Ochako called in excitement and babbled on for two minutes about how much it had opened varying agencies' eyes to the talent that Katsuki was, before she promptly had to go because she was so busy.

Izuku grinned from ear to ear for the day, beyond excited that he had pleased Ochako. When the day was done, he handed the edits to be done over to Iida and hesitated with the gym bag on his shoulder before he dropped it on the floor and his mind steered him into trying again for an acceptable self portrait.

Getting the right photo and making himself look the way he wanted became more important than his routine of going to the gym, and until he got it down, he left his gym bag forgotten in the office for the week. Shouto had dinner with his family on Friday night and asked Izuku if he would come, but his mind was filled with ways to improve. He explained that he didn't think he would be much of a good impression or conversationalist for the night and opted to remain in the studio, tinkering.

He quickly set up a camera and the laptop, pointed lights, framed a mannequin and stripped out of his clothes and into a shirt and jeans. When he had become frustrated again with his posing from far away even when he had shifted the camera angles and lighting, he switched to a headshot and focused on making his face angular to the light and sharper. His round eyes softened his muscly body and he found it off put the way he saw himself in the lens.

Izuku narrowed his green eyes to sharpen the edges. It helped a little.

He tried until his limbs were stiff from the minute movements of moving with a frame that only held his face. His throat and mouth became dry, so he got out from under the warm lights and reached into the mini fridge they had in the sitting area near the front door for a bottle of water.

He kept it with him as he sat, skipping through the photos on the laptop screen, studying his face and the angles and seeing nothing he liked. He didn't hear the knock at the door.

The clock said it was 8 pm and Izuku messaged Shouto to let him know he was still at the studio, trying something new. Shouto responded with some encouragement and hoped he wasn't working but actually enjoying himself.

Izuku sent a kiss and a heart and locked his phone before placing it beside him and returning his attention to the camera.

The phone vibrated beside him and he laughed, he knew Shouto always needed to have the last word.

' Hey, nerd. You in the studio, or you got a burglar?'
-Kacchan

Izuku's vision blurred and refocused as his heart sped up and skipped a beat simultaneously.

' Are you outside?'
-Izuku

There was a lazy knock against the glass of the studio door, loud enough that it drew Izuku's attention from the phone screen as he waited for a response. His breath came in a little oh when he heard the noise. Izuku fumbled to his feet and disarmed the alarm before turning the lock and peering out the door. Behind the entryway's door past the foyer, Katsuku stood framed as the street lights behind him lit what Izuku could swear was concern on his face.

The expression was quickly replaced by a placid face, eyebrows furrowed slightly in the always scowling scrunch that was Katsuki's resting face.

Izuku unlocked the door, and looked up at him, meeting his eyes that were only a couple inches above him. They somehow were still glowing red even in the darkness of the pavement.

"Are you letting me in or not?" Katsuki said, his eyes never leaving Izuku's.

"I-I'm not- why do you-" Izuku stammered. Katsuki made a sound through his teeth of impatience and sidestepped Izuku and walked into the studio. Izuku locked the door in a daze and watched Katsuki's broad back as the man stood, his head turning to observe the room.

Izuku snapped back to the present and rushed in, a blush rising fast and high across his face.

"It-don't look at-" Izuku said, his words catching in his throat as he watched Katsuki's expression remained unchanged when his red eyes observed the scene before him.

"Hm." Katsuki said, the sound was soft and his expression still didn't change.

"Kacchan?" Izuku said. He couldn't feel his feet, his legs had turned to jelly and he wobbled slightly.

The studio looked as though someone had taken up living in a tiny four feet by four feet square with lights all pointed at the space. A bottle of water, a half eaten protein bar and a laptop and camera facing the abandoned spot.

"You tryna take photos of yourself?" Katsuki asked. He finally turned his body to face Izuku, his hands in his pockets. Izuku nodded, taken aback that even as Katsuki moved, Izuku could snap a photo of him right there and it would sell the clothes he was wearing; even if it were a jersey and sweatpants.

The room smelled of smokey maple and a mossy earthiness.

"Deku." Katsuki asked. His eyes narrowed to slits. Izuku shook his head to clear his thoughts.

"Yes! Uh- I'm trying to figure-" Izuku said but stopped abruptly when Katsuki walked around to where he had been sitting and stooped. He balanced on the balls of his feet and looked between the camera and then tapped through the photos on the laptop.

"You don't like any of these?" Katsuki asked. He looked up at Izuku, the lighting hitting him perfectly and he looked like a scene right out of some behind the scenes staged photoshoot.

"I don't, no." Izuku said. His hands had found each other and he started pulling on his fingers.

"Why?" Katsuki asked. He bounced and then rose to his feet. His head tilted ever so slightly to the side. Izuku noticed he was wearing tiny studs on his earlobes and his chest tightened slightly. Katsuki's hands were buried in his pockets again and he surveyed Izuku.

"Oi, Deku. Stop muttering to yourself in your head and have a conversation with me, you idiot." Katsuki said.

"Sorry." Izuku said quickly. "Just don't like my eyes. They're too round, they soften everything."

"What do you mean soften everything?" Katsuki asked.

"I mean, I'm all toned up and my body's better, but no matter how good my body is, my face kind of brings it all down." Izuku explained. "I look like I'm 12."

"You don't." Katsuki said after a pause.

Izuku froze.

"I don't?"

"It's your hair," Katsuki said, he gestured to Izuku's head in a weird hand motion, dismissive. "It's the same bushy broccoli shape you've had since I've known you."

"Oh." Izuku said.

"You're not 4 years old anymore. You need an update." Katsuki said.

"You're being nice." Izuku said. His hand clapped to his mouth having heard the words before he knew what he had said.

"Do you want me to be a rude fucker right now?" Katsuki asked with a sneer. "I can be an asshole to you if that's what you prefer."

"No-no!" Izuku blushed. "You're just- you caught me by surprise."

"Well I want something out of it. I'm not being nice for no reason." Katsuki said.

"What are you doing here?" Izuku asked.

"I was at the gym, then I thought you might have had someone breaking into your place." Katsuki said. He stepped out from behind the camera and walked to Izuku and drew up to his full height. He looked down at Izuku, his chin still raised. They were at least five feet apart and Izuku could feel the heat that came off him, and the subtle scent of smokey maple.

"And you just had to check on me because you're so kind. " Izuku said. He didn't know why it seemed like he was rearing to fight, but Katsuki made him nervous and defensive and he didn't know how else to be.

"I wanted to know what you were doing here so late, idiot. And now that I do, it's perfect, because I think we can help each other." Katsuki said. Izuku's mind went blank.

"What?"

"I will help you with your self portraits and you can help me." Katsuki said.

"How do you think you can help me with my self portraits, huh?" Izuku said glumly.

"Do you like how I pose, Deku?" Katsuki asked, the corner of his mouth pulled into the shadow of a sneer. Izuku nodded. "Then I will teach you and hopefully, you're not a fucking mess."

"I-" Izuku started. What?

"I teach you how to model and you teach me how to take photos like you." Katsuki said. He said it slowly and his eyes pierced through Izuku, waiting for him to flinch like he used to whenever Katsuki would tower over him. Izuku didn't flinch or look away, but his voice did what his voice did best and mumbled in a mixture of stuttering.

"Okay." Izuku managed to say. "But-"

"What? You need me to promise to treat you like the softy you are? All gentle like so I don't hurt your feelings?" Katsuki asked with a chuckle and a hint of amusement.

"No, just. Ochako, she said you would have a contract soon and that means you won't have time." Izuku said.

"I have the time." Katsuki said. His eyes flickered away and back to Izuku, his composure wavered before he straightened his back again.

"Okay." Izuku said.

"Okay?" Katsuki repeated. Izuku nodded, unsure of what he had just really agreed to. "First thing's first, your fucking head needs a cut."

Katsuki took the laptop from the floor and placed it on the table that was originally its home. He pulled the chair closer and started skimming through the photos that Izuku had taken, his eyes completely engrossed. Izuku felt inexplicably exposed as Katsuki's eyes bore into the images of him with the purpose of critique. He wondered if that was how his clients felt.

Izuku hesitated a moment before he started tidying the space and making it ready again for Monday.

When he returned from the office after securing the more expensive equipment, he looked at Katsuki who had found his way through photos from the previous days.

"You're too awkward, Deku." Katsuki said under his breath.

"I know. You don't have to tell me that." Izuku muttered back. He cleared his throat and stood beside Katsuki, pressing the laptop closed. "It's 9 pm now. I should get home."

Katsuki got to his feet and Izuku suspected he didn't want to look up at him, or to be looked down on. An ego Izuku wished he had a small percentage of.

"You need a lift?" Katsuki asked. He jingled keys idly on his finger and walked to the doors.

"I want to ride my bike, thanks." Izuku said. He did want to ride his bike, take in some cold air and breathe and replay the night because everything felt impossibly unreal. Like he had fallen asleep as he scrolled through photos and dreamt an entire scenario that made Katsuki Bakugou climb from his screen to offer him modelling lessons.

"Your loss, nerd." Katsuki said. With that, Izuku watched his broad shoulders disappear across the road and into a car. He climbed onto his bike and peddled slowly home, embracing the cold shock of air across his body; he'd never felt more alive.

He climbed into bed and snuggled against Shouto after a cleansing shower and read the words on the page of his book out of curiosity. Shouto pressed his lips to Izuku's forehead, combing back his hair so that it would make contact with his skin.

"How was your little selfie session?" Shouto asked him. Izuku looked up at him in shock.

"You knew?" he asked.

"Yes, I saw a couple photos on your desktop silly." Shouto said with a laugh. He closed his book and slid it onto the side table. "You look wonderful, almost makes me want to mark your skin again."

Izuku blushed. He squirmed at the thought of Shouto looking at him and groaned in protest at his own embarrassment.

"I look like a child." Izuku said. "My eyes are too big and makes everything look round."

"You've got a round ass, that's for sure." Shouto said with a chuckle. Izuku pressed his palm to Shouto's mouth and buried his face against his chest.

"Shut up." he said. "I'm no model."

"You're my model." Shouto said, muffled against Izuku's palm.

"I'm getting a haircut." Izuku said.

"What?" Shouto said, shocked. "Why?" Shouto wove his fingers into Izuku's locks and combed through it. "I love your hair."

"It photographs like a broccoli." Izuku mumbled.

"Like broccoli?" Shouto laughed. "Who told you that?"

"No one." Izuku said. He pressed his cheek to Shouto and counted his heartbeats. His blush didn't fade before he was fast asleep.

He woke sleepily on Saturday morning, later than he usually naturally did. The previous night seemed to have emotionally exhausted him to the point that his body was physically aching for rest. Shouto was busy in the kitchen, Izuku knew he wasn't cooking. Both of them didn't cook. But the smell of breakfast wafted to the bedroom and the smell of coffee finally roused him from the bed.

Izuku sipped on his coffee with French vanilla creamer and stabbed at his eggs.

"What're the plans for today?" Izuku asked Shouto over his coffee mug.

"Bank run, family visit. I knew you'd be editing and I'd only be a distraction." Shouto smiled.

"I was thinking I'd go to the gym." Izuku tested. "I haven't gone in a couple weeks, not consistently. I can feel myself going soft on my tummy again."

"You're ridiculous, you don't magically gain fat to get rid of all of that." Shouto gestured to Izuku's body. He laughed and shook his head. "You don't want to edit your self portraits?"

"No, I need a break from it. I've been so focused on it, I forgot my other likes." Izuku said. He had pushed his eggs around now until they had gone cold. His words lay leaden on his tongue, like a lie refusing to uncurl it to form the words.

"Hmmm, I thought maybe I made you feel self conscious and needed time with it. I'm sorry." Shouto said. He smiled sadly at Izuku, his apology shone in his eyes. Izuku's eyebrows shot up and he shook his hands vigorously.

"No, no!" he said, trying to brush off his worry. "Todo, you're amazing. I'll talk about it with you as much as you want. I just need to step back from it so I can figure it out, is all."

Shouto smiled and finished his plate before taking the dishes to the sink and washing them. Izuku had every intention of going to the gym, but he wondered if he would actually end up in there or in the studio because his mind couldn't turn off. He thought he'd better not go without Katsuki to avoid his frustration, but they hadn't talked about the details.

When were they going to meet? How often? Was this even a good idea? The questions roamed freely through his mind and in the end, he thought some good pain through his limbs from pleasant exertion would serve as a great off switch.

He let Shouto leave for the bank first, dressed smartly but relaxed looking and then he stuffed clothes into his gym bag and cycled to the studio. He hesitated for a moment after locking the bike at the studio before he crossed the road to the gym.

The bag had been carefully stuffed into the locker, then he patted his pockets to ensure his phone was on him so he could listen to music as he worked through his sets.

It buzzed against his thigh and hand and he paused. Izuku thought maybe Shouto was checking in or complaining about the bank.

' I see your bike. '
- Kacchan

"Fuck." Izuku to his phone.

'I'm at the gym, catching up on sets.'
-Izuku

'Come outside, we're getting you that haircut, broccoli nerd.'
-Kacchan

"Double fuckity fuck." Izuku muttered.

'Ugh, stop overthinking it and get your ass out here. I can hear your stupid muttering from the car. The gym will survive your absence another day.'
-Kacchan

Izuku stood frozen, the locker door still open as his mind zipped through thoughts in a string. He wanted the haircut, he just didn't think Katsuki would be with him. He had told Shouto he would be at the gym and now, he wouldn't be. Shouto didn't even know Katsuki went to the same gym as he did, so he felt nervous about mentioning it now.

Who better to choose his hair cut than the model? The model who so uncharacteristically kindly offered to help him.

He gathered his bag and slammed the locker shut, surprising himself at the sound and then walked out into the street. He peered around before he heard angry honking and found Katsuki sitting in his car, bathed in shade and out of the hot sun.

The walk to the car felt like walking to the gallows.

When he pulled the door open and sat, he practically fell into the low seats and gave a little yelp. Katsuki was looking at him with his eyebrows so far up, Izuku could hardly see them.

"Even the way you get into cars is stupid." he said with a huff of laughter.

"I'm fine, thanks for asking." Izuku said as he stuffed his gym bag at his feet. He saw that Katsuki was dressed in gym wear as well. "You were going to the gym?"

"I have been, for a couple weeks since we settled back after all the agencies." Katsuki said. He checked his mirrors and pulled away from the curb, driving determinedly in one direction. Izuku had no idea where they were going.

"Oh." Izuku said. He tried to pay attention to the turns and route they were going. He couldn't stop his brain from thinking about how he had missed Katsuki being at the gym after facing disappointment for so long when he wasn't there. And then the weeks he had decided to look for other hobbies was when Katsuki had started up again.

"You stopped gyming to take photos of yourself?" Katsuki asked after a long silence.

"Yea. Yip. Couldn't stop thinking about it so I had to try." Izuku said. His fingers twisted around themselves because he was alone, in a car with Katsuki, going to get a haircut. He half expected yelling, or beration or some kind of sly bullying. He was prepared for it and the tension was this tight ball inside his stomach that didn't release no matter the amount of deep breaths he took.

He couldn't look at Katsuki, not that it mattered, he was beside him and turning his head seemed like too much effort. And obvious.

Izuku could hear him seething ' what ', if his red eyes would catch Izuku's green staring. So he didn't allow his eyes to wander.

The car slowed and pulled behind another parked car beside a pavement. They had driven maybe fifteen minutes and they were still surrounded by tall buildings. A part of the city that Izuku wasn't familiar with. Katsuki got out of the car without a word and paid the meter. Izuku watched him for a moment before he steeled himself and climbed out of his low seat of the car.

"This is a friend's place." Katsuki said. The sign outside the hair stylist read " Red Riot' and Izuku felt his knees weaken and wobble. I'm going to cut my hair.

"Okay." Izuku said in a shaky voice.

"You really never changed your hairstyle, huh nerd? Kirishima will take care of you, he's good like that." Katsuki said. He pushed his way through the door and a light bell sound alerted the occupants that they had a new customer.

Izuku's ears were assaulted with loud greetings of words he could hardly make out as the men slapped their hands together and shoulder hugged.

"Brought another friend, Baku?" a man with bright red hair, styled into spikes said. He was looking right at Izuku and Izuku blushed.

Another friend?

"Just cut that curly shit off his head." Katsuki said. He promptly sat and stared at his phone, fingers busy on the screen.

"I-!" Izuku started. The red head took him by his shoulders, and being a bigger man than him, easily maneuvered him to the chair and pushed him into it. With three quick pumps of his foot, Izuku rose to a workable height and stared at his surprised face in the mirror. He blinked at the quick flurry in which the plastic protective draping was ruffled over him and around his neck and he glanced at Katsuki, ready to protest.

Red eyes looked at him for a fraction of a second before returning to his phone and Izuku almost thought he imagined it.

"You've got round eyes, and big curls." the man said.

"Hi, you're Kirishima?" Izuku asked finally. Hands were combing through his hair and breaking the curls into a floofier mess.

"I am! And you're Izuku, heard a lot about you." Izuku just barely noticed the angry look Katsuki shot at the back of Kirishima's head before his eyes immediately returned to his phone.

"That's...nice?" Izuku said, unsure what was happening anymore.

"So, your two best features are round, but you're a great looking man, so let's chisel up what we can a bit. Since I'm not an ophthalmologist, but a hairdresser, I can fix just your hair." All the while he was speaking, Kirishima worked his fingers along Izuku's scalp in a kind of mesmerizing massage that calmed him.

"I haven't washed my hair-" Izuku started. He knew Shouto would always wash his hair before his visit to a barber.

"No worries! I gathered as much by the feel of it, come on over here." Kirishima said as he walked to a hair wash basin. When Izuku sat, Kirishima draped towels around his neck and pushed his head back. He made quick work of the hair wash and Izuku couldn't believe how relaxed he felt.

A towel was plowed through his hair in rapid movements to dry it before a quick blast of heat and his hair poofed so high, it looked absolutely like a broccoli. Izuku thought he heard a stifled laugh, but Katsuki's eyes were fixed very seriously to his phone when Izuku glanced at him.

"Alright, so." Kirishima said as he ran his hands through his hair again. "It's all coming off and you can't say anything about it."

"All?" Izuku said. His eyes went wide as they met Kirishima's in the mirror.

"We're doing a fade up and cropping it to about two inches at the top. Sharpen the edges a bit and compliment the shape of your body." Kirishima explained. Izuku closed his eyes. Shouto is going to kill me.

"Deku." Katsuki said. Izuku's eyes snapped to Katsuki. "You don't have to cut your stupid hair, but if you don't want to, say that now."

"Just, Shouto would be surprised." Izuku said, and it felt like an insufficient explanation. He knew Shouto wouldn't actually mind, now when he got used to it.

"You're grown up now. You're also a different person than you were back then." Katsuki said. "So either change and allow yourself to grow, or stay stuck a fucking bean sprout, closer to the dirt than the sun."

Kirishima's eyes had also been on Katsuki and Izuku noticed they shone with the thought of something Izuku couldn't put his finger on. Like a secret.

"Are you being nice again?" Izuku sputtered.

"Do you want me to be a fucking asshole? I can revert." Katsuki glowered.

"Alright!" Kirishima interjected. "Cut it all off, Izuku?"

Izuku nodded. And he realised that Kirishima called him by his name and he wondered for a moment if Katsuki had ever called him by his given name out loud and why he had never heard it.

The sound of the shears was loud in his ears. From the moment the tone changed as it shaved through his hair he shut his eyes and felt the weight of his curls slowly get clipped away and land softly on his shoulders. He felt the sensation of it slide down his front and pool at where his hands lay in his lap and he fought the urge to look.

A soft brush glided against his cheeks and neck and he smelled the floral scent of powder before the sensation of touch completely fell away. Izuku's eyes remained shut.

"Geez, did I glue your eyes shut Izuku?" Kirishima said. He shoved Izuku's shoulder and Izuku blushed as he opened his eyes.

He didn't recognise himself.

Curly, big green hair was gone and instead was slicked back with a tiny wave of it falling onto his forehead. The sides were shorn in a gradient so that it stood more squared on his head, and shortest going down the sides and back. Izuku looked at Kirishima, his eyes wide in surprise.

"Yea. I know. Who the fuck are you?" Kirishima said proudly.

Izuku grinned broadly and looked at Katsuki who was looking at him with blank eyes, his phone loose in his hands.

"Well?" he asked.

"Well what?" Katsuki blinked. "You needed a fucking haircut, and you got one."

Kirishima rolled his eyes.

"How much?" Izuku asked.

"On the house." Kirishima said. "Actually, I'll make this bastard pay because he doesn't know a good haircut when he sees it."

Katsuki scoffed and got to his feet. Izuku admired his hair and turned his head to study it properly in the mirror. The movement behind him almost pulled his attention, then Kirishima set him free from his protective cape and he stood.

He didn't look like a 12 year old with an adult body anymore.

His jawline was sharp, and his shoulders appeared broader. His round eyes now suspiciously looked smaller, and he didn't understand the magic of it.

"Another satisfied customer!" Kirishima said. "Come back for more touch ups, yea?" He slung an arm across Izuku's shoulders and pulled him into a side hug as he admired Izuku's hair in the mirror. Katsuki's resting angry face darkened very slightly.

"See you around, Kiri." Katsuki said. He slapped Kirishima on the back and walked out the door. Izuku said thank you until he had broken into the bright sunshine outside and met Katsuki who was already in the car.

He tried in vain to sit more gracefully in the car. They drove in awkward silence for a moment as Katsuki maneuvered the car from it's parking space.

"Kacchan." Izuku tried tentatively. "Thank you."

Katsuki grunted.

"I love it." Izuku tested.

"Stop acting like a girlfriend." Katsuki said abruptly. Izuku opened his mouth, but instead did a very good imitation of a goldfish as the words got lost on the way from his brain to his mouth. "We'll go to the gym, you can go home if you like."

"Right." Izuku said. He contemplated going home right away but felt guilty about telling Shouto he would be at the gym and not actually staying there.

So in awkward silence and mostly avoiding looking at Katsuki's back, he went to the locker rooms. Katsuki and Izuku didn't spend time together in the gym. Izuku found that he still couldn't breathe. After half an hour on the treadmill, instead of going onto weights, he returned to the locker room and stripped. He finished showering quickly, running cold water over himself to cool his hot skin and dried off.

He had just pulled on his boxers and was shaking his hair in the towel before he realised he didn't have as much water retaining hair on his head anymore. The towel remained draped over his head as he turned to the locker for his pants and t-shirt.

Footsteps padded softly into the room followed by the distinct smell of smokey maple and moss. Izuku froze.

He grabbed his t-shirt and turned.

"You can't be that out of shape that a run is all you'd do and just go home?" Katsuki said.

"I'm tired." Izuku said lamely.

"Exciting morning?" Katsuki smirked. His eyes flickered to the towel on Izuku's head and back to his face. Izuku felt himself straighten up and stand tall, as though facing off with Katsuki's own pride. He didn't know why, he would never win in a battle of egos.

"Why are you here? You tired too?" Izuku said. Katsuki rolled his eyes and reached for the end of the towel and yanked it off his head. Izuku was exhausted.

"Let me see." Katsuki said and he stepped toward him and then around him to look at the back of his head. Izuku tensed as he felt Katsuki's hands brush against his short hair before it made full contact and comb through it.

"What are you doing?" Izuku asked. He was refusing to jump to conclusions.

"I thought Kirishima missed a long strand, but your hair just curls however it wants after it's wet." Katsuki said. His hand lingered one second longer than Izuku cared for before he turned his head to look at Katsuki and backed into the locker to put distance between them.

"You're confusing as fuck Kacchan." Izuku muttered.

"We're trying to be friends right?" Katsuki asked. He narrowed his eyes, the ruby red glinting dangerously.

"I never know if you're going to try to hurt me or what. Everything feels like there's a catch." Izuku said.

"Did I hurt you?" Katsuki asked, his eyebrows still furrowed to resemble anger.

"Now, or do you mean up until I was 14?" Izuku asked. Katsuki took a step back.

"What the fuck's gotten into you?" Katsuki asked.

"You can't be a fucking asshole one second and nice the other. You can't be both ." Izuku seethed. He snatched the towel from Katsuki's hand and yanked on his t-shirt and then his pants. He was trembling slightly, so he tried very hard to focus and make his fingers tie his shoelaces. Katsuki had not moved.

He wasn't sure if the echo of his own footsteps as he left was muddled with Katsuki's, and he didn't look back to find out. The tightness in his chest had wound so tight, it felt like an implosion that wrecked every logical emotion.

Before he could cross the street, he hesitated. He had never been so unkind to anyone, ever. Not that he could remember. The tiny tingle of guilt was swiftly swept aside and he cycled home in a fury, his legs from the treadmill coupled with exerting himself on the pedals made it difficult for him to get into the apartment.

Izuku pretended to be asleep when Shouto returned from his errands.