HOW FUCKING ROMANTIC

[Bakugo/Midoriya, Young Adult Heroes, Time Travel, 4902 words]

Everything was perfect.

The apartment was spotless, the result of a full deep clean that had taken Katsuki most of his morning.

Izuku's favorite breakfast was sitting on the counter, ready to be brought to him in bed, freshly cooked.

Both of their agencies had been contacted, and it was made very clear that this wasn't just a day off. Unless Tomura goddamned Shigaraki himself crawled out of his grave, they weren't on-call.

Doing a third check around to make sure everything was exactly as he wanted it, Katsuki was finally satisfied. He could freshen up, kiss his boyfriend awake, and they could start the day.

Nothing could go wrong.

Or at least, that was what Katsuki thought, right up until two glowing spheres of energy appeared in the apartment's living room, several feet from where he was standing.

Before they coalesced into any recognizable shape, they already looked familiar to him, triggering some long-forgotten memory from the back of his mind. Still, regardless of the fact he was just in his pajamas, Katsuki snarled and got into a defensive position, just in case this was some strange kind of villain attack.

That fear was replaced by another, far worse, terror when it became clear to Katsuki exactly what was happening. Which was right around when the energy stopped looking spherical, and instead started to look a lot like two very familiar middle schoolers.

One of them didn't say anything, though his eyes were darting nervously back and forth, clearly terrified about what had happened to him. The other...would not shut up. "What the hell is this?! Where are we?! Where did that shitty villain go?!"

It was a genuine testament to how far Katsuki had come that he was able to resist the urge to set off some sort of explosion, a display of willpower contrasted by the sparks and bursts coming from the hands of the middle schooler in front of him.

Rather than reply to anything the kid was saying, Katsuki just had to ask. "Today? Really? Of all days, this shit is happening now?" He was really starting to wonder if he had somehow racked up a massive debt of bad luck without realizing it.

"Kacchan, he looks like you!" the other boy managed to say, his voice so much higher pitched than Katsuki remembered it being. "Maybe that Quirk teleported us to a relative's house?"

"Katsuki? What's going on?" A voice similar to the squeaky-voiced kid, though tempered with a decade of maturity, came from a fourth person entering the living room. Izuku stumbled out of the bedroom, wearing just a t-shirt and his underwear, and it was obvious he was holding back a yawn, only to freeze as he saw the intruders into his home. "Oh. So that's happening today, then."

"Apparently," Katsuki replied, doing his best not to growl the words like some kind of fucking dog.

Now that Izuku was there, the two middle schoolers looked even more confused. The green-haired boy was translating that uncertainty into fear, while the blond was just getting more angry. Katsuki knew it was a bluff, he was terrified too, but there was no way such an insecure piece of crap could actually show anyone how he really felt.

Despite how terrified he probably was, the meeker of the two kids hid behind his own bully, chattering away with theories about what could be going on. Katsuki met eyes with his boyfriend. After eight years of dating, they'd gotten to the point where they could come close to telepathic communication. 'Do you want to explain it, or should I?' was what Izuku was asking. 'I'll handle it,' was Katsuki's reply, and Izuku seemed to be fine with that idea.

"Listen up." There was enough authority in his voice, garnered from years as a professional hero in the field, that even the problem child paid attention. "You were just hit with a time travel Quirk. It sent you about a decade into the future, but you'll go back to your own time in a few hours."

"T-t-then..." the smaller kid started to say, tripping over his own words in the process. "You two...you're..."

With a warm smile, Izuku answered the unfinished question. "We're you. Or, we're who you're going to become. For some reason, that villain can only send objects and people further up into their own timeline."

It was obvious the firecracker wasn't exactly ready to accept that on their word alone, but as much as Katsuki didn't want to admit it, the kid also wasn't an idiot. He could add two and two, even if the resulting four pissed him off to no end. "So...you remember this happening? From when you were me?"

Doing his best to appear calm, Katsuki nodded, even as the anger was rising in him higher and faster than it had in years. "Kinda. When you go back, you'll forget most of the details, and only know you got sent into your future. The doctor who is going to look you over is gonna say some crap about it possibly affecting your subconscious or some shit, but I always thought that was horseshit."

While the younger Katsuki still looked on-edge, the nerd was clearly relieved to find out he wasn't in any danger. He started looking around the apartment, while his 'friend' just stared daggers at Katsuki.

Oh, how he wished that wasn't having any effect. But the truth was, the more he looked at him, the angrier he got. What a fucking idiot. A proud, stubborn bully who should never have become a hero. Who didn't deserve the praise that was heaped on him so readily.

His posture started to unconsciously shift from defensive to offensive, but Katsuki caught himself before it went too far. "Izuku, we gotta talk." Eyes still on his younger self, Katsuki added, "Alone." Looking over at the adorable geek who was fawning over the small touches of hero merchandise that Katsuki had allowed his boyfriend to put up in their living room, he called out, "Shout if this asshole tries to start any shit," while pointing at the blond kid.

The order seemed to stun the nerd for a second, but Katsuki was in too much of a hurry to get back to his bedroom to see more than that.

Once Izuku had followed Katsuki, and the door was safely shut and locked behind them, he asked, "What's up?"

"You need to take that little shit out of here." It didn't require any clarification on who he was talking about. "I'll take care of the young you while you're gone."

"Oooookay?" Izuku replied, confused. "But...why?"

Closing his eyes, Katsuki inhaled for a deep breath, trying to make sure he was as calm as possible for what he was about to say. "Because if I have to be in the same room as that piece of garbage any longer, I'm going to fucking kill him."

That clearly hadn't been what Izuku was expecting. Wincing, he tried to lighten the mood with a joke. "That wouldn't be very good for the timeline though, right?"

"The timeline can go fuck itself. It'd be better off without him in it."

Katsuki bit his tongue. He'd spoken too quickly, too rashly, and said the quiet part out loud. Izuku looked at him, disappointed. "Kacchan..."

They'd stopped using those nicknames ages ago, but it looked like the peek into how dark Katsuki's thoughts had started to go brought them back. Or hell, maybe it was just the kid versions of them in the other room.

"I'm..." He was going to say 'I'm fine', but stopped himself. That wasn't true. So instead, he settled on, "Can we talk about it later? After this clusterfuck is over?"

A tender look came over Izuki's face, and some part of Katsuki wanted to hate him for it. Why? Why did he keep forgiving Katsuki? How long until that seemingly infinite well of patience ran dry?

Any idea that Katsuki could be upset with him died as Izuku stepped closer, a hand reaching up to cup Katsuki's cheek, and embraced him. They lips came together in a kiss that lasted only seconds, but felt like minutes. When Izuku pulled back, smiling with that beautiful positivity that made Katsuki's heart skip a beat, he replied, "Okay. I'll take little Kacchan out, and we'll talk more when I get back."

It was torture actually watching Izuku leave, even though it was Katsuki sending him away. Still, Katsuki sat on the bed, barely able to hear as his boyfriend was explaining things to the two kids out in the living room. There were some shouts, but eventually the sound of the front door opening, made easier to hear by the bells on the doorknob, let Katsuki know it was okay to come out.

He found Deku, for lack of a better name, sitting on the couch, eyes on the floor. Was he upset that he'd been left there, with Katsuki? That tracked.

"Hey." That got the squirt's attention, but even though Katsuki had said it in one of his quieter voices, it still made Deku jump. It was fucking torture, seeing the fear in the kids' eyes. He still sounded too much like the bully that had just left...so much for progress. "You hungry?" A nervous nod. "Here." Heading into the small kitchen, Katsuki grabbed Deku the plate that had been meant for his older self, passing it over with a fork and knife.

Deku didn't look him in the eyes, but he sounded grateful as he said, "Um, t-thank you. I really appreciate it." Still, he looked skeptical as he cut into the omelet.

It was satisfying to see that expression disappear as Deku took the first bite, and his eyes shone with amazement. "Good, huh?" When Deku looked at him, really looked at him, and nodded excitedly, his eyes bright, it made Katsuki smile like he'd just taken down a major villain. "That's gonna be your favorite food one day, nerd. Eat up."

The kid needed the calories. He was a fucking twig, it was baffling to consider how this scrawny half-pint was going to inherit One for All in a year or two.

When the plate was cleaned, and another, more genuine, mumbling of appreciation had been given to Katsuki, he took the dirty dish and went to wash it in the sink. Always better to take care of shit like that in the moment, rather than pushing it off until later.

"Oh, so, um..." Once again, Deku was tripping over his words. It always used to piss Katsuki off as a kid, which he'd chalked up to being impatient for the nerd to just say what he meant and get it out. Now, it made Katsuki angry because it was a sign that Deku wasn't comfortable around him. Another reminder of the gulf that Katsuki had made. "We're...roommates?"

That, at least, got a laugh out of Katsuki. "I'm pretty sure most roommates don't bang as much as we do. Your future self and I are fucking boyfriends." It was satisfying, Katsuki had to admit, just how bright red Deku turned when he heard that.

The car was dead silent, for several reasons.

First, Izuku didn't like to drive with the radio on. Katsuki thought that was dumb, but whenever he'd complain about it, Izuku would cite the statistical evidence for how having music on in the car affects the rate at which accidents happen.

Second, Izuku was planning out exactly what he wanted to say to Kacchan. He couldn't just treat him like he would Katsuki, after all. His boyfriend had matured since he was the fiery-tempered middle schooler sitting in the passenger seat, and it was possible the wrong word could spoil the entire trip.

Third, Kacchan himself just wasn't talking. Which was kind of strange. After all, at this age, Katsuki had a hard time shutting up (though Izuku would never say that out loud). Was he just frazzled by the whole 'being sent forward in time' thing? Or did it have to do with what he'd seen in the apartment?

Eventually, the quiet broke, and it was no surprise as to who the culprit was. "What the fuck is up with this car?"

"It belongs to the agency," Izuku said, a smile coming to his face so much easier than it would have in middle school after being faced with such a hostile tone. "But I really like it!"

Of course, Katsuki wasn't as fond of it, but this was Izuku's car and not his. So what if the color was a little gauche, or it was lightweight enough that a strong breeze made driving difficult, or it only had room for two people? It was Izuku's car, and that was that.

"...you work at a hero agency?" From his tone, Kacchan found the idea laughable. Like he was ready for Izuku to contradict him, laughing while clarifying that he worked at an insurance agency or a travel agency.

Instead of answering immediately, Izuku focused on parking the car, right outside the same beach he'd once trained on. Once the car was no longer in motion, Izuku dug around in his pocket for his wallet, opening it to Kacchan so he could see the Pro Hero license.

The child looked at the card for a while before he said anything. "That's bullshit. You don't have a Quirk!" The incredulousness was starting to fade, replaced with anger.

Izuku opened his car door, and walked out onto the beach. The morning air still had a sort of crispness to it, the kind that hurt his nose a little if he breathed in too hard. It just added to the nostalgia of the place.

Looking back, he saw Kacchan had followed, still scowling. "I didn't have a Quirk," Izuku clarified, before letting the power of One for All fill his body. Not all of it, it wasn't really needed, but enough to bring on the glow and the green lightning. Kacchan's mouth fell agape, and when Izuku flicked a finger towards the ocean and a burst of air caused a visible shifting in the surface of the water, it looked like Kacchan's eyes were going to burst out of his head.

Letting the power go, Izuku expected Kacchan to start firing off accusations of trickery or some other sign that he still didn't believe what he was seeing.

Instead...Kacchan hid his surprise, and raised his arms in a guarded position. "Why'd you bring me out here?"

Izuku blinked. Why did Kacchan look scared? Weird. "I thought it would be a good place to spar!" After all, that was generally the best way to communicate when Katsuki was being emotionally constipated, regardless of how old he was. Taking up a battle ready stance, Izuku explained, "I won't use my Quirk, but you can use yours on me as much as you want."

The middle schooler looked skeptical. "Isn't that illegal?"

A more vindictive person than Izuku would have brought up all the times Kacchan had illegally used his Quirk to torment the kid they'd left behind at the apartment.

With a shrug, Izuku told him why that wouldn't be an issue. "After some of the civil unrest that heavy Quirk restrictions caused, the laws have been lightened. Since I'm a registered hero, you especially won't have anything to worry about."

In the weighing between his suspicion of Izuku and how excited he was to be able to let loose with his Quirk, it soon became clear the latter won out.

With an explosion that almost made Izuku laugh a little from how small it was, Kacchan came at him as hard as he could.

The poor kid didn't realize what he was getting into.

It took way too fucking long for Deku to get comfortable around Katsuki.

But when it finally happened, he started to wish the half-pint had stayed anxious.

"Wait, so, you're a Pro Hero, right? Do you have your own agency? What rank are you? Has All Might changed his costume?"

It was really obvious from the way his hands were stimming that the nerd missed having a notebook around for him to scribble in while he fired away his questions.

Meanwhile, Katsuki was making him more food, because holy shit did this kid need to eat more. "Yes, I'm a Pro; no I don't have my own agency yet; last Hero Billboard I got 94th; All Might retired fucking forever ago."

That last one, predictably, sent the kid into waterworks mode. "All Might...retired?!"

That meant that Katsuki had to take the pan full of frying bacon and move it to an unlit burner, before going over to help Deku through that trying revelation.

Once he'd gotten the nerd to stop bawling, Katsuki was able to get back to making Deku's second breakfast of the day. Or shit...was it his third? Had he eaten before the villain attack?

"Um...so...what do I do for a living?" There was so much indecision and fear and just the tiniest scrap of hope in his voice. "Do I make support items? Or am I a journalist?"

He wouldn't actually ask the thing he hoped was true. Fuck.

No more of that bullshit. "You're a hero too, idiot." Even though Deku was standing behind Katsuki, outside his line of sight, he still knew the kid was wide-eyed, probably crying again. "We work at different agencies, and somehow you fucking beat me on the chart by two spots."

"Really?"

It was a good thing that the bacon was basically done. Hearing Deku talk, his voice thick with tears, was too much. There was no way Katsuki could ignore that. After moving the crispy bacon out of the grease and onto a plate lined with paper towels, Katsuki turned around.

It had been a long fucking time since Katsuki saw Deku cry that hard. Huge globs of tears running down his face, nose running, and trying to hide it behind the sleeve of his uniform.

Katsuki knelt down, so they were eye-to-eye. "Look at me." Deku did as he was asked, though he was still sobbing. "You're a fucking amazing hero. Did you see what you're going to look like? You've got abs I could grate cheese on."

That earned a tittering laugh from the kid, as his tears started to slow down. "But, h-h-h-how?"

God, the fucking effort it took for him to choke out that one word. It made Katsuki want to rage, to go find all the fuckers responsible for making this child doubt himself, Katsuki's younger self included, and give them a lesson they wouldn't forget.

Instead, he kept up a calm face. Rather than try to explain exactly how Deku was going to inherit a Quirk, Katsuki went a different route. "Because you're incredible. You always have been. You've got something inside you right now that it's going to take me most of high school to learn how to even fake having. You're a natural hero."

He should have guessed that Deku would try to argue with him. "T-that's not true! Everyone always said you'd make a great hero, but nobody-"

"That's because 'everyone' was full of shit!" Katsuki barked, unable to stop himself from interrupting this time. Deku flinched, and he took that as a sign to reign in his temper and refocus. "Listen...it's going to take way too fucking long for that loser you came here with to say it, so I'll give you a sneak peak: I'm sorry."

"Oh, um, you don't need, I don't really need an apology from you, Kacchan."

It hurt to even hear that nickname, coming from the young voice of the bullied teenager in front of him. "Yes, you do. I was fucking terrible to you. You don't deserve an excuse, or a rationalization, or anything but remorse and better behavior." He kept his voice as level and measured as he could, but it was a struggle.

There was a lot of shame in Katsuki's past, but the way he'd treated Izuku for so much of their lives was near the top of the list. It was a sin so grievous, that Katsuki wasn't really sure he was ever going to be able to make up for it, something his therapist knew quite well. No amount of hero work, no amount of going to schools to try to do something about bullying, no amount of love and support and affection he gave his boyfriend was ever going to really mean anything compared to what he had done.

The tears had dried up, so Katsuki, moving slowly and deliberately, gave the kid a hug, before passing him the plate of bacon.

"Did you want to watch some All Might documentaries?"

The idea cheered Deku up at least a little, and together they went to sit on the couch. Katsuki tried not to miss his actual boyfriend, who was out somewhere in the city putting up with the shittiest teenager in history.

Well, maybe second shittiest. Mineta set the bar pretty fucking low.

As it turned out, it took being knocked to the sand three dozen times before Kacchan gave up.

"Fuck it, I quit!"

Izuku was there with a helping hand, ready to help him up. "You did good."

It shouldn't have surprised Izuku that Kacchan knocked his hand away, rather than taking it. "I don't need your help!" He got up by himself, despite how bruised and battered he was from the spar, and spat on the ground. "You really didn't use your Quirk at all?"

"No," Izuku confirmed. "But I'm also an adult. It makes sense that I was still able to keep the upper hand. The fact I got hit as many times as I did is a testament to how good you've already gotten with your own Quirk." He was fluffing Kacchan's ego a little more than was really factual. In point of fact, Kacchan had only hit him once, the rest were all near misses.

It wasn't even bad enough that Izuku felt like he'd need to bring out the first aid kit when he got home. Though, knowing Katsuki, he'd treat it anyway. No matter how much Izuku tried to tell him that something was a minor injury, Katsuki didn't listen.

Which, if Izuku was being fair, might be because Izuku has a long history of downplaying his injuries.

"Why are you living with Future Me?" Kacchan asked, seemingly out of nowhere. Was that a question that had been rattling around in his head this whole time?

There wasn't any reason to lie about it. "We're dating."

The reaction Kacchan had wasn't the over-the-top one he'd been expecting. Izuku had thought that learning of the relationship would make him freak out, try to deny it, maybe even say something about 'not being gay' (which would be half true, since both of them were bi).

Instead, he looked...resigned to it. Had Kacchan already had feelings for Izuku, even back then? "How'd I ask you out?"

That made Izuku laugh. Was he asking for romance advice? "You didn't, I was actually the one who did that part." Which, to be fair, was also not how Izuku had expected things to go.

That, at long last, seemed to throw Kacchan off. "Why?!"

"Weirdly enough, I think you were kind of shy about it." Well, that wasn't the right word. Even as Katsuki had been avoiding his feelings, he'd been funneling the emotional discord they created into explosive outbursts, frequently directed in Izuku's direction. "It took me a while to sort out how I felt about you, and my friends...well they weren't exactly your biggest fans, but they still encouraged me to tell you how I felt."

There was something else that seemed to confuse Kacchan, who had taken to sitting on the beach sand, eyes fixed on the horizon. "You're gonna have other friends?" Izuku wouldn't have guessed he'd say 'other', considering where Kacchan and Izuku's younger self were in their history.

Izuku smiled. "Yeah, I will. A lot of them." It was crazy, considering how lonely his middle school experience had been, just how many people he'd grow close to while he was at UA. "You didn't accept the first time I asked, either. You..." He was going to phrase it in a way that made it seem like a thing of the past, but considering what he'd heard from his partner that morning, that wasn't really right. "...you're going to struggle a lot. With the things you did to me."

"You don't?"

"I did. I still..." Flashes came to Izuku's mind. People approaching too quickly activating his fight or flight reflex. The wrong volume level or level of anger in someone's voice flooding his mind with terror. A roiling uncomfortable tension when he was around someone who was upset with him. "...I'm working through it too."

"..."

Izuku sat beside him, and looked out at the water. "I forgave you a long time ago, though. What you did...it wasn't okay. It was never okay. But I never hated you. I never...I'm glad you worked on getting better."

"..."

Looking over, Izuku was surprised to see Kacchan was gone, only a faintly visible energy trace showing that he'd just gone back to the past.

How much had he heard? Would it really have any effect, having any of that lingering in his subconscious?

Izuku got back into his car, and before long he was walking through the front door of the apartment. It was immediately obvious where Katsuki was, so Izuku tried to be as stealthy as he could, sneaking up behind Katsuki as he was washing dishes and grabbing him in a hug, kissing the back of his head. "I'm home!"

"No shit." At first, it looked like he was going to ignore Izuku's affection and keep cleaning, but even the mighty Dynamight couldn't resist forever. When he turned around, he was smiling. "I missed you, asshole."

They came together and kissed, long and slow. It made Izuku's heart race, and he felt like he was on cloud nine when they pulled apart. Judging by the blush on Katsuki's face, he was pretty happy with it too. "I missed you too. And since they're gone now...we still have a lot of the day left!" After all, it was barely past noon.

His hands gripped into Izuku's back, something fierce and possessive in the gesture. "I wanted the whole day." It made him want to laugh, there was something very petulant and childish about the sentiment.

After another quick kiss, one that left Izuku's lips feeling feverishly hot, he said, "We'll get that chance."

It took some cajoling, but Katsuki left a few dishes in the sink to deal with later, and they laid on the couch together. Or rather, Izuku lay on the couch, his head on Katsuki's lap. Izuku's boyfriend was running his hand through his hair, while he surveyed what had happened at the beach. "Did you really spar with that little shit?"

"How else was I going to get him to open up?" He'd said it in a joking tone, but...well, it was the truth. With an impossible to read expression, Katsuki studied his face, before getting up, letting Izuku's head flop onto the couch cushions, and going to grab something from another room. "Noooooo! Come back!" With outstretched arms, Izuku beckoned for his boyfriend.

He came back alright...with a first aid kit. Just like Izuku had guessed, he had no say in the matter. Katsuki ended up wasting a few band-aids, but at the very least Izuku was able to convince him to kiss the sore spots to help make them better. "You absolute dork," Katsuki told him afterward, though he said it with a loving smile.

"Your absolute dork." He snuck in a kiss on the cheek before Katsuki went to put the kit away, which was a victory in his book.

"Movie?" Katsuki asked as he came back.

With a deceptively positive smile, Izuku gently rebuffed the idea. "Maybe later. First, we still need to talk about what you said earlier. You promised." It wasn't as if Izuku was going to let him get away with what he'd said in their bedroom.

That made Katsuki falter, for a moment looking as though he was going to try and argue out of it. He succumbed, though, his head sagging as he muttered, "Fine."

What proceeded from there was a long lecture about how important and wonderful Katsuki was, and how much he'd grown since being the erratic teenager that had just been in their apartment. To his credit, Katsuki took it all, to matter how serious Izuku took it.

Once the rant was done and Izuku felt like Katsuki had heard at least some of what he was trying to say, the day went smoothly. Movies and a wonderful dinner and more than a few trips to the bedroom to unwind.

It may not have been the perfect day that Katsuki had been so obsessed with delivering to Izuku, but so what?

Nothing and no one was perfect, and in the end, the day had come as close to it as it could.