It was infuriating, how things changed after figuring out that you were in love.

Katsuki himself would be the first to volunteer if there were an opportunity to scream at cupid about how complete and utter bullshit it all was. Just a little under two months ago, he was completely fine. Sneered at sparkly couples who cooed at each other in their sleep and wanted to spend every moment of their lives together. Wanted to throw up at the prospect of someone touching him so intimately. He'd rather sock someone in the face than have it anywhere near him.

But then, when he took all of that, scrunched it up into a little ball, and placed it next to Izuku, those feelings warped dramatically.

Things he hadn't noticed before- no, he had noticed them before but chalked it up to being because they bugged the shit out of him- suddenly became the forefront of his mind. He cursed himself for making the bold claim that Izuku was still his patient and hence was booked for a full six months for physical therapy. Because the next time he saw Izuku, it took all of his will power to take his mind off of those certain little things.

Like how his eyes did that stupid thing in the light. Katsuki would give anything to have his old clinic back with the horrible lighting and planked windows because then it would at least spare him this torture. If he didn't know this was all in his head, the blond would've accused the hero of being an alien with eyes that sparkled and sucked its victims into its endless emerald void on the spot. If he was a teenager, he would've actually done it.

Like how he listened to Ashido with his full attention. Arriving fifteen minutes early for his appointment, the two friends had quickly devolved into idle chatter. The pink girl was showing off her new accessory, nothing but a toy ring that Kirishima bought from the bargain bin to propose to her with. The disparity between how cheap the thing was against the amount of happiness she felt had Izuku smiling with genuine joy. Despite how the entire concept was against the hero's own beliefs of getting an expensive ring, he was able to step over his pride to empathize with Ashido completely. Katsuki wouldn't have been able to do that. But here Izuku was, with his dumbass care and devotion sending the blond's heart into cardiac arrest.

Like how his arms were littered with scars. Horrifying to the untrained eye, but a testament to all of the people he's protected and risked his life for as a hero. Katsuki had a front row seat to them as he followed the motions of removing the sutures and reapplying cream. The blond had scars too, but they were selfish ones. Faded over the years but still there as a reminder of all the assholes he's decked or cars he's smashed just to prove a point. If those arms were to wrap around him, spread their encompassing love to Katsuki's own pitiful self-

And he stopped right there. Ranting about Izuku in his head for the past ten minutes may have kept him from saying any of this out loud, but Katsuki drew the line at his lunatic brain even implying that he needed to be protected. Was this what Uraraka went through on a daily basis? Katsuki was only a few minutes into being around him and he was already halfway to plotting a way to detonate the nerd across the country.

Izuku himself, thankfully, remained quiet as soon as he walked through the doors into the renovated office. His demeanor changed instantly from giving his farewells to Ashido to being in Katsuki's presence. The silence between them, with the exception of the doctor telling his patient where to rest his limbs or what was happening next, was ironically the loudest thing either of them had to sit through. Katsuki was convinced Izuku had found out about his feelings already and prepared for the backlash when the hero spoke up. "Kacchan."

"Is there a problem, Midoriya?" The name felt wrong on his tongue, but Katsuki knew that simply saying the word Deku would only send his heart on another field trip to cloud nine. He kept his tone neutral, professional like a physical therapist should. After all, above all else, Izuku still needed him to do this one last thing before leaving his life forever.

Izuku flinched a little in response. It was a small twitch of his muscles, but one that could be easily detected when his arm was being gripped firmly in Katsuki's fingers. "…Why did you leave?"

Cutting off the last stitch, the blond went to reach for the antibacterial liquid. He took his sweet time soaking a cotton stick in its contents if only to gather up the will to keep his own voice from showing any emotion. "If you recall, Misses Tanaka had pulled me aside to discuss the nature of your surgery." Keeping his red eyes trained on the cuts as he applied the cream, Katsuki used the excuse of staying focused for avoiding that green gaze. Once again, he was being a pathetic coward. "Seeing as you would be in delirium for hours after and she could fax any unexpected complications that came up during surgery, there was no point in my staying."

"You know that's not what I meant."

And seriously, fuck this shit. Fuck Izuku for not being a pansy anymore who couldn't stand up for himself. His accusatory but somehow still gentle and compassionate tone made Katsuki want to combust into confetti on the spot. He hissed, nothing but breath with a stronger force whizzing past his teeth. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm dressing your cuts and your chattering is a distraction. If you'll stay still, we can begin exercising your dexterity before moving on to strength training in eight weeks."

But Izuku wasn't backing down. His voice dropped, heavy. "Kacchan."

"Midoriya," Katsuki imitated, voice just as dark. The bitterness, anger over being sucked into Izuku's blackhole of love and rejection was really beginning to nick at his patience. "I have another patient after this and with the way you're currently wasting time, the six-month timeline will have to be extended."

It was a low blow. But again, Izuku knew that's who he was. The hero shut his mouth after that, most likelyfrustrated that Katsuki knew him so well. Knew him well enough to take advantage of the fact that Izuku's resolve to return as a hero was the only topic in the world that could've possibly made him drop the conversation.

Internally, Katsuki smirked. It was the small victories. He'd defeat this stupid unrequited crush in no time, just like he's defeated everything else that fucked his life over.

The rest of the appointment was solely focused on the therapy. With the new bandages, much thinner and allowing for some movement, the doctor was able to use his own fingers to guide Izuku's wrist and elbow into certain positions. That was a bigger challenge than it sounds when your patient is insistent on skipping from step one to three. It took about two minutes for Katsuki to convince the hero to relax and allow him to move his limbs for him before the greenhead finally stopped resisting, letting his mind and body become accustomed to the motions. The muscles had to be able to stretch that way first before even thinking of using its own strength to get there.

In the blink of an eye, it was three-thirty and their time together was over. Katsuki felt a breath leave him that he wasn't even aware that he was holding. Inserting Izuku's elbow back into the sling, he was just quick enough in shooing him out the door to relieve his head but not too quick to seem desperate. And he had to do this shit every week? How humiliating.

But, his plan was foiled as Izuku returned to the clinic a minute later. In his uninjured arm was a gift bag filled with All Might's merchandise as well as leftover cake and spicy noodles from the engagement party. He walked up to the reception counter, a shaky smile on his lips.

Ashido only had to give him a once-over before the alarms in her head were going off. "What's wrong? You look like… you look like you're about to cry."

Izuku shook his head, shoving the gift onto the table without answering the question. "Please give that to Kacchan. I'm- I'm really sorry for bothering him." And just like that, he was out the door and driving off in his car at top speed.

It didn't come as a surprise when just as Katsuki was able to relax in his chair, bask in the utter lack of Izuku in his presence, mind, and soul, a certain secretary barged into his office like the main character from a bad action movie. She was only rewarded with a blank look, not that she gave a flying horse about Katsuki's reaction before shoving the gift bag into his lap. Katsuki was bewildered at first, until the evident tag on the bag with Izuku's name on it had him inwardly smashing his head into the wall repeatedly.

Why couldn't the topic of Izuku just leave him the fuck alone?

Crossing her arms, her yellow glare shone menacingly. "What. The Hell. Was that."

Katsuki blinked, unfazed. "I have an appointment, pink-girl."

"Oh no you don't!" She waved her arms in annoyance. "I told Miss Miko to wait another hour and she was happy to comply, even said it was convenient because the tomatoes at a local store go out fast and she wanted to make a trip before coming. We're talking RIGHT NOW."

Not one to run away, the blond simply turned a sharp ninety degrees in his chair to pin her with his own equally annoyed glare. A few seconds went by of their stare-down, before Ashido sighed. Adopting a bit of her chipper prance back, she skipped a little to the new weight bench and took a seat to address him properly. "So, what did lover-boy give you?"

Lover-boy? Did this bitch already know about his crush on Izuku? Maybe when people fell in love, a flashing sign would sprout from their back like god damn wings announcing it to the entire world. Katsuki didn't know. Just knew that cupid was bullshit and he wanted this to end. He tossed the bag back to her, the woman barely catching it in time. "Keep it."

Ashido- wait for it, she actually scoffed. He'd never seen an expression so utterly unwelcoming on her. Following through on those unwelcoming feelings, she made quick strides back into his vicinity to force the bag onto him. Katsuki was evidently having none of that. Before the offending object could touch his chest, his palms were in between them and shoving the gift back to her.

"Bakugou, cut it out and just accept it!"

The tug of war was back in his court, her own strength proving to be a match for his. "And why the FUCK should I?"

With another push, it was back in the woman's hands. "BECAUSE it's from Midoriya-kun who took the time to give you something you'd like! BECAUSE he thought about you while going about his day and wanted to share it with you! BECAUSE he really wants to know what you think of it!"

Katsuki's heart skipped a beat at those suggestions. He stomped it down with a snarl. Disgust lined his throat at the next little white lie that slipped past his mouth. "Like I care about that shitty nerd!"

"WELL HE CARES ABOUT YOU!" She screeched.

Both sides out of control, they didn't notice when the opposite forces acting on the bag caused it to slip out of their hands and crash down to the tiled floor below. It was a disaster of a fall, top kissing the ground as flashes of familiar blue, red, white, and yellow objects came flying out. Containers flipped over after them, one of them filled with food splitting open to stain the All Might merchandise a nasty orange. The one that remained closed revealed a slice of cake upturned on its head.

All Katsuki could remember was a slow sense of horror pumping in his head before he shot up from his seat.

"FUCK!"

Without thinking, he fell to his knees to clean up the mess. Gathering the merchandise in his hands with little regard for how it would permanently stain his doctor jacket, he rushed to the sink by the door to gently rinse out each and every one of them in soapy water. The adrenaline in his veins never stopped, heart beating wildly in panic until every dumb smile on each of the All Might figures were wiped clean and drying on the window sill.

The food became his next target. He gently flipped the cake back over in a way that would minimize the damage whatever pattern decorated the top would take. Then, using a stray fork left in the gift bag, lathered up what remained of the noodles that hadn't touched the floor back into the box. He stacked both dishes neatly on his desk, only sagging in relief once every gift Izuku gave him was safe and sound. He breathed again, the panic in his heart finally ceasing before realization on the entire last five minutes sunk in.

…What the fuck was that?

"It's all an act."

"What?" Katsuki whipped his head around. He hadn't noticed Ashido was still in the room by how quiet she'd been watching him mentally break down.

"The way you treated Midoriya like you didn't care, it was all an act." When the blond doesn't respond, attention drifting back to the mess still left uncleaned on the floor, his secretary sighed again. "This isn't like you, Baku. What's going on?"

Instead of answering, red eyes fix her with the deadest look Ashido had ever seen on him since they first met. "Do you like working here?"

"Huh?"

"As my secretary," he clarifies, "discharging people with recovering injuries on a daily basis, dealing with their problems… do you enjoy it?"

She huffed, indignant but worried. "Of course! I wouldn't work anywhere else-"

"REALLY, now?!" Katsuki wastes no time in cutting her off. Some part of him wished he could say something like that with such reckless abandon. It wasn't fair to push his problems onto her, but his mouth was running faster than his mind. "Or are you just doing it because you already know me? Or it puts fucking food on the table? Do you actually want to do this for the rest of your life, Ashido?"

The pink-haired woman goes silentat that. Her next words are quiet, carefully chosen, but true. "I… honestly, no. I wanted to be a hero when I was small, still do. But I'm pregnant, Baku. This job helps me keep the family I have now, and my awesome friends too." At that, she grins her normal grin at her companion, bubbly personality on full power despite the crushing truth of an unrealized goal. "Achieving your dream and all is fun, butbeing happyisn't too bad."

She pauses then, a slow epiphany being made. "Is that it? Your ambitions are blinding you to what- who you think will really make you happy?"

Katsuki froze. It was frustrating, when someone could have him figured out quicker than even Katsuki could himself. Resorting back to old habits, he fell to anger in his attempt to hide that crushing weight on his heart. "I never said that. Get out, pinky!"

Surprisingly, the secretary complied without any further complaint except one final glance of understanding sent his way. To be frank, that look pissed him off. He didn't like it when people put feelings into his head like they were his own- but, no. They were his own, weren't they? Katsuki didn't fucking know anymore, didn't know what to think. He felt restless in his seat, needed to move.

Back when he was a teenager, this was about the moment he would destroy something within arm's reach to alleviate the rage. When he was an adult, he had to settle for bottling up everything until it exploded on itself like it did when he saw Izuku surrounded by his family in the hospital.

But now, instead he had something else. Snatching his phone from the desk, Katsuki opened the screen to a chat that's become a bit of a therapy for him these past few days and sent the first thing that came to mind. The reply didn't take long to come in, the recipient being off work.

'Some people are fucking nosy little shits that need a stab to the jugular.'

'But everyone says'

'That you have to hold back'

'Because it's the right thing to do?'

'I hate that too.'

It seemed like a stupid idea at first. He and Uraraka had agreed to share a chat room where they could be as nasty as they wanted to be without fear of repercussions or hurt feelings. As time passed, Katsuki could begrudgingly admit that having this outlet was the right freaking call. They never went beyond the boundaries of complaining to one another and mutually doubted that they could ever be true friends, but he wouldn't change whatever they had even if they could.

At the very least, he didn't have to deal with Izuku again for seven days. Ashido had backed off, and the probability of anyone else bothering him about it was slim to none.

Katsuki took comfort in that fact, all the way up to his demise when, two days later, he opened up the room containing his first patient of the day only to come face to face with a familiar red-and-white bastard. He was tempted to turn around and walk back out just to see the stoic expression on the hero's face break, but stood his ground instead.

"What do you want?" He spat.

Todoroki looked up from a pamphlet about teeth. They were discarded rejects from a dentistry that Kaminari picked up on the insistence of the cartoons on them being cute. Now they sat in the waiting room for guests to flip through, forever grinning up at the blond wherever he went. "It's about Izuku."

At that moment, his plot to detonate the nerd across the country expanded to include this eyesore as well. Temper flared, words spilled out from Katsuki's mouth in a raging spitfire. He already had Ashido on his ass once about getting closer to Izuku, he didn't need Izuku's little posse threatening him on top of that. "If you're here to lecture me on how much of a piece of scum I am or that I've done my job fixingMidoriya and to leave him alone, then you can prance your way out that door right now."

Raising a delicate brow, Todoroki's lip twitched up the slightest bit. "I was joking. I'm here for my leg."

Did- did this bastard just play him? The sharp pain of his nails digging into his palms as a result of clenched fists didn't quench the frustration settling in Katsuki's gut. Normally he would've spotted that kind of cheap shot from a mile away. But, as always, it seemed that all fell apart as soon as Izuku was involved. He'd play this game, for now. "What happened to your old physical therapist?"

"I got him arrested." Without missing a beat, Todoroki continued. "He was the same person who helped to diagnose Izuku's injury five years ago."

Katsuki crossed his arms, unimpressed. "In case you didn't get the memo, icy-hot, I'm not accepting any more patients. Midoriya was the last one."

Surprisingly, the hero doesn't put up much of a fight. He stood up on slightly unstable legs, his weight leaning on one just enough to make Katsuki force down the urge to yell at him about what was wrong about it. Todoroki gave him a respectful nod. "I see. Well, until the day after the wedding, all the top physical therapists are booked so the offer stands until then. Before I go, Izuku wanted me to give you this."

Well, shit, he knew there was a catch. Making a point of not moving from his spot so Todoroki would have to do all the work, a pile of cards was handed to him without much explanation. He flipped them over, recognizing the familiar sight of a zoomed-in cast littered with heartfelt signatures all building up to the phrase 'You're invited…' at the very top. They were those very wedding invitations that Earphone Jack and the others made.

No one could blame Katsuki when the first words out of his mouth were "What the fuck."

The hero backtracked, face still unreadable. "It's just an invitation. You don't even have to come, calm down-"

Only to be cut off as the offending card was shoved into his face by the angry blond. "Fucking LOOK at this!" A long finger jabbed itself right into the center of the words with disgust. "None of this shit is aligned! It's all a different size which ruins any unity he was going for- for fuck's sake! DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED on this background. Has this nerd never heard of proximity?!"

Taking note that his small rant was over, Todoroki smiled, amused. "I'll let Izuku know that."

Red eyes narrowed. "No. Don't you dare."

"Why not?" The other man would seem genuinely confused if not for the small tick beginning to form on his forehead.

Good. Let him feel one percent of the irritation Katsuki was feeling. "Because I'll tie you up in your sleep! I don't care how long it takes, I'll drag your sorry ass to the lake to feed you to piranhas, you snarky bastard-!"

"You don't actually think that your empty threat will stop me from doing that, do you?" Tone still calm, the sharpness of it was enough to startle Katsuki the slightest bit.

At the lack of response, something snapped in Todoroki then. It wasn't like a string being cut, but more finally coming apart after years of wear and tear. Years of seeing Izuku, heartbroken and wrung out to dry with each failing relationship. Years of dealing with liars and cheaters who took advantage of his friend's kindness. Years of standing by, not a single idea of what to do until he made the biggest mistake, of telling Izuku to make amends and be friends with Atsuko again. Of watching his friend become more and more miserable as the months passed with her. He had given up at one point, come to accept that this part of Izuku would always be dead. That the only thing he could do was to continue to support him if something backfired.

Only for Katsuki to come barging into their lives, making Izuku so alive for the first time since Todoroki had known him. He wasn't going to just sit around and do nothing anymore.

"Your empty threat won'tstop me from telling Izuku what you told me when you first walked in, about yourjobbeing to fix him." That was where Katsuki's mistake earlier came back to bite him in the blond'sgut flared when Todoroki shoved a shaking hand into his pockets, wrenching out a brown wallet with a venomous glare."Is money what you want? You want to be compensated for looking after Izuku since it's your job? You refuse to show him any more empathy until you're paid, is that it? I'll do it. I don't care; just please go back to him."

And that, that set Katsuki off. He slammed his clipboard down on the desk, cutting Todoroki off with a boom loud enough to knock the pencil cup adjacent to them down. Looking his opponent right in the eye, red against blue and gray, he screeched with all his might. "FUCK. YOU!"

He spat, actually spat in the hero's general direction like he was the lowest thing Katsuki had ever seen in his life. How dare this guy underestimate his feelings- underestimate the stupid ringing in his heart whenever the freckled fuck was in his vicinity- underestimate the worry he felt that had him sprinting to the hospital and waiting for Izuku to show up just before his surgery- underestimate that part of his pride that had him rearranging the budget on the engagement ring just to make Izuku happy. Underestimate his chest slowly shattering at the inevitable rejection.

"Why is it always about money with you pieces of shit?!I never charged him a single fucking dime for anything!" Taking heated breaths, Katsuki went to upright the cup on the counter just so he could picture each pen stabbing the hero's face as he haphazardly collected them. "Why are you so pissed at me, anyway?! You're the one who told me to make him capable of finding happiness or some shit." At the word happiness, his tone raised into a sarcastic tilt. "Well guess what, half-and-half? He is now. I'm done with this! You nosy extras just need to bitch off from my life-"

"You make Izuku happy."

Katsuki stopped mid-sentence, snapping his mouth shut. He growled. "That is utter garbage. I don't need anyone to make me happy."

In hindsight, Katsuki should've realized his slip-up in speech earlier, should've noticed that he went from talking about Izuku to himself. But Todoroki did, his only response being to slowly slide his wallet back into his pockets with some ounce of shame. He traced the patterns of the floor in silence, only managing the mental strength to say one last thing before leaving.

"Talk to him, please, Bakugou."

-HH-HH-HH-HH-HH-

A knock on his apartment door startled Lord Murder from his nap.

Only returning from the puppy's walk around the park a half-hour ago, Katsuki was in no mood to answer it. Then again, he ordered new weights online and would be damned if he had to venture to the post office because he missed the delivery. He gave the stir fry in the pan another jostle before setting it aside. The dog by his feet was, for lack of a better word, going nuts, yipping at the door excitedly like he was meeting an old friend after a long time.

"All right already, calm down." A tired hand went to pet the explosive fur once. It was enough for the jumping to stop, the puppy sitting down on his hind legs to stare at Katsuki with breathy tongue hanging out. Lord Murder was the best dog in the world and Katsuki stood by that completely objective opinion. He smirked at his pet once before unlatching the door.

Only for his heart to stop as he was hit with the most beautiful sight he'd ever laid eyes on.

It was fucking stupid to think that too. Because there was nothing special about the scene at all. It was just Deku, standing there with hair in its usual disarray and in a plaid jacket and jeans. The sun- thanks a lot you massive fireball traitor- was setting behind the hero, setting his form aglow. His big red shoes were still a disgrace, his freckles still aplenty, but the green of his pupils was on fire.

Still, Katsuki found himself drawn to the blackening splotch of skin surrounding the right side of Izuku's face. He couldn't help butbreak his professional façade at that moment, and it definitely wasn't his fault for being caught off wasn't even expecting or prepared to deal with Izuku right now. "Deku- shit. You're not out there doing hero work anymore, who the fuck gave you a black eye?"

At hearing the nickname again, broad shoulders relaxed somewhat. Still, Izuku opted to ignore the question for now so he could say what he wanted to say before his nerves took over. "I know where I want the honeymoon to be. We should visit my hometown on the weekend so I can get your input."

Katsuki stepped back, feeling the weight on his lungs again. There was only one explanation for why Izuku showed up to his doorstep like this. Todoroki, that bastard, couldn't keep his mouth shut for a day and here he was, a little more than twenty-four hours later and being the target of that infallible determination. From beside him, Lord Murder remained perfectly still. "I already said I wasn't touching your wedding."

That dumb smile that made the blond dizzy made an appearance. "You're not, Kacchan. You're helping to plan the honeymoon."

"And why would I do that?"

"Because," Izuku breathed, hating himself for resorting to this but realizing it was necessary. This was the reason that he had to drive an hour to get here and talk to Katsuki personally instead of just calling. He wanted to be here in case something blows up in their relationship as a result of this. "You owe me for leaving me alone before the surgery when you said you'd be there the entire time. You lied."

Katsuki looked away, making eye contact with his puppy. He wanted to just crouch down and burry himself in Lord Murder's fur so he would never have to face Izuku again. Instead, he grunted. "Fine."

The hero nodded, smile back in place from relief. His freckles shone. Fuck his freckles for shining. Maybe Izuku was an alien after all. "I'll text you the address and time later." When the blond didn't answer, his smile weakened the slightest but didn't die out. With one goodbye, Izuku was walking away, strong back still illuminated by the setting sun.

Before leaving earshot, the hero turned to address Katsuki with a sheepish grin. Memories of opening the door just to receive one of the hardest punches he's ever had thrown at him clouded his mind. The strike was followed by the sight of his best friend, cheeks still rosy as she helped him up with a sincere apology.

"Oh, and the black eye is from Ochaco-san. I kind of deserved it."