had been so honest. He told Izuku with little hesitation about his biggest fear, and for fucking what? For Izuku to give him more fakeness?

The detective's shoulders stiffened and there was a long pause in the room. The lieutenant waited for the other to say something back but Izuku just started to get back in bed.

The green haired man shifted himself, making sure to keep his eyes down and turned his back towards Katsuki wordlessly.

The action felt cold and distant.

As more time passed, Katsuki realized he wasn't going to get an answer. And the whole situation fucking frustrated him. He didn't want his growing curiosity for Izuku to get out of control but now it was just a matter of what the fuck happened to him?

The oldest got back in his own bed with his back turned to the other in the same fashion. In the darkness of the room he tried his best to sleep but the image of that grotesque burn appeared whenever he closed his eyes. He couldn't help but wonder how in the hell did someone acquire a scar that fucking devastating? It wasn't a normal occurrence.

Katsuki unwilling thought of Izuku screaming and burning...and it was unsettling.

He thought back to how frightened the shorter male was and how he held onto him so tightly. It made a lot of sense now. A whole lot of fucking sense. However, he got that scar Toshinori knew what happened and he knew of Izuku's PTSD attached to it as well.

Katsuki tried his best to stop thinking and closed his eyes, but his ruby irises cracked back open when he heard Izuku's voice, small as ever.

"I'm sorry...I just don't like reliving some things," Izuku whispered into the dark room.

The hushed words struck a chord inside of Katsuki and the feeling of Izuku shaking against him was back. But this time he didn't find himself irritated by it, he found himself disquieted and mildly guilty.

. . .

When the morning came, Izuku acted as if nothing had happened but Katsuki didn't.

The two of them met back up with Mina and the trio went out and about for a while to try to pass the time until the designated drop time. Katsuki put on a casual white shirt t-shirt while Izuku, once again, put on a long-sleeved shirt. This time it was light blue and loose fitting around his torso, but his bandaged hand was still clear.

They were all currently walking down the street during the bustling Friday morning just appreciating the sight and talking strategy. Well, they were supposed to be talking strategy. But somehow Izuku and Mina got side tracked on to the topic of Mina's wedding which somehow led into preparations which gave way to the following:

"Wait—Let me get this straight. Kirishima isn't a natural redhead?"

"Of course not! Look at the color, it's way too bright," Mina laughed pulling out her floral-patterned phone. "Look, Bakugou and I help him dye it sometimes when he's acting like an old man and too lazy to bleach his roots himself."

Her polished finger opened up the camera roll on her phone to show Izuku a silly photo of them all squatting in a bathroom. Everyone was sloppily covered in red hair dye with Katsuki looking the most pissed off, Mina was laughing and Kirishima was giving a double peace sign

"Oh, what!? Bakugou, you're in on this too?" Izuku turned to him amazed at the information and glanced back down to the photo that was on Mina's phone. The greenette was all smiles and giggles while gazing upon the photos of them all covered in red dye.

"As is Denki," Katsuki muttered while shrugging his shoulders. "Kirishima's hair is as black as fucking Sero's. Don't let him fool you." Red eyes looked down to the shorter male next to him to see green eyes looking up at him in amusement and assessing his own hair. Katsuki tilted his head to the side the longer the other stared at him.

"What? What's with that look, nerd?"

"Do you bleach your hair? It is kinda of light," Izuku grinned up at him in pure amusement and Mina choked on her laughter. Katsuki face dropped, fully offended and he made a loud 'tsk' sound into the air.

"Not all of us have to fucking purchase our good looks, I'm a natural ash blonde." Both Mina and Izuku laughed and a bright smile spread across Izuku's face. The red eyed officer studied the expression trying to understand how someone with a scar that bad just...go about his life.

At this point Katsuki looked up to see a running, busy man not paying attention to where he was going. The man was holding three hot coffees in a tray and he was coming straight for Izuku. Specifically, he was coming in on Izuku's left, burned side.

Something inside of Katsuki mildly flared with panic, and before his brain could really process what he was doing, he reached an arm out to pull Izuku in front of him by his waist. The busy man in a rush stumbled by quickly and Izuku looked caught off but the sudden handling on his body.

All undercover officers seemed surprised by quick reaction, silence enveloping them. Mina's golden eyes instantly zeroed in on Katsuki's arm encircling Izuku's waist. Katsuki noticed this quickly along with the pink slowly creeping up on his own face.

...and the irritated expression spreading across Izuku's.

He let go of the other faster than he had grabbed him and scratched behind his head.

"Sorry, it was a reflex. That fucker wasn't, er, paying attention and he almost bumped into you," he grumbled out not looking at either of them as they continued walking.

"It's okay, thank you," Izuku mumbled back softly. There was a shift in the air and Katsuki couldn't help but feel like the thank you was empty. But...he didn't know why. The coldness from Izuku almost made him frown but he resisted the urge and continued walking.

Mina's eyes shifted between them as they continued walking. Izuku shifted the topic to something else, sparing everyone from the awkward moment. They went back to talking about random things like the hair dying process and Izuku insisting Katsuki bleaches his hair slightly—which was not fucking true but the greenette seemed to enjoy teasing him.

They continued about their day and the interactions continued as such. Wherever they would go Katsuki found himself keeping an unintentional (or was it intentional?) eye out for Izuku's left arm.

It's not that he meant to, because he didn't like Izuku that way. No, he didn't. He really fucking didn't. He could admit he was physically attracted to him, yes. But just because he was still processing the burns he saw last night didn't mean he actually cared for Izuku in a way more than that...right? He wasn't actually concerned or worried in a completely different way he had been on Tuesday.

But despite telling himself this, whenever Katsuki saw the greenette reach for a door with his left hand, he swiftly opened it himself without seeming too obvious. The pinkette female in the group made a comment about the 'gentleman like gesture' after about the fifth door opened.

They eventually wandered to the shopping district in the area momentarily because Mina wanted to check out some clothes and Izuku purchased some things himself. Katsuki then found himself grabbing bags for the greenette once his right hand was full.

Now, it wasn't because he was worried about Izuku putting too much stress on an arm that clearly had been through some real fucking trauma that he did that. No, he was doing it because...because…

Katsuki couldn't even find the conclusion himself.

However, it didn't go unnoticed how as he did these things Izuku grew more and more relatively distant for his bubbly personality.

The greenette would slightly grimace every time a door was held open or, if Katsuki would ask him if he needed anything. The blonde didn't really understand why Izuku seemed annoyed, but he also didn't even comprehend his own behavior. All he knew was that every time he looked to Izuku's left arm he saw those...burns.

Which brings them now, they were sitting in a park with the sun beaming down on them. They were all positioned under a tree lazily with Izuku propped up again a tree sketching, Mina laid out at Katsuki's feet looking up at the clouds go by and Katsuki himself laying against the tree as well. The blonde was observing Izuku sketch random people that went by as they waited for time to pass by until later that evening.

"You're a really good artist, Izuku," Mina commented with a smile. "Think you could do a portrait of me and Kiri for the wedding? We'll pay!"

"Hah, sure, that wouldn't be a problem!" Izuku said back and Katsuki continued to watch him draw. He was currently working on drawing this man sitting on a bench slightly adjacent from them and it was coming along very well. The small pencil portrait captured the man's likeness in his dark hair and eyes easily. It was genuinely impressive, and it made Katsuki wonder a lot about Izuku.

Red eyes glanced up once more to compare, but this time he saw the man looking their way. Particularly looking at Izuku.

"I think you've been spotted," Katsuki whispered for Izuku to hear and instantly Izuku's gaze peered up in surprise. Just like the older man had said, the stranger was staring at Izuku curiously. The dark eyes glanced down at the notebook and then back to Izuku's awkward face.

"Oh, no...I hate when this happens. I need to be more discreet." The greenette tried to play it off but the man stood up to approach the trio, and Katsuki took note of how the sharp dark eyes studied all three of them carefully before approaching.

When the man finally got up close Katsuki studied him right back. He was large, fairly buff and he had a scar over his left eye. He was wearing dark colored jeans and t-shirt with a thin silver chain. Once he got closer he gave a pointed look down to the curly haired male of the ground. Katsuki reluctantly felt a vague emotion in his chest flare up.

"Why do you keep looking at me? Didn't your mom tell you it's rude to stare at someone?" The gruff voice accused harshly but there was a hint of mirth in his tone.

Clearly this mother fucker did not like people staring too long at him and it made Katsuki feel mildly suspicious of him. The flare in the blonde's chest got a little stronger and he was about to say something rude right back when Izuku quickly stuttered out a response.

"I-I'm sorry, sir. I just thought you'd be interesting to draw that's all!" Izuku gave a charming smile and turned around his sketchbook to reveal the small piece of art in the black notebook. Instantly, the stranger's face completely shifted in surprise.

Both Katsuki and Mina stayed silently on edge despite the change in behavior. The man looked mildly taken back as his dark eyes darted between Izuku's awkwardly smiling face and back at the notebook.

"...that's actually pretty good."

"Uh, thanks. Sorry for staring so hard. I didn't mean to." Izuku rubbed behind the back of his neck with a half-smile and the stranger then gazed Izuku's figure a full once over.

Irritation gnawed at the back of Katsuki's head at the sight.

"No, it's okay," the deep voice reassured. The man then squatted in front of Izuku, who leaned back a little bit at the sudden closeness in his space. "Could I possibly buy it off of you for 2700 yen?"

It really shouldn't irritate him. It shouldn't. The dark-haired man was just wanting to ask about a damn picture of himself, but for some reason it did. The blonde found himself trying to fight down the clear annoyance scratching at the back of his head as those dark eyes looked Izuku up and down—fucking shamelessly.

"Sure, that's no problem," Izuku answered back in an innocent manner. He kept his eyes down and neatly tore the white page out of the sketchbook to hand over to the man. The greenette then looked up at the man with the tight, fake smile Katsuki began to recognize. "Here you go."

"Thank you," the deep voice laughed as he took the paper from the freckled hand. He pulled out his wallet in exchange and handed over exactly the amount of cash he said he would trade it for. "Pretty eyes and talented, you're gonna be a hard one to forget. See you around." The man stood up and turned around with a wink.

Katsuki watched unaware that his face was now blown completely in a sneer.

Izuku visibly untensed next to him and threw his head back against the brown bark he was leaning against.

"Well, there goes that," the detective sighed, carding a hand through his hair. He turned to Katsuki, who was still wearing a frown, and offered an apologetic smile. "Sorry...I should stop drawing people in public. It brings attention to us."

"Don't apologize. You didn't know he was gonna waltz his ass over here," Katsuki grumbled and looked down at the now empty page in the sketchbook. "He could've let you keep the damn drawing. He clearly was trying to be discreet about somethin' himself."

"Yeah, Bakugou is right," Mina spoke up and sighed. Her gold eyes glanced up at the clouds above their heads. "He seemed ready to fight when he came over here then suddenly he switched to flirty when he thought you were harmless."

"Fuckin' sceeve," Katsuki hissed quietly under his breath. His fist tightened in his lap and he couldn't stop the urge to roll his eyes. Izuku turned to him with a confused hum.

"What was that?"

"Nothing," The older man quickly rushed out. He cleared his throat and ignored the suspicious look that was being thrown his way by both Mina and Izuku. The blonde stood up quickly and dusted off his pants. "It's getting close to time, let's head back to the hotel."

Izuku looked down at his brown colored watch and nodded in agreeance.

"Okay, let's do this."

. . .

Izuku chuckled all the way to the hotel with Mina. His laughter only faltered whenever a certain lieutenant would open a door for him or when he tried to help him stand up at the park. They split up into their separate rooms and once again Katsuki opened the door and held it out for Izuku to enter before him.

They both walked in the room again, Katsuki keeping his mind completely focused on the operative as he closed the door shut.

He carefully locked the golden bolt on the door and turned around without much thought but was fully caught off guard when Izuku was in his face—and he looked extremely displeased. He actually looked close to pissed off by Katsuki's standards.

"Stop doing that," the tenor voice said steadily. There was a slip of anger that leaked into the demand that made the taller man instantly straighten out his back.

"What?" He tilted his head at the other as his red eyes narrowed.

"Stop with the soft treatment already," Izuku hissed at him and leaned in closer. Katsuki's eyebrows raised slightly at the challenging tone before they creased deeply on his forehead. He opened his mouth to retort but Izuku just continued.

"You didn't treat me like I was fragile for the last week. So, don't start now just because you saw that burn. It's the whole reason why I keep it covered. I respect you because you don't treat me like I was this fragile thing, okay? Don't start now."

But Katsuki just shook his head confused. That wasn't the fucking reason he suddenly felt the urge to hold open doors…was it? He thought about it for a moment and found that he couldn't be fully honest with himself as to why he had spent the entire day going out of his way.

But it wasn't because he thought Izuku was weak. No. The greenette proved he was strong by being the only person he's ever known to pin him in a sparring match. He was just making sure Izuku was...okay.

"That's not why I did it."

"Yes, it is." Green eyes blazed into red. Izuku inched forward slightly and Katsuki only frowned deeper but held his ground. "You saw those scars and now you suddenly went from body slamming me on a training mat to grabbing me, so some guy doesn't bump my shoulder."

Then that's when Katsuki saw it.

He saw something close to hurt flash across the freckled face in front of him. When Izuku spoke his next words, an undertone of the greenette's elusive past trickled in.

"Please...just...stop treating me like I'm broken. It doesn't help anything."

The words were hushed and Katsuki relaxed his body language at the sentence. He saw Izuku relax as well and take a step back. The curly haired male looked him up and down for a moment before turning away with a hurt expression.

Damn it. The blonde felt his heart unwillingly twist again.

Broken.

Izuku thought he was treating him like he was fucking broken. Red eyes then shifted to the wrapped hand and then to the back that was now facing him.

Izuku kneeled down to their shared suitcase to pull out his gear and gun silently without saying another word. That's when Katsuki stepped forward and bent down beside him quietly. He looked to the other person beside him and that's when green eyes looked back at him.

"Okay. I'll stop," the low voice said in a hushed manner. There was something raw inside of the emerald irises and it made the older man really understand how Izuku felt about himself. How he felt about his burns.

"Also...I don't think of you as broken, just 'cause you have a couple of scars. We all got 'em in different ways."

There was a pause in the room as Izuku seemed to study him in a new light. Green eyes scanned his face as if searching for any hint of him telling a lie. But there was none—because it was nothing short of the truth.

Katsuki thought of Izuku as strong because of his scar. The smaller male had obviously been through something traumatic, yet he possessed the will to be someone who saves lives and wanted to become a fearless officer. That was the definition of strength and, as a twenty-seven-year-old, Katsuki could understand that.

He had just been taking caution because he cared. Deep down, he did.

The memory of Izuku dancing so beautifully in the rain had stuck with him more than Katsuki knew. When the greenette moved his body, the workaholic saw someone with more depth than he's ever known, and he just wanted to protect something so rare. But the way his feelings manifested themselves were just confusing—for both of them.

But the bottom line was Katsuki cared.

Even if it would be months later before the stubborn blonde could ever admit it out loud to himself.

So, instead he accepted the tiny smile Izuku gave him and they suited up for the road ahead.

. . .

The sky shifted from bright blue to a dusk evening swirling with pastel colors of orange and purple. The three officers finally suited up in silence with Katsuki giving a brief over the exact actions they were to make. Each of their faces held a serious expression as Izuku and Katsuki padded themselves with bulletproof gear and adjusted their holsters around their waists.

Mina tossed on her casual clothes with her hair pulled back in a short ponytail while Izuku gave Toshinori the coordinates of the warehouse. Both men dressed in full black attire to stealth. Izuku pulled a black hoodie over his head to match his black joggers and sneakers. In contrast, Katsuki wore a normal light weight long sleeved black shirt and athletic black sweats.

They drove to the location and dropped Mina off at a distance, so she could go walk up without suspicion. Katsuki then parked the car at a safe distance in an alley that they could easily get back to once they extracted Aizawa.

"Remember, don't shoot anyone unless absolutely necessary," Katsuki said while cocking his gun and loading several bullets.

"Got it." Izuku nodded and did the same with his own pistol before tucking it away in his holster. When they got the confirmation from Mina about being inside and seeing Aizawa, Katsuki took a deep breath in.

"Let's fuckin' get this over with."

They got out of the car and slowly crept up on the shady dark alleyway in the midst of a small downtown area. The ground was mildly damp from the brief rainstorm and once again the sky was full of clouds. They were thick and grey, overshadowing the bright light of the moon and giving an eerie setting to the scene.

Katsuki took the lead and kept his back to the stone wall of the building before they both crouched down low to stay out of sight. Red eyes peered around the corner to assess the scene in front of him. He held up one finger for Izuku to count for the singular man guarding door. He then curled that finger to point to the large black dumpster across the way that would obscure them from view.

They both kept low to the ground as they couched their way across the narrow alley and behind the tall dumpster. Katsuki inched up carefully to look over the dumpster and signaled silently for Izuku to rise up as well. Both pair of eyes looked at the metallic door that was being protected by the fairly large man.

In that moment, someone came out and the two men exchanged words. However, when the man turned around to them, a distinct scar on his face made both of the officers' hearts stop.

"Shit," Katsuki whispered for Izuku to hear. The man walking their way was the same goddamn jackass that had been flirting with Izuku earlier and bought his picture. The same, very observant man that told Izuku specifically he would be hard to forget.

And he was walking straight this way.

Katsuki felt like kicking himself because while they were in all black, if the man turned his head, there would be a couple of things he was bound to notice. Specifically, extremely rare green eyes and hair.

Katsuki crouched back down and pulled Izuku with him and he could see the gears in Izuku's head turning as well.

"What should we do?" Izuku whispered harshly, his eyes wide. "He's going to recognize us and that's bound to make Mina's current position seem suspicious if all three of us are here."

"Fuck. Give me a moment," The older man said back, and his eyes locked onto the wall behind Izuku's head.

The footsteps got closer and closer while Katsuki tried to rattle his brain. What would two people be doing in a dark alleyway at nearly 7:00 pm at night—privately?

Instantly only one thing popped in his head, but apparently it popped in Izuku's head too. Suddenly both of Izuku's hands were entangled in his hair bringing him down to the greenette's level.

"I'm really sorry for this and I hope this doesn't make anything awkward—again so so so sorry," Izuku muttered quicker than Katsuki could catch the words. Red eyes widened confused and the poor blonde could only manage a 'wait, what?' before soft lips were locked with his own and he was pulled forwards.

The shell-shocked lieutenant was thrown off balance and he quickly caught himself one arm on the brick wall behind Izuku's figure. They stumbled slightly as Izuku tilted his head to seem more realistic, and immediately out of reflex Katsuki used his other arm to catch Izuku's waist.

The smaller male quickly leaned back fully into the shadows, completely blocking himself out of view into the nook between the dumpster and the wall. Katsuki's larger body was hovering over him frozen, brain completely at a halt. Ruby eyes were as wide as the moon while Izuku's were squeezed shut.

Both men found themselves blushing when the footsteps finally walked past the dumpster and stopped.

Instantly, just like both anticipated, the man looked down at their entangled bodies against the wall. There was a short sound of disgust. Even though Katsuki couldn't see the man's face, it didn't take an expert to know the dark-haired male had rolled his eyes.

"Get a fuckin' room," the raspy voice spat out in disgust. "I swear to god, people these days just do it anywhere." Izuku just gave the man a thumbs up as he leaned in closer to Katsuki to fake kiss him.

The footsteps turned away and they slowly faded down the dark alley. The sound should have knocked Katsuki back to reality, but he was trying to process the fact Izuku's lips were as soft as he imagined them to be.

And it was fucking terrible.

Izuku continued to fake kiss him with a closed mouth, trying his best to put on a show so the man didn't recognize their faces. But completely unknown to him, every nerve ending in Katsuki's body flared up with heat.

The tiny movement against his lips lit something so heavy and forgotten in the workaholic's chest that it nearly left him stunned.

Izuku was soft. He was so fucking soft it was astonishing. Gentle curly hair brushed lightly against his face, nimble hands were clasped onto his cheeks and the waist in his hold felt so...right.

The lips moved away from his and Katsuki was left nearly dumb stuck. Izuku's face pulled back completely flushed and green eyes glanced up at him hesitantly. Izuku then finally let go of his face and the ghost touch haunted the blonde on the spot.

Subconsciously, Katsuki tightened his grip on Izuku's waist trying to pull him back in but his motion was stopped at the sound of a door opening and closing.

He was snapped back to reality and both of their heads turned at the sound. Katsuki quickly let go of Izuku and Izuku did the same. Both men tried to ignore the blush on their faces and focus back on the job. But Katsuki kept feeling those soft lips against his and it was really fucking distracting.

The lieutenant tried his best to shake his head and remember that it wasn't a real kiss. Izuku had done it for the sake of not blowing their covering and keeping Mina and Aizawa alive. It didn't really mean anything. Just like the pounding in his chest didn't mean a goddamn thing.

Red eyes peered around the corner of the garbage to see the bodyguard leaned back, looking down casually at his phone with one leg kicked up. Katsuki then turned back to Izuku with a serious expression before speaking.

"He's distracted. We need to take him down silently and quickly," The eldest whispered and Izuku nodded.

Katsuki then took a deep breath and gave an 'okay' hand signal before standing up and both of them casually tried their best to walk as if they were just two people who were ravishing each other in the alley privately.

The large body guard glanced at them not saying anything when they passed by and turned his head away to look down at his phone again. Katsuki turned to Izuku and gave him a single head nod who gave a single one back.

Quicker than lightning, Izuku turned around, reached up and choked the man in a sleeper hold with a stone look on his face.

"Fuck!" The deep voice rattled in the alleyway. The large body thrashed and easily swung Izuku around but the greenette tousled him right back. Izuku used all of his body weight to bow the man's back to his height and a choked sound echoed into the alley. The ringed hand of the gangster crawled at Izuku's forearm and steadily the man fell to his knees.

Katsuki watched slightly shocked at the advanced move that he knew damn well isn't taught to first year cops. But he took the skill for what it was and in an instant the man knocked out. Izuku let out of a shaky sigh, with his chest heaving before dragging the large body off to the side behind the dumpster.

The blonde-haired officer smirked slightly when the younger one gave a nod of confirmation that the thug was officially handled.

"Nice move, Midoriya," Katsuki said and Izuku just shrugged before reaching down in his hoodie pocket.

Katsuki looked down to see the greenette pull out two black bandanas and he handed one over to Katsuki. The blonde officer was silently confused by the action but Izuku gestured for him to put it on without so much as looking at him.

"If this guy is as big as his reputation leads him us to believe, it's best to keep our identities concealed. In case things go left or if he wants some sort of revenge," Izuku said quietly. The blonde male had never thought about that before. He usually did his undercover operatives without the use of masks, but now that the smaller male mentioned it made sense.

Then something shifted in the air when Izuku undid the black fabric. A new, colder expression rolled over his freckled features that was completely different. Katsuki watched slightly taken back, fully not expecting the energy rolling off of Izuku.

The shorter male placed the blank bandana over his mouth and nose carefully, and it seemed almost like he's done it before many times before. Green eyes closed for one moment as Izuku took a deep breath in, and when he opened them it was like a flip was switched. All the innocence and niceness that lingered within the irises of Izuku left, replaced only by determination.

Sharp green eyes looked at him expectantly and the older man slowly did the same. He tied the rag around his face tightly and then gave a nod to the detective.

Katsuki opened the door with one hand and the two snuck in slowly to the warehouse.

Immediately, the first room they entered was empty. The ground was grey and concrete and the sound of people talking could be heard around the corner. There were wooden crates littered all over and they both ducked behind the nearest ones at the sound of footsteps entering.

"Take that pretty boy cop back to his room," one gruff voice said.

"I have a name you know," a lazy, drawn out voice answered. "If you're trying to flirt with me you're doing a terrible job. Usually handcuffs come after you take me out to dinner."

Katsuki gritted his teeth when he recognized the voice as Aizawa. All of their suspicions of him being held captive were right. The captain's voice sounded tired, and slightly strained.

"Shut the fuck up you pig," another angry voice answered. The sound of loud hit and Aizawa's grunting echoed into the empty space making Katsuki sneer. Fucking scum. Always fucking scum. "You get no name here. You cops always think you're better than us but you're just the same."

The voices slowly trailed off as they could be heard going around the distant corner. Katsuki turned to Izuku on his right and the greenette's face looked just as displeased as his own. Which was exactly what he wanted to see. Izuku cut his eyes at him and gave a head gesture to move and the two silently trailed behind the three bodies.

Katsuki was impressed with Izuku's ability to follow silent commands to duck, move and shuffle whenever they heard footsteps coming in close. They two moved stealthily through the labyrinth of the dark warehouse and it felt as if they had been doing this together for a long time.

Soon, the three bodies rounded around another corner one last time before one of the goons spoke up again.

"Get back in your room, filth," the voice echoed, and both officers could hear a slam of the door. A metallic click followed indicating to both men in black that there was a lock on whatever door they shoved Aizawa in.

"Man, I can't believe we always get stuck with babysitting duty," an annoyed voice rang out. "Why doesn't Yotsubashi just off him already? I would've slit his throat the second he slipped up and we all knew he was a cop."

"Yotsubashi is trying to keep him long enough to make a deal with that crazy ass dude that just came into town. Apparently, the guy is trying to make a statement to the police, so he wants one to burn alive."

"Ugh...now, that guy is seriously off his rocker. He makes my skin crawl every time I look at him. Great criminal, but bat shit insane. What's his real name anyways?"

"Dunno, he refuses to tell anyone. He insists on that fake ass first name and the alias of 'the cremator'. But he has strong underground connections so Yotsubashi wants to make good with him."

Instantly the talk of burning people alive and cremation made both detective's eyes widen. Katsuki looked over to Izuku, who was wearing the same ghost expression as if they connected the dots. His mind flashed the man in the gas mask flicking a lighter in his hand. He fit the description: cop hating, crazy, pyromaniac.

Fuck. What kind of psychopath calls himself the fucking cremator?

Katsuki's mind was brought back to the vision of large flames burning alive the teenage girl. Immediately, his hate for criminals got stronger and he took a deep breath in. Suddenly, music started playing from one of the thug's phones and both officer's faces twisted in confusion.

Izuku gave him a silent expression that read as 'are they actually playing music on the job?' and Katsuki gave an eyeroll back of 'they're dumbassess what do you expect?'.

When the music was the loudest and the two men's chattering had evened out to a solid conversation Katsuki gave a signal to move in quickly. A sound of surprise from both men bounced off the walls as the two police officers bum rushed them fearlessly.

Katsuki kept his eyes focused on the taller man who quickly grew a gun on him. The expert lieutenant high kicked his leg to disarm the man and the weapon fell to the ground with a loud clack. Loud grunts could be heard as Katsuki wrapped his strong arm around the man's neck and shoved him to the ground face down to put him in sleeper position. The man underneath him struggled to get up but Katsuki kept him down with his large body. The fearless blonde counted in his head of the seconds to release at exactly the right time.

Red eyes briefly peered up at Izuku who was currently tossing the other man off of him. The greenette slammed the large body into the wall with a hard thrust of his legs and a grunt. The thug's head hit the wall with a loud bang, but the man quickly rebounded. He immediately tried to land a punch of Izuku who just caught the fist with his hand, side stepping without an issue.

The detective used his smaller body to redirect the massive body weight of the goon so that he was positioned behind him. Then, without an ounce of empathy on his face, twisted the man's arm back. A loud curse could be heard as Izuku snapped the man's neck back with his forearm and squeezed it tightly in his arm junction.

Soon both men were laid out on the ground unconscious. Katsuki held a finger up to the man's nose to check he was still breathing, and they gave each other a quick affirmative before dragging the large bodies off to the side, hidden.

Katsuki found the key in the jeans of the man he took down and he walked over to the door to unlock it. He cracked open the door to find Aizawa sitting with his head down in between his knees. The blonde-haired lieutenant pulled down the bandana off his face when dark eyes glanced up at him curiously.

Slowly a smirk took over the police captain's face and Katsuki smirked right back.

"We finally came to get you, bastard."

A short-amused laugh carried around the room and slowly Aizawa stood up.

"Took you long enough, I was beginning to worry."

. . .

NHK WORLD - JAPAN

Another Win for Victory!

Our very own symbol of victory, Bakugou Katsuki, lead an undercover operative that took down one branch of the largest drug operations in the city. This comes as no surprise due to the ranking officer's undeniable streak of always catching the criminal when he puts his mind to it. Criminals stand no chance when put toe to toe with Bakugou and his fiery determination for justice.

Two lower ranking officers accompanied the young lieutenant on the job and now one of the biggest drug rings officially has a gap in it after many years. After the officers extracted missing police captain, Aizawa Shota, select policeman from the U.A precinct came to bust the scene after being put on standby.

This is a huge win for the city overall. Many people were starting to worry with the mysterious arsenal crime still hanging over everyone's head ...

… Read more

. . .

Katsuki sighed as he clicked out of the news application on his phone, turning the red device facedown. It was now Monday morning after the operation and he was sitting on the edge of his bed, slowly waking up.

Usually he was always happy after completing an operative, but this time it felt empty. Not to say he wasn't happy about rescuing Aizawa in time, but a large part of him was still buzzing with what him and Izuku over heard.

The cremator.

Well, at least now he had a name to match the lunatic in the gas mask. But the question still stands: what did he want from him? The man was a cop hater. It was clear. He wanted to burn a cop alive just to prove a damn point. If they hadn't begun their operation in time, then Aizawa would've been fucking torched at the hands of some pyro trying to make some weird ass statement to the cops.

When they were riding back in the car to the coast area with Aizawa, the black-haired man had said something very disturbing...and it was still settling in the young blonde's stomach.

"The man, the one they were going to sell me to," he remembers the captain saying with a long sigh. "He's trouble. I didn't see his face, but I overheard them talking outside of the closet they had me locked in. He's plotting something elaborate, but it's unclear what."

"He said he wanted something, do you know what?" Katsuki had asked. He remembers his hands tightly gripping the steering wheel as he kept his eyes focused forward on the dark highway.

Izuku was in the passenger seat, silent, while Aizawa was sprawled out across the backseat. Thick silence over took the car and the next words spoken made the circumstances of what they were dealing with very clear.

And very frightening.

"He said he wants to see the city burn to ashes."

After that, Katsuki was left feeling unsettled. It was only a matter of time before he either saw the man in the mask again and another building or two went up in flames. Or worse, more people would be hurt in the process while he still figured out what the fuck did he want.

Which meant he needed to figure out what to do to stop him—quickly.

Katsuki remembers glancing off to the side at Izuku who was looking out the window quietly, deep in thought.

Part of the blonde-haired man felt sorry for the greenette. The other man had just recently moved and the one intense phobia he had was going to be in his face all the time now because some crazy arsonist rolled into town as well. Talk about bad fucking luck.

But not only that was on Katsuki's mind when it came to Izuku, which is what frustrates him the most above all. It was large burn marks, the fake-but-yet-still-not-fake kiss they shared along with Izuku drawing him in the coffee shop. The soft smile the curly haired man threw his way coupled with the way he danced so carefree in the rain.

All of these things had imprinted in Katsuki's brain in the one way he didn't want.

There was something mystifying and downright fucking distracting about Izuku that hypnotized him and the feeling of those soft lips against his own lingered for several days. Fucking days.

Before Katsuki left to work that Monday morning, he looked at his spare helmet for ground zero in a contemplative manner.

. . .

When the lieutenant walked into the brightly lit office, he saw Izuku perched on Ochaco's desk laughing. In his arms was a pile of paperwork and on his lips, he was a beautiful smile. The detective was wearing a dark blue hoodie over a light pink plaid shirt with his badge dangling from his neck.

The second Katsuki got close, doe green eyes looked at him. A signature soft smile and wave was sent his way and Katsuki gave a small one back.

He was trying his best to act casual and not as though he had been thinking about Izuku all weekend. Nope. He didn't weirdly miss being in the same room with him and he most definitely did not feel strangely cold when he went home alone after everything with the drug bust was said and done.

He didn't need to date or think about anyone in a romantic sense. Nor did he want to—being alone was optimal for him.

Especially with some murderous, cop hating pyro on the loose. Izuku should be the very last thing on his mind.

"Hey! Baku-bro!" Kirishima's voice boomed. Katsuki winced when a strong arm was suddenly around his neck and his best friend ruffled his hair playfully. "How's our very own U.A champion doing today?"

"Are you serious Kiri? I just combed my hair—get the fuck off of me!" Katsuki cursed and broke out of the hold.

This only elicited a loud laugh from the red-haired man and Kirishima patted his back hard. Katsuki stumbled forward slightly from the steer force he was hit with and he gritted his teeth.

It's too damn early for this. Annoyed red eyes glared over his shoulder, but he faltered for a split second. He could see Izuku in the corner looking at him, trying to cover his laughter with his bandaged hand.

They made brief eye contact, but as soon as they did, Izuku looked away with what Katsuki could've sworn was a blush across his face.

"Wedding is in a month, baby!" Kirishima said. "Sorry, I just can't contain my excitement. I gotta get all this energy out of my body somehow."

"Just fucking save it for the honey moon," Katsuki shot back and tried his best to re-fluff his hair properly while heading to his office.

"Aw, Kat. Don't act like that!" The sergeant grinned and followed him into his office. "I got a pretty little invitation for you. As the best man you gotta be just as excited as me." Katsuki sat down in his leather chair and immediately pulled out the large stack of papers from his brown satchel.

"I am happy for you and Mina, truly I am. But don't fuck up my hair in the name of you two falling in line with social norms," Katsuki spoke, turning his attention to the stack of papers in his hand. He ignored his best friend when the other leaned against the wooden desk, still grinning like he knew some secret.

"Ah, that's not what I'm talking about. I mean you should be excited for the wedding, but more importantly the after dark activities of the wedding." Kirishima wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and Katsuki 'tch'd.

"What? Everyone getting sloppy drunk and dancing to whatever pop songs are in the top forty?"

"No, I'm talking about the all famous wedding hookup. People always hook up at weddings!" Immediately the blonde whipped his head up, frowning at the comment. More so frowning at the fact Kirishima was suggesting he would hook up with someone who was invited to the wedding.

"...I forbid you from finishing that thought. Please, use those last two fucking brain cells to do something useful. Get out of my office and start on your cases for the day." The blonde shooed the other away with his hand but Kirishima just laughed and leaned in more.

"Aw, c'mon Katsuki! I know a certain green-eyed detective has been checking you out. He's so obviously throwing looks your way—"

"—He hasn't been throwing a damn thing my way." Katsuki cut him off quicker than his brain could think. The other set of red eyes squinted at him with playful mischief, suspicious of how quickly Katsuki tried to reject the idea.

"Oh, he definitely has, you just won't catch anything!"

The lieutenant tossed his head back and blew air out of his nose in annoyance. The worst part was that Izuku had very much thrown himself at him before. Pretty damn hard too. There was something heated about knowing that Izuku thought he was attractive enough to try to sleep with.

Thinking about that bar night and how vividly he imagined and dreamt of fucking Izuku against a wall made Katsuki feel heated under his collar as well.

Now, his friend was suggesting hooking up with the greenette as if it wasn't completely inappropriate workplace behavior—especially with Izuku being his goddamn trainee and being younger. Sure, no one on their team would care but to the outside perspective it would look hella fucking shady on Katsuki's behalf. He wasn't stupid, he knew how news outlets were thirsty for gossip.

"Get back to work, Kirishima, before you catch my fucking hands," he threatened in an empty manner which made the other man just laugh.

"Fine, fine. No need to throw around hands now. Here's the wedding invite. You get a plus one by the way...I haven't invited Midoriya yet just in case you wanted to try to do it yourself."

Kirishima held out a tiny pink slip of paper for the other, while wiggling his eyebrows. Katsuki sighed and took it from his hand reluctantly.

He knew this was Kirishima's slick method of trying to him to bring a damn date. What would really be the difference if he asked Izuku to go or not? Fucking none. The greenette would still go, dance with Mina and Ochaco most likely and then absolutely nothing would happen.

But part of his brain still toyed with the idea of asking Izuku himself.

Because it wouldn't be a date. It would just be U.A plus Kiri and Mina's family. Kirishima wouldn't harass him about it if he did it and he could spare himself a month-long headache. So, really asking Izuku would be technically harmless.

...Right?

"Oh, also Mirio is joining us tonight for dinner! He just texted me. He is gonna be in town for the next week for the police picnic next week and helping Toshinori out with a couple of things."

"Sweet, sounds good."

Katsuki didn't think much of it. He just shrugged and gave a hand signal for the other to leave him be.

Mirio coming to the precinct wasn't anything new. Toshinori always allowed his son to come in and out of the office space without an issue whenever he got time, it's been that way for the last six years.

The blonde-haired male had recently graduated law school in Yaizu and the open space without studies gave him time to come up and visit. He respected Mirio because he was like him, someone who was solely focused on his career at the moment.

Even though there was a point starting three years ago when he started showing up with hickies and randomly started asking Kirishima for dating advice on how to woo a possibly traumatized person.

Whatever Mirio had going on Yaizu, Katsuki deciphered it evened out to nothing more than a possible friends with benefits situation. Mainly because the hickies continued but the blonde made it clear his love interest wasn't ready to date.

Which made sense, if the person Mirio had a thing for really was going through something rough, then it would make it hard to be a relationship. Just sucked because Mirio seemed as though he liked whoever the fuck it was a lot.

So, seeing Mirio would be nice. Plus, then maybe he could ask him slyly about Izuku and how Toshinori knew him. The two young blondes always got along, from one workaholic to another. He was one of the few people besides his team at U.A that Katsuki could tolerate talking too.

He thought these things idly to himself as he shifted through his papers and went about his day. He reminded completely unaware of the several glances Izuku stole through the window while at his desk.

. . .

The end of the day came, and everyone met outside just like they had done last week. But now, there was a slight difference.

The officers were laughing and talking, dividing up into the two cars while Katsuki was awkwardly fiddling with a spare helmet in his hands. He adjusted the collar on his motorcycle jacket in a mild nervous manner and tapped his foot rapidly.

His heart lightly pounded as he watched Izuku walk out with Mina. He wondered if this was a good idea or not. Or if he took the extra precaution for no real damn reason and was about to look real fucking stupid.

Katsuki had noticed that Izuku kept his distance from Todoroki and he still found the behavior strange.

But, as he was learning, that seemed to just be Izuku's fucking M.O. The twenty-three-year-old was the definition of strange. He was an artist, a detective, and apparently on top of that he liked to keep his distance away from Shouto.

The ash blonde figured it might be something up with the eldest Todoroki, who, while a great police officer, had a lot of controversy surrounding him. Katsuki liked the chief of police but only to a certain extent as well. So, he reasoned with himself that was the reason he brought the spare helmet. Just in case a repeat of last week happened. Absolutely not because he wanted Izuku to ride with him.

Everyone piled into the cars and, like he suspected, Izuku hesitated to see which one Shouto got into.

Katsuki cleared his throat, drawing the attention of large green eyes.

The youngest turned around to him and not knowing exactly how to say, 'want to ride with me?', Katsuki just stuck his arm out to hand Izuku the orange helmet with a green X on the back.

Izuku quirked an eyebrow curiously at him before smiling. "You brought a spare helmet?"

"Yeah, I guess a did. Do you want to ride or not?" But as soon as the words left his mouth he could've slapped himself. Ride with me. Say fucking ride with me next time, dumbass.

He watched as Izuku sucked in his lips trying to contain a laugh and his cheeks turned pink ever so slightly. And it was cute. Really fucking cute.

Now Katsuki was considering that this was a very bad idea.

"Yeah, I'll ride with you. Thank you for thinking of me and bringing the extra helmet," Izuku laughed. He scratched behind his head and Katsuki found himself turning away quickly to hide his own small smile.

"Just get on, nerd" he mumbled out and put on his own helmet.

When they got situated to ride he felt Izuku's arms encircle his waist and squeeze tight. Katsuki tried to tell himself that the touch didn't make him feel secure.

. . .

They all ate dinner like normal, and Izuku quickly fell into pace with all the madness that is the U.A precinct. The greenette laughed and joked with Ochaco and Iida easily, telling jokes and describing his first undercover experience with glee.

Katsuki idly chatted with Todoroki and Momo, the three of them were trying to think of an appropriate wedding gift to possibly bring and considered pooling their money. Light music played over their heads as the bubbly waitress took their orders like always.

The restaurant itself wasn't too crowded for a Monday night and it made it easy for everyone to hear each other. The door cracked open and, out of habit, Katsuki looked in the direction of the entrance.

Coming through was Mirio, wearing a large bright smile as usual. He was wearing a royal blue shirt, slacks and looked nicer than he usually does when he came to visit. His bright blue eyes were sparkling extra bright and he seemed extremely happy to see everyone.

"Mirio, over here," Katsuki called and motioned the other over with his hand. Blue eyes set on the table of familiar people and the large man walked up the table, taking the open seat next to Izuku.

"Hey, everyone! How are you all doing?" The upbeat voice asked with elation. The lawyer gave everyone a wave and then he shifted his gaze to the small male next to him with a wide grin. It made Katsuki pause for a moment because the look seemed—

Ochaco piped up from the other side of Izuku and made a move to introduce the two. "Mirio, this is—"

"—Izuku!" He spoke with a laugh. Blue eyes stayed steady on the detective and Katsuki watched how Izuku rubbed the back of his neck with an awkward smile. "We know each other already. No need for introduction for a long-term buddy."

"Buddy?" "How do you two know each other?" Ochaco and Iida spoke at the same time and everyone at the table drew their attention to the pair.

But Katsuki's red eyes were focused on how Mirio threw his arm around Izuku's shoulders who in turn seemed to...lean away politely.

"We used to live together for the past couple years until Izuku decided to pack up and come here after getting persuaded by my old man." The other blonde grinned happily and poked Izuku's cheek in a playful manner, making the greenette laugh.

"Holy shit, what?" Mina exclaimed, looking between the two amazed. "Oh my god, Izuku! Is that how you know Toshinori? I've been wanting to ask for the past week, but I didn't want to come across as rude."

Katsuki bit the inside of his cheek and stayed silent, unsure why there was a rustling happening in his chest. Izuku looked so visibly uncomfortable with Mirio's large arm around him, but the smile on his freckled face was hiding it well.

"Heh, kind of?" The greenette shrugged, his eyes darting anywhere but ahead of him at a certain blonde. This didn't go unnoticed to Katsuki. Not a single fucking bit and it made his skin flare. What was he hiding now?

"I've known Toshinori for a long time. He was a really good friend to my parents when I was growing up. Mirio and I saw each other anytime they would have dinners or if Toshinori came back into town."

"Ah, that makes sense! Aw, that's neat. So, you've known each other for a while?" Ochaco smiled and both men in question laughed. Red watched as a blush slowly crept up on Mirio's face.

"Yeah, long enough that when Izuku needed a place to stay I just invited him in without question. He was the perfect roomie," he informed everyone. All officers smiled and then Mirio's gaze turned to Izuku. "Still sad about you moving."

"Sorry, but your dad was really persuasive! And it's really great here so far like he said it would be," the youngest laughed.

"I know. Everyone here in the department is great." Mirio then looked across the table to Katsuki, and the ash blonde gave a tight smile. "Especially, Katsuki here. A little rough around the edges and a bit of a workaholic—even more than me—but a really good guy."

Green eyes shifted to look at the lieutenant across from him with a soft smile. "Yeah, he is. I can tell." The gaze was gentle and welcoming. There was even a small spark of something flickering in the emerald colored eyes. "Bakugou is training me and he's a really good instructor so far."

The red eyed man tilted his head without knowing, assessing the curly haired person across from him curiously. Hearing Izuku agree that he was somehow a good guy was strange. Especially after everything and all the awkwardness they were trying their best to navigate.

But despite feeling like this, it didn't stop him from looking right back at the other with a look that was just as curiously soft.

"Thanks, nerd," Katsuki spoke under his breath. A small blush could be seen on Izuku face as he turned eyes away and quickly took a sip of his water.

Mirio instantly noticed this, and Katsuki could've kicked himself for slipping slightly. The lawyer looked between them in an odd way, before his eyes settled on Katsuki. The blue-eyed male was assessing the other blonde in a certain manner that made the lieutenant raise one of his eyebrows at the sudden mood shift.

There was a hint of caution in the look sent his way and it almost came across as...protective.

Then just as quickly as the gaze came it left. No one else at the table seemed to pick up on the quick exchange and Izuku was now engaged in conversation with Ochaco about him and Mirio's life in Yaizu.

"So, did you guys order already? I'm starving!" The canary blonde beamed at everyone. His arm around Izuku's shoulders loosened enough to fall down and rest against the back of the other's chair in a friendly manner.

"Oh yeah, we got the usual, but we put in the same order for you as well," Momo informed and Mirio nodded happily at her.

The night went on as usual and Katsuki tried his best not to think about how much Mirio was leaning in to Izuku and how friendly he was being.

He also tried his best not to think too much about how Izuku didn't seem to mind, as if it wasn't new behavior.

. . .

When dinner was done, Katsuki summed up Mirio and Izuku's relationship up as two people who obviously knew each other well. Even possibly best friends. It was another puzzle piece that fit into the image of Izuku, explaining how he knew Toshinori.

But something else that didn't go unnoticed by the sharp minded police officer was how when their food came, Mirio made an effort to make sure Izuku didn't grab his bowl of ramen himself. The blonde proclaimed quietly that it would be 'too hot' for him to pick up himself.

He also took the extra step to break Izuku's disposable wooden chopsticks for him as if the badass detective couldn't do it himself. Then he again acted like Izuku standing up to go to the bathroom was possibly for the other to hurt himself or some shit.

Seeing the soft treatment irritated the fuck out of Katsuki, and Izuku's face was blank the entire time during the gestures. He tried to tell himself it was because he's seen Izuku knock out two grown ass men and pin him down that it was very obvious the greenette could break his own fucking chopsticks.

He remembers thinking to himself no fucking wonder Izuku had been down right pissed off with him during the undercover operative. Seeing it from an outside perspective was absolutely irritating. Izuku didn't want some glass-like treatment. He didn't want to be treated like he was...broken. And he shouldn't be.

So, that's why when they all said goodbye to the owners of the restaurant Katsuki tried his best to ignore what he just saw.

Whatever was between Izuku and Mirio was between them. Maybe Izuku had informed the other blonde how he didn't like the behavior or maybe he had and Mirio just chose to ignore it. Whichever may be the case, it made Katsuki flare with jealousy that he couldn't even deny.

Which was dangerous.

Katsuki hasn't felt jealousy in nearly six years and for some reason whenever it came to Izuku something inside of him flared up uncontrollably with it. And he shouldn't be, there was no real reason for it. He didn't want to date Izuku. He couldn't. He couldn't fucking date anyone because he...because—

"Hey! Wait for me—" Izuku voice cut through his spiraling thoughts.

The ash blonde was currently walking ahead of the group and heading straight towards his motorcycle. He turned around curiously to see Izuku stepping at a fast pace to catch up with him.

But right behind him was Mirio. The younger blonde put his hand on Izuku's shoulder to stop him and Izuku's eyes looked up at the taller man curiously.

"Ah, sorry, Izuku. Katsuki doesn't let anyone ride ground zero," Mirio laughed out, putting on a friendly smile. "I brought my car though, you can ride with me and I can drop you off at your place. I really want to see your new pad!"

Katsuki watched how in the background Kirishima elbowed Denki and the two shot him a twin set of grins. Katsuki rolled his eyes. Fucking brainless idiots.

Izuku suddenly looked nervous at the suggestion as he awkwardly shifted his eyes between Mirio and Katsuki.

"O-Oh, well I was going to go back to the office and get some paperwork before going home." The greenette awkwardly, rubbing his neck—a habit that now Katsuki noticed to be a nervous mannerism. "I was just gonna hitch a ride with Bakugou—"

"Ah, well I can drop you off there and then we can go back to your place! I don't mind. I'm sure you need help unpacking anyways." Mirio insisted with a small push in his voice.

It almost made Katsuki frown, but this was his friend. He considered Mirio a friend and he knew the other blonde had no malicious intent in anything he did. Katsuki has just never seen him...act this over gentlemanly.

"Thank you for the offer, but that sounds really far out the way for you, Mirio. I don't want to cause you all that trouble." But the lawyer didn't really seem to hear it, trying his best to fulfill the kind gesture.

"Really, I don't mind, Izuku."

"B-But—" Finally Katsuki sighed, over the interaction. Izuku was almost a pink color and it bothered him to see the canary blonde trying so fucking hard.

"It's okay, Mirio. I'm headin' back to the office anyways. I'll let Izuku ride me—er, I mean ride with me." The second the fumbled words left his mouth, his eyes simultaneously with the other two sets.

Shit, what did I just say—fuck fuck fuck—

"Ride with me. Izuku can ride with...me." The lieutenant corrected again. He cleared his throat and tried his damn best not to look either of them in their face as he kicked himself mentally over and over again.

What the fuck was that?

There was an uncomfortable pause in the air as Katsuki's face flushed an uncharacteristic pink with a characteristic scowl, Izuku's green eyes were blown wide at the stumble of words and finally Mirio's face was looking at him without a single shred of amusement.

The shortest male awkwardly laughed into the tense atmosphere, but Mirio's eyes were studying the other tall blonde. Blue eyes bore into Katsuki's face as the greenette tried his best to diffuse whatever had just overtook the trio.

"Y-Yeah that'll be the better opinion! I don't want to inconvenience you." Izuku placed a gentle hand on Mirio's shoulder, drawing the lawyer's attention back down to him. Instantly the blue-eyed male's mood shifted when looking at Izuku. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

There was a sympathetic look on Izuku's face that seemed to soften Mirio. This finally allowed the other to let the subject go as he looked at his long-term friend with a bright expression.

"Okay...sounds like a plan," Mirio said slowly but then put a bubbly pep in his words, his mood switching quickly. "See you guys."

He gave Izuku a tight hug and Izuku gave him one back. Seeing the exchange made it clear Mirio cared for Izuku. In what manner? That was still up in the air. The group said goodbye and Katsuki perched himself on ground zero and Izuku followed suit.

The lean muscular arms were around him again and the new simmer underneath his skin was back.

. . .

They arrived back at the precinct and Katsuki admittedly flipped a switch back into work mode. He checked his black digital watch and notice the time was nearly 7:00 pm, which left plenty of time for him to work into the evening like he usually does.

Izuku released his waist and shook his bouncy curls as he removed the orange helmet. The young detective gave him another one of those captivating smiles and Katsuki nearly found himself stuck again.

"Thanks for the ride," the greenette said. "I really appreciate it." Katsuki nodded back at him as he locked down his bike and took off his own helmet, raking his hand through his blonde spikes.

"Don't mention it. What files were you going to look over?" He asked. They walked back inside together, Katsuki slowly removing his jacket to toss in his arms.

"Ah, Yaoyorozu has been giving me the easier cases to file and look into between the cases you give me. I just wanted to grab them from my desk before going home."

"Well, that sounds like a good plan," Katsuki said as he flipped back on his office light. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow then, Midoriya. Have a good night." He tried his best to keep his tone short as he walked into the small room decorated with all his achievements.

The large building was quiet and empty. Completely opposite of what it was like this morning but that's what Katsuki liked and sometimes looked forward to. The quietness of just working without distraction allowed him to blank all his thoughts and not think too much.

He heard Izuku shift around at his desk and grab a handful of papers that he put into his bag. Katsuki expected Izuku to leave out immediately as soon as he got what he needed. So, the lieutenant started to log on to his own desktop computer. However, instead of going, Izuku timidly walked up to his office opening.

Red eyes glanced up curiously at the younger male who was leaning against the door frame with his eyes shifted downwards.

"...what are you about to do?" Izuku said quietly in a tone that almost seemed...shy? Katsuki decided not to read into it and readjusted his eyes to the computer screen in front of him.

"I have a couple of small court cases to look over and then I wanted to research more into that arsonist that popped up," he said back. Izuku hummed and nodded his head. The greenette lightly kicked his foot against the tiled floor before looking up to the older man.

"Are you going to do work here? It's getting late."

Katsuki finally looked back at him with a singular eyebrow quirked as if the question was dumb. "Yes. Where else would I do it?" Izuku shrugged his shoulders and shifted his weight slightly.

"Home? Possibly. Y'know, somewhere comfortable. This building is kinda creepy without anyone in it." Both men took a look around the empty office in that moment.

Admittedly, the U.A precinct this late at night wasn't the most welcoming, but Katsuki didn't like being at his apartment unless it was to sleep. So, he 'tch'd and blew off the observation like it was nothing.

"Yeah, to you maybe. There's no difference to me staying late here versus stayin' up late at home." Izuku hummed again before sighing. Katsuki watched as the younger one rubbed behind his neck per his nervous habit and it made Katsuki squint his eyes at him slightly.

"...why don't you come over to my place?" Katsuki cut his eyes at the younger one at the inappropriate suggestion and turned up his nose quickly.

"Excuse me? What the fuck, Midoriya—"

"—W-We could just do work together!" Izuku quickly elaborated shaking his hands in front of him to calm down the explosive blonde. "I'm making some dessert and meal prepping for the rest of the week." Despite the full explanation it didn't make Katsuki's frown disappear and Izuku started to nervously laugh.

"Dessert? Ain't it a little late to be making dessert?" The greenette shrugged and place a small smile on his face. Katsuki watched how the freckles on his cheek bent around the new creases and something inside of him flared again.

"Some would say the same about doing work. So, why not combine both?" At the suggestion Katsuki tapped his finger against the wood surface of his desk. He was still trying to comprehend why the fuck did Izuku think this would be a good idea between them?

"I promise I won't bother you...plus I'm making namagashi."

At the mention of the small sugary treat Katsuki paused.

"...you know how to make namagashi?" His mind flashed him the image of the last time he ate one, and it was at his parents' house when they were having tea. He secretly loved sugary foods even though he liked to limit himself on the uptake. He needed to be mindful of his body's health.

"Mhm! I do. I'm really good at it too." Izuku nodded eagerly, pushing himself off the door frame. "Plus, I'm making tantanmen for lunch tomorrow."

Then, slowly Katsuki's thoughts dissolved solely into thinking about possible warm food. He usually only packed sandwiches for himself during the week, not being much of a cook except on the weekends. It's not that he didn't like cooking, he did. He just hadn't done it too much since the whole Hero Killer issue. After that, the young blonde gave majority of his free time outside of work to...work.

He tilted his head at Izuku as if seeing him differently. Undeniable flare guns went off in his head that this was a bad idea. Extremely. He shouldn't go over someone's place that he felt such a strong draw to...but fucking tantanmen was his goddamn favorite.

"You don't seem like the spicy food type," he said in a cautious raspy tone.

"Yeah, you're right. I'm not but I like trying out new things every now and then," Izuku smiled at him and the lieutenant nearly felt his heart flipped. From what? He wasn't sure if it was because of the innocent looking freckled face or the idea of getting his favorite dessert plus his favorite fucking meal.

What the fuck was Izuku doing to him?

"You come across like the type of person who only eats spicy food. I noticed it when we were undercover." Katsuki turned away from the bright smile and the jade colored eyes looking at him in a weirdly adoring way.

"Heh, you got that right, dork. I am. Spicy food is my favorite."

"Well, can I bribe you then? I can give you some tantanmen for lunch tomorrow if you come over to my place, finish your work while at least having some dessert? Be the better option over just staying here in this dusty old office. My good Samaritan side won't let me leave you here alone."

That is a terrible idea. An absolutely terrible idea. He thought to himself over and over but...that didn't stop him from thinking about the possible difference.

He could be somewhere with food, his two favorite fucking foods, while looking over the cases in a much cozier environment or he could stay here. Ruby red eyes scanned the barren dark, grey office that he's come to know as a second home (really a first home). Something inside of him panged emptily.

Katsuki then finally looked up at Izuku's face that was the complete opposite of the space they were in: his expression was extremely warm and welcoming.

Katsuki sighed and turned back to his computer and started shutting it down.

"...fine, but only for the tantanmen. No fucking funny business from you either," he grumbled. Izuku's face lit up excitedly. The greenette gave a grin that stretched across his rosy cheeks.

"Of course not."

. . .

When they arrived at Izuku's apartment complex, the blonde was surprised to find that he lived fairly far out. He thought about how Izuku would walk home and realized the greenette traveled a generously large distance to and from work.

The neighborhood they arrived at was small and quiet. It was middle class and the tall white apartment building was majority windows. Against the late summer sky, it reflected all the colors of orange and blue that swirled around the clouds, making it look like it was a part of the atmosphere above them.

They chatted idly as they made their way up to Izuku's place on the eleventh floor after parking ground zero outside. The oldest male noticed how weirdly happy and content the greenette looked to have company over and something inside of Katsuki felt...okay with it as well.

The pair walked up to the wooden door with the numbers '1106' in neat gold letters and Izuku pushed in his silver key in the lock. Immediately the fluorescent lights were turned on and Katsuki was surprised by what he saw the first moment he stepped in.

"Go ahead and make yourself at home! Ignore the mess, I'm still unpacking everything. I figured we can do work on the couch area since I have a small table there. Perfect place for paperwork and desserts." Izuku called out as he walked into and past the living room.

The apartment itself was small. It had wooden flooring, white walls that were completely bare but there was an intense amount of white light flooding the small space from the black ceiling fan and lamps placed throughout. The living room was directly next to a giant window that gave way to an entire beautiful nighttime view of Shizuoka City.

But what caught the blonde's attention the most wasn't the stunning view. Not at all. It wasn't even the high number of boxes and clutter that signaled someone just moved in. It was the corner right next to the window that was littered in paintings, drawings and had a tall wooden easel perched to the side with an incompletely piece on top of it.

The blonde walked forward slowly after locking the door behind him. His feet moved like magnetism as he fully took in the art in front of him. He knew Izuku was talented, but this—this was a whole new level. An impressive level.

Each painting looked as though it captured a different emotion, or just surrealism with vibrant colors. But one painting in particular caught Katsuki attention. It was tossed slightly against the window carelessly, but it was a portrait of Izuku himself.

His eyes were glanced downwards, and the background was dark with colors of black and purple. The blackness seeped onto Izuku's skin like vines, making it seem like he was captured in endless black foliage. But the most interesting part of the painting was how Izuku painted his heart. It was simple, deep red and three bright orange flames were encircling it.

The longer the young adult stared at the expression on the painted Izuku's face the more he felt a particular emotion evoked out of him. A familiar, consuming one like the painting depicted.

It felt like...loss.

"Did you...paint all of these?" He whispered into the apartment. Red eyes scanned over all the other paintings in deep thought. He couldn't even really process what he was looking at, or what he was feeling.

Izuku was really something.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I paint a lot whenever I get the urge," the light tenor voice replied from the kitchen. "It helps keep my mind clear and detours me from other not so savory habits."

If Katsuki wasn't as amazed with what he saw, he would've found that comment a little bit suspicious. But right now, he was stuck on how downright fucking talented Izuku's hands were.

"These are amazing," The raspy voice called out back. There was light rustling in the kitchen indicating that the youngest was doing something to start up cooking. "Have you ever considered havin' a gallery opening? Or a possible art show in Shizuoka?"

"I have thought about it! I did a couple in college in Yaizu and was gonna do more but things just...didn't work out that way."

Ruby eyes then landed on a small black notebook that was positioned on the floor by the easel looking like it had been tossed down without much thought. The blonde looked over his shoulder to Izuku, who was already completely engrossed into making the tiny desserts. The greenette was moving his hips slightly to the beat of the song he was playing.

With the detective's back turned, the older man followed the flare of curiosity inside of him and bent down to grab the black book. When he stood up again, he opened it and flipped slowly through the pages.

The notebook was the opposite of all the colorful large paintings, being only composed of black and white graphite images. Majority of them were portrait pictures of people and a couple were landscapes or cityscapes.

As he continued to flip he stopped on a well rendered portrait of a male. It was soft and looked as it was done with great care. The young male in the picture had smooth skin and was smiling brightly. His head was tilted with a flirty smile and he had what looked to be light colored eyes and medium toned hair.

Katsuki tilted his head to the side in the same way when he noticed that it strangely resembled him. The mystery man's hair was slightly spiked like his own, or like that asshole, Shindo Yo, just not as dark as the criminal's.

But when red eyes moved downwards on the page his heart skipped a beat.

The indicated date on the portrait was old. Four years old to be exact, but it was a date Katsuki would never let himself forget. It was the same day he had broken up with Takeyama and the mess of the Hero Killer ensured.

In this moment Izuku looked over his shoulder to see why the lieutenant had grown so quiet. Green eyes instantly widened when he saw the blonde staring down at the notebook. Izuku quickly cleared his throat, breaking the spell the drawings had over Katsuki.

"Please don't go through that. I'm sorry, but a lot of that sketchbook is personal." Izuku said in an apologetic manner. Red eyes finally tore away from the drawing of the young adult to close it respectfully.

"Ah, my bad," the rough voice replied. Katsuki then finally put the booklet back down to where he found it and stepped away from the artsy corner. He walked over to the kitchen area and leaned against the counter watching Izuku move his hands to prepare the small dessert. "You're honestly really talented."

"Aw, thank you, Bakugou. That's really sweet coming from you," Izuku turned his head and smiled at him and that flare in the taller man's chest was back. Katsuki smiled back before leaning in with a small smirk.

"...my only critique is your signature sucks."

"Eh?" Izuku blinked rapidly and his hands instantly stopped mixing the batter in the bowl. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Your fuckin' chicken scratch looks like you wrote 'Deku' instead of 'Izuku'." The oldest laughed more. The smirk on his face only grew wider and wider when Izuku's face grew shocked and playfully offended. "I've been meaning to tell you that when I looked over your paperwork. You needa fuckin' fix that."

"Wah?!" The green-eyed male laughed. The artist furrowed his dark brows and shook his finger jokingly at the other. "Oi, no teasing when it comes to my art!"

"But I'm not teasing your art. I'm telling you to practice your goddamn penmanship." Katsuki took a large step forward following the playful mischievous pull that was suddenly growing inside his chest. "You don't wanna get branded as fucking Deku do you, Izuku?"

The name rolled off the tip of his tongue like sweet water and suddenly the ash blonde realized what he'd done. Izuku's name in his mouth sounded good to his ears—too good. But apparently, judging by the heavy blush on Izuku's face it sounded good to him too.

"...N-No I don't!" The curly haired artist all but squeaked out. His voice was abnormally high pitched, and he quickly turned away from the man that had just spoken his first name. "B-But, um, you can set up either at the dining table or the couch, I'm gonna start cooking before I sit down."

"Alrighty, I'll be waiting. Your namagashi better be good, otherwise I drove all the way out here for nothin'," Katsuki drawled out while walking away. He could feel something inside of him grow hot and decided it was a good idea to just do what he came here to do and not get distracted.

"Heh, I'm sure it's better than anything you could do. Now, get to work. I'll be in the kitchen."

"Alright, alright, nerd. Have fun slaving over a hot stove for me."

Izuku's breathy laugh echoed in the small apartment at the comment, and Katsuki shifted himself to get comfortable on the couch. He took out his paperwork and glasses while curiously eyeing the self portrait of Izuku that was off to the side. The greenette played relaxing music as the night went on.

Katsuki fell into an easy work mode spiral that was only mildly interrupted whenever Izuku came over to sit next to him on the couch and look over his own work in the waiting periods for the food he was preparing.

As more time passed on, slowly but surely the spicy smell of his favorite ramen dish filled the air and the board shoulder lieutenant found himself relaxing more into the plain beige couch.

This felt...nice. That much he could admit out loud to himself. The sound of music along with the smell of food in the air while he was working enveloped Katsuki in a solid secure feeling that allowed him to feel even more inclined to do work. More so than when he was at the office.

He felt comfortable.

He looked off to the side at the greenette who entered the living room once more from the kitchen, but this time he held a plate full of colorful sweets with two sets of chopsticks. They came in different shapes and sizes such as sakura flowers, koi fish, and roses.

Red eyes immediately perked up as the plate of treats was set in front of him. He shifted all the papers and laptop off his lap and off to the side and quickly moved to grab the eating utensils.

Slowly, he picked up the small sakura one with the given black chopsticks and placed it in his mouth. The sugary taste melted against his tongue and Katsuki almost damn near moaned at how good it tasted. He hadn't had food this good in so long.

"This is really fucking good," he exclaimed out giving Izuku a nod of approval. He looked to the side at the greenette who was practically glowing from the praise. "Damn, who would've thought. Talented in art and in sugary treats. How is that fuckin' fair?"

"The universe made me overpowered, obviously. I am a man of many talents," Izuku laughed, picking up the fish shaped treat and eating it. Katsuki quirked an eyebrow at the younger one before going in for the kill on another treat.

"Oh? What other talents would that be?" His mind briefly considered other things. Wondering if Izuku's mouth was as talented as it was soft. But the male in question with soft lips just chuckled and shrugged.

"One would be looking like I'm still sixteen, apparently. I get carded wherever I go. I went to my local grocery store and the woman was not convinced I was old enough to purchase alcohol when I was checking out."

Katsuki then leaned back while chewing to look Izuku up and down.

Truthfully, he wouldn't think Izuku was a day over twenty-one. Hence why he thought the greenette was way too young for him initially when they met. But he looked closer and he could see age in his eyes. As if they've seen things and have matured because of it. Katsuki tilted his head to the side to consider a couple of things about the smaller male.

"You probably wouldn't have that problem if you fixed your hair and wore better clothes," he finally decided on.

"Hah? What's wrong with my hair? First my signature and now my hair? You're just being mean tonight."

"A lot is fuckin' wrong with your hair," Katsuki mumbled, shoving another sugar delight in his mouth. Green eyes flickered down to this mouth in an unmistakable motion but the eldest tried his best to ignore it. "Your bangs look like you just rolled out of bed, something a teenager would very much do. Doesn't exactly scream 'I'm nearing my mid-twenties and I'm a professional police officer.'"

Izuku groaned and then basically pouted. Fucking pouted. And it nearly killed Katsuki on the spot. He's never seen the other do that before. A grown man, who helped take down a drug heist was here with him...pouting over his hair.

Why the fuck was it so damn adorable?

"What should I do to my hair then?" Izuku asked finally running his hand through the thick green locks. "Give me your stylish advice, lieutenant."

"Fuckin' part your bang or something, nerd," Katsuki motioned with his chopsticks to his own unparted hair lining as if to show Izuku where to part his. "Like just comb it to the left or whatever."

The artist hummed and tried to card his hand through his curls, brushing them sloppily all the way to the left side. When he was done he gave a goofy grin and Katsuki frowned deeply.

"Like this?"

"No, not like that. I mean like majority of it to the left not all of it to the left," he pointed with his chopsticks again more aggressively, hoping Izuku would get the hint. However, it didn't seem like he was going to. Izuku just kept styling his hair wrong, over and over, making the already unruly head of hair unrulier. "Fucking Kami you're dense. What the fuck? Maybe you should be called Deku."

Another goofy grin was tossed his way and Izuku tried one more time to mess with his hair. "How about now?" Katsuki groaned and slammed his chopsticks down on the wooden table in front of him before turning back around.

"No, you dumbass. I said majority—" Izuku messed up his hair some more and Katsuki grabbed his hands to stop him. "Fuck it, sit still. I'll do it for you, idiot."

Izuku laughed at the aggressive exclamation and let himself be grabbed by Katsuki's larger hands. Emerald eyes watched carefully the scowl on the other man's face as his superior got closer to him to entangle his fingers in his hair. The large hands worked against the thick hair parting it ever so slightly and brushing majority of Izuku's bangs off to the side. The youngest closed his eyes enjoying the feeling and then slowly he felt the motions slow down.

When green eyes reopened, Katsuki felt his heart thump in a deadly manner. He slowly brushed the last piece of soft hair behind the other's ear and out of his freckled face. Ruby eyes were completely lost in the constellation of freckled dots facing him as he was sucked into that familiar gravity.

"There...like this," his raspy voice whispered.

He pulled his hand back and admired the new style on the greenette. It looked...incredibly nice on him. The new shift in hair framed his baby face in a way that made it appear less circular and more heart shaped. It made Katsuki's own heart skip an alarming beat.

Fuck.

There was a long pause as Katsuki studied the other in front of him, trying to assess the twist in his chest.

"You're staring again," the youngest pointed out quietly. "How do I look?" Red eyes studied him and deep down he knew there was only one word that would really capture Izuku as a whole.

...breathtaking, is what his mind said, and what he meant to say. But Katsuki knew he couldn't afford to say that because...he just couldn't. His heart twisted thinking about the implications.

"...like a Deku. You look like a Deku," he spoke solidly, letting his defense mechanisms take hold. He shoved down his real opinions of the beautiful greenette in front of him.

The other detective reeled his head back at the comment, fully not expecting that to be the answer but slowly a bright smile overtook the round face.

"Hey, that's mean," Izuku protested with a small laugh and brushed a piece of hair behind his ear shyly. "I just made you food and this is the thanks I get?"

"Just because you can cook doesn't make you any less of a Deku if you don't fix that signature of yours." Katsuki smirked and leaned back, resting against the arm of the couch. He grabbed his laptop and papers again, fully prepared to run away from his racing heart.

"Heh, wow. Thank you so much for the feedback." Izuku chuckled and grabbed his own laptop, leaning back to the other side of the couch.

"You're completely welcome, nerd." Katsuki scoffed and cut his eyes off to the side at the greenette, who was now wearing a gentle part in his hair. "Now, seriously. Get back to work and let me focus for a while."

"Okay! No issue, lieutenant," the younger one smiled and Katsuki resisted all urges to smile back.

The dusk turned to night fully and the two found themselves silently working next to each other. Both quietly devoured the colorful tea treats Izuku had made until eventually time was lost.

The youngest had eventually run out of steam and put on a movie from NeckFlex that he watched while Katsuki was still well into his work zone.

By the time the ash blonde looked up it was nearly 10:00 pm and Izuku had fallen asleep.

The greenette's head was tilted to the side and he was awkwardly holding a brown file in his hand, completely knocked out.

I should go home. Katsuki thought to himself emptily. He stared down at the freckled face next to him and studied the long dark eyelashes.

He made a move to shift his laptop off to the side and then reached over to carefully grab Izuku's folder out of his hands.

The sleeping policeman is mumbled slightly when the files were taken out of his grasp and Katsuki leaned over to place them on the table.

He jumped immediately when suddenly there was a heavy weight slumped against him. Red eyes looked back to see Izuku leaning all the way on his shoulder and Katsuki froze.

The other was so close again and this time the blonde didn't know what to do with the sleeping figure.

Izuku looked...peaceful.

He groaned to himself as he tried his best not to move and disturb the sleeping one. He leaned back all the way, holding out his hand to be careful not to let Izuku fall in his lap by accident.

Just fucking great. He sighed internally.

He looked back down to the round face and could've kicked himself. There was no way he could bring himself to wake Izuku up now. Especially when he seemed so sound asleep.

So Katsuki didn't.

He reached slowly for the papers to the side of him, deciding that a little bit more work time couldn't hurt.

...Right?

He pushed his glasses up on his face and tried his best to focus on the small case in front of him, and not the fact there was a warm body pressed against him.

Katsuki drowned in his work for another night, trying his best to distract himself from thinking about beautiful green hair.

He glanced down at the man next to him and then back to the self-portrait that was across the room. He finally concluded something about the younger male that made him feel different about everything he had learned thus far.

Izuku really was a puzzle.

He was complicated, distracting but...maybe he was in a good way.

---

Thank you so much for reading as always! Be sure to check out the songs linked and let me know what you think below. I really love reviews ^_^

Preview of next chapter:
"Of course this mess would be connected back to you in some way though," Monoma sneered, looking down at Katsuki. The ash blonde straightened his back out when a clash of electricity clearly struck between them. This fucker was always pushing his buttons.

"...and just the hell is that supposed to mean?" He challenged back, fully glaring at the other. But his usual glare was ineffective to the other angry lieutenant.

"You and I both know what it means," Monoma took a step forward, turning up his nose. "It seems like anytime there's a large incident of serve deaths or injuries you're right in the middle of it." The suggestion caused Katsuki to transport directly back to four years ago. He tried his best to stop the guilt from seeping in but was unsuccessful.