Izuku

Waking up was a mistake. Drinking was a mistake. Getting so drunk that he hardly remembered the night before was a mistake. Izuku had never been so full of regret. The second he opened his eyes, waves of nausea and pain radiated throughout his entire skull. His mouth felt as if it were stuffed with disgusting tasting cotton. His limbs felt leaden. He'd never been hungover before, but he assumed that this was what this was.

A quick look around his surroundings showed that he was not in his dorm. Faintly, he recalled waking up here the night before, amongst other memories. Kirishima had done his best to make them food, and despite Katsuki's grumblings about it being on the bland side, he knew he appreciated what the redhead had done. It was late by the time they'd finally finished eating. Kirishima had insisted that he and Kacchan spend the night. Izuku had taken the bed, and Kacchan, despite Izuku's insistence that it wasn't weird for two friends to share a bed when spending the night at a friends house, had set up a futon on the floor.

Izuku glanced over the edge of the bed to look at Katsuki. The blond was still asleep, having gone to be just as late as Izuku. Normally, he was an early rest and early riser. He glanced at the clock on the side table. It was already after ten in the morning. Yeah. Katsuki was sleeping late.

The greenette actually noticed a glance of water and two loose pills on top of a note on the table. Gingerly, he picked up the note, his eyes scanning it quick.

Deku,

Take this shit. It's for the headache. Trust me. You'll fuckin' need it.

Bakugou

Izuku smiled faintly at the note before quickly taking the pills and washing them down with water. Kacchan was so sweet taking care of him and ensuring that his handover wasn't too terrible. It made his heart do little flips. Laying back against the pillows again, Izuku looked up at the ceiling of the unfamiliar bedroom in Kirishima's apartment. He had so many gaps in his memories, so many things that he didn't remember. The last thing he remembered was dancing at the party, and then the next thing he knew, he was waking up here with Ashido sitting beside him. Everything in between was just missing. Kacchan had told him not to ask the night before but had said they would talk today.

He must have done something stupid or embarrassing if Kacchan didn't want to talk about it the night before. Based on the way he'd all about spilled all of his deep, inner feelings to Katsuki after he'd woken up at Kirishima's, he could only imagine what he'd done at the party. Knowing him, he'd probably made a complete fool of himself.

He'd told Kacchan that he liked him. And the blond had just gotten up and moved away. Had Izuku read him wrong? Probably. He was too drunk to make adequate decisions. He doubted someone as handsome and confident as Katsuki was bisexual or gay. He'd jumped the gun and ruined everything by admitting that.

Maybe he could fix this. He'd only said he liked Katsuki. He hadn't specified what kind of like. It could have been a friendship like as opposed to a romantic like. Even though it was cleary a romantic type of like. Maybe he could convince the blond of that fact. He only hoped so.

Otherwise, he had no idea how he was supposed to face Kacchan now.

They were back at his dorm. Shouto had come to pick them up, bringing with him a pair of Izuku's sweatpants and his favorite red sneakers. Because somehow, he'd lost those fancy chukka boots Kacchan had lent him the night before. He'd gone on and on apologizing that morning as soon as he'd realized. He really couldn't have been that drunk that he lost shoes, could he?

But they wouldn't tell him anything, and that left something unsettling in the pit of Izuku's stomach. He could understand if they didn't want to talk about it while he was drunk, but he was fine now, albeit a little more than hungover. He didn't understand why they wouldn't just tell him.

His internal, screaming dread only got worse when Katsuki said that Ochako and Tenya were going to be there within a half an hour. He said he was sure Izuku would want them there after their talk. But why would he want them there? How badly did he screw up the night before? It couldn't be that bad to where he'd need emotional support, could it?

He stared at Ashido and Kirishima, his brows furrowed over his eyes. They wouldn't look at him. Their features read something along the lines of... Guilt? And Shouto. He had that same passive expression of his, but having known him as long as he had, Izuku knew that there was something hiding behind the quiet exterior. Shouto was nervous. Izuku's stomach was turning now, and not because he was hungry or anything; Kacchan had made everyone breakfast that morning. He felt a clammy sweat build up on the palms of his hands. His teeth gnawed at his lower lip to the point that he could taste metallic blood on his tongue.

"Can someone tell me what's going on?" he finally pleaded. "The energy you guys are giving off is making me worried."

The four of them shifted uncomfortably in front of Izuku. Shouto was the first one to talk.

"Something happened last night, Izuku," his bi-colored haired friend started.

Izuku rolled his eyes, trying to feign nonchalance. Maybe if he looked like he wasn't worried or internally screaming or ready to pass out from the nerves, then maybe they'd just tell him already.

"I gathered that much from the way you guys are avoiding looking at me," he said, a hint of sass in his voice. "Seriously. I'm not fragile. Just tell me."

"Are you sure...?" Kirishima said. He seemed hesitant, which wasn't a good sign. The guy was one of the most forward people he knew. Ashido clenched his hand in hers, her lips pursed into a thin line.

"Might as well rip off the bandaid," Shouto said.

"I don't think that's a good idea, man," Kirishima said. "You weren't there-"

"Guys. If you don't tell me-"

"Someone tried to rape you last night, Izuku," Kacchan's voice rang out.

It was quiet. Resolute. Completely and utterly sincere. But at the same time, dark, angry. Full of malice and hatred. Izuku couldn't even marvel at Kacchan's use of his first name. He was shocked. His jaw dropped.

"What..?" he asked softly.

A cold, intense dread settled over him as a few of his memories from the night before brought themselves to the forefront of his mind. Grey eyes. A saccharine smile that turned predatory. Grey Eyes standing over him. The need to run, but the inability to do so. It all came back in flashes, flashes he didn't want to remember.

"I lost you last night," Katsuki said, without looking at him. Instead, he looked at his cut and bruised knuckles. "And when I found you... Needless to say, I had a good reason to break that fucker's nose."

Izuku sat there, stunned. He didn't know how to process the information that had gotten shoved his way.

"What we need to know is if you want to pursue a case against the guy," Shouto said. "We have three eyewitnesses, so it's doable-"

The rest of Shouto's ears fell on deaf ears. Izuku pulled his hearing aids from his ears, effectively silencing everyone. He needed silence. He couldn't listen to it. He didn't want to feel their eyes on him, not when he felt so ashamed. He had gotten so drunk that he'd landed himself in such a vulnerable position. He should have been more careful. He shouldn't have wandered into the party. He shouldn't have gone at all.

Izuku pulled his knees to his chest, wrapping his arms around them. He buried his face in his knees. Sobs quickly overtook him, tears burning his eyes. He felt so stupid, so ashamed. He felt tainted and disgusting, used and worthless. So many emotions assaulted him all at once, but the worst of them all was loneliness.

He could tell that none of them knew what to do. They danced around him, not daring to say anything for fear of saying the wrong thing. He couldn't blame them. He was sure if he were put in their shoes, he wouldn't know what to do either. That only made the loneliness amplify tenfold.

The anxiety from his childhood began to rear its ugly head. He felt his chest constricting. His breaths became more labored. His heart rate sped up. The walls started to close in around him. He couldn't hear himself sob, but he was sure he sounded absolutely pathetic. He wouldn't dare to look up at the others in the room for fear of seeing pity in their eyes.

Suddenly, arms wrapped around him, surrounding him in a warmth that attempted to chase away the panic. He lifted his head and with watery eyes, looked at the owner of the arms. Ashido. She hugged him from the side, her fluffy, pink head resting on his shoulder. His eyes shifted from her to the others in the room.

Shouto offered him a small smile, and signed, "I'll tell the others so you don't have to."

He nodded shakily, and after, Shouto left the room, presumably to do as he'd said. He was glad for his friend. Appreciative. He didn't have the nerve to tell the others. Not yet. He hadn't yet processed the information himself. There was no way he'd be able to tell anyone. God. What would he tell his mom? Could he even face her? She'd been so worried when he'd decided to come to Yueii. Her worries weren't unfounded. Already in his first semester, he'd had the unthinkable happen.

Attempted rape.

She'd never let him stay here.

Izuku fought away the thoughts and looked next to Kirishima. The guy seemed at a loss for words. He seemed stuck, but after a few moments of eye contact, his resolve seemed to solidify.

With shaky, amateur gestures, he signed, "We're all here for you. You're not alone."

Izuku nodded, a wave of sobs crashing over him again. They weren't for himself, for self pity or self loathing. This time they were for them. These were so s that were for the support these people were willing to give him. They were willing to help him through this, to make sure he didn't crumble.

Last, but not least, Izuku looked over at Kacchan. The blond leaned stiffly against his desk. He wouldn't look at Izuku. His expression was conflicted as he stared at his hands. He couldn't understand why Kacchan wouldn't look at him. He'd been avoiding him since the night before. If Kacchan was the one who'd come to his rescue, then why wouldn't he look at him? What had he done wrong? What if... What if everything that had happened made Katsuki disgusted with him. When Izuku had approached him, he quickly fled. Now, when Izuku was most vulnerable, he wouldn't look at him. That had to be it. He was disgusted with Izuku for getting himself into that situation. His anger earlier had been at Izuku for being so stupidly drunk that he'd turned himself into a victim.

All over again, he felt the panic wash over him. He buried his head in his knees again as Ashido squeezed him tight. He felt so numb. Numb and lonely and disgusted with himself. So, he cried. He cried for himself, for the nightmares that he'd surely live through in the aftermath of it all. He cried for his friends because without them, he knew he'd never be able to get past this. And he cried for his friendship with Katsuki which had surely ended before it began.

It has been over a week since Izuku had had a real conversation with Katsuki. It had been two since he'd told Katsuki he liked him. Or should he start calling him Bakugou, because obviously with the way things were going, they weren't going to be on a first name basis anymore. Aside from short, gruff responses from the blond, Izuku hadn't heard anything. It was just the necessary discourse that was required between roommates.

And it was driving him absolutely insane. Izuku was a social person by nature. He was the kind of guy who wanted to be friends with everybody, given that they weren't absolute pervs who joined the art department for the sake of looking at 'naked ladies'. When he got home to his dorm at the end of the day, he didn't want to sit there in silence. And that's exactly what Kacc- er Bakugou - wanted to do. His roommate wouldn't even look at him. He kept his eyes anywhere except on Izuku. And whenever the situation didn't demand his undivided attention, he had headphones jammed in his ears. He didn't even want to talk to Izuku. So, he sat in that uncomfortable silence, working on his own school work. He'd done that for all of two days before he decided to spend all of his time with any of his other friends. Anything to get out of the dorm where the silence threatened to eat him alive. As soon as he walked in the door, he changed and left again. It had become almost like clockwork. He hadn't slept in his own bed in at least three days, opting to sleep on Inasa and Shouto's spare bed. Seeing how the couple slept in the same bed anyhow, they didn't mind putting Izuku up if it meant that they could keep an eye on him.

He wouldn't go back to his quiet dorm. He couldn't live in silence, as ironic as that was. He'd done it for most of his life, and he didn't want to do it anymore. No when he had the golden ability to hear because of modern science and medicine. Why would he want to? Sure it had its perks. He could effectively silence any noises he didn't want to hear with the tips of his fingers. But there were certain sounds he desperately wanted to hear, ones of those sounds being Katsuki's voice.

As gruff and coarse as it could be, Izuku knew it was filled with raw passion. Katsuki had told him once that he didn't half-ass anything. So, when he spoke, that carried over. Yeah, sure, sometimes he wasn't the best at words, but at least when he said anything, he had the strength behind it to back him up. It didn't matter if he was telling you to 'get bent, bitch' or 'fuck off, shitty nerd'. Katsuki - no, Bakugou - said everything as if he was putting his entire heart and strength into it. But sometimes, he didn't mean it even with that passion in his voice. Sometimes, he just got too caught up in his passion and said things he didn't intend to. Izuku understood that, and he was okay with it because he knew Kac- Bakugou wouldn't do anything to intentionally hurt him. It was one of those nuances of the blond's behavior that Izuku had picked up just by being around his roommate so often.

But something had changed after that stupid party. The passion in Bakugou's voice wasn't there now. It had disappeared. At least it had when he spoke to Izuku. He sounded flat and toneless, and it was driving Izuku insane. And when his voice wasn't there, and he wasn't with his friends, that was when he thoughts assaulted him.

He was doing his best to cope with what had happened. He was trying so damn hard, but the whole ordeal had made him so skittish. He was a well-built guy. He was muscular and could definitely handle his own, especially since he was going back to the gym regularly. But he couldn't help but flinch when someone new got too close to him or touched him without his permission. It just made going about his daily life even harder. To know that he could be rendered that vulnerable... Izuku never wanted to feel that way again.

Sure, he didn't remember a lot of what happened at that party - which was probably for the best, anyway - but his subconscious mind had provided him with a lot of alternative scenarios that didn't happen. That was part of the trauma. At least, that's what his therapist had said. Izuku had been in and out of therapy for most of his teenage years because of the relentless bullying he'd faced in middle school. The woman had certainly come in handy now. She was cities away, but she'd done her best with Izuku and had set up video calls so he could keep his appointments with her. He didn't know what he'd do without her right now.

He'd talked to her yesterday. They'd talked about the incident. She asked how he was coping. What made him feel so apprehensive. What sort of support network he'd surrounded himself with. She was simply covering all of the bases. He couldn't remember how they'd gotten onto the topic of Bakugou. But once they got started, it was like a floodgate had opened. He'd told her about the things that had apparently changed. And she'd asked him if he'd tried talking to his roommate. Izuku hadn't. Bakugou wasn't the talking type. It just didn't work like that between them.

But his therapist had insisted that he at least consider it. She didn't push too much for fear that he wasn't ready. But she'd told him to consider. That, and she'd told him he should probably talk to his mother.

He still hadn't told her. It had been a week, and he still hadn't told Midoriya Inko that her only child had been stupid enough to get sexually assaulted. He was too ashamed to tell her. Too scared to see her reaction, to see her disappointment. Because of course, she'd be disappointed in him. She'd be disappointed that he'd gone so overboard. And worst of all, she'd want him to leave Yueii. She'd want him to drop out so no one could hurt him again, and he couldn't just do that. He loved his school. He loved the people he met. But the incident- No. The assault - because yes, that's what it was, and he couldn't sugar coat it if he wanted to move past this. The assault had marred the golden glow of his university experience. But he figured he should tell her. He couldn't call her about it, either. That would destroy her. He was going to go back home...

Izuku sighed as he jammed his key into the lock of his dorm door. It was late. Friday evening. He couldn't put off going back to the dorm any longer. He had a pile of laundry to do. It was probably best that he slept in his own bed and not in Shouto's room. He opened the door, and was surprised to actually see his roommate sitting in his bed, his head leaning against the wall.

Upon seeing him, Izuku couldn't help but be filled with anger. Here he was, sitting so nonchalantly. He didn't have a care in the damn world, and that was probably because he didn't need to deal with Izuku and his bullshit anymore. He had completely shut the greenette out, which was fine by him. He didn't need Bakugou anyhow. He didn't need him to be his friend, even though they were getting onto such good terms before that stupid party. And maybe they should talk, as his therapist had suggested. But Bakugou was so crap at communicating, and rather than tell Izuku to his face that he didn't want to be friends because he was disgusted by him, he did something worse. He fricken ghosted him!

Izuku slammed the door shut, which startled Bakugou from whatever reverie that he was in. Crimson eyes met viridian, and they stayed connected for several tense seconds before-

"Look who finally fuckin' decided to come back to the dorm," Bakugou said with a scowl. "The fuck have you been?"

The greenette looked away from his, his features twisted into a mask of irritation. "I was by Shouto's dorm," he said. "Not that it's any of your business."

"Tch! Whatever, shitty nerd," he retorted, climbing to his feet. He leaned against his desk, his knitted and his arms crossed over his chest. "God forbid I act concerned."

Izuku laughed a dry, humorless laugh. Color him shocked because the great Bakugou Katsuki was concerned. "You have such a great way of showing it, don't you. Scowl and curse at me as soon as I walk in the door, real concerned."

"Well I'm sor-ry that I don't live up to your golden expectations."

Izuku groaned in frustration. This was not how he imagined talking would go. This wasn't talking. This was pitting at each other and pouring gasoline on a fire so that it would combust. He wasn't even ready to talk. Arguing wouldn't do him any better.

"It's not that you don't live up to my expectation, Bakugou," he said, the name falling from his lips icily. That seemed to shock the blond into next week. "I just don't see how you can think you have the right to be concerned about me, considering you've ignored me the last two weeks."

"I've ignored you?" Katsuki asked incredulously. "You're the one who hasn't been in the dorm all week! I haven't seen or heard from you in three days!"

"You think I want to be in the dorm if it's going to be silent the entire time? I can't remember the last real conversation that we had!" Izuku snapped. "And if you're so concerned. Text me. You have my stupid number."

"I've been trying to give you space!" Katsuki said, throwing his hands up in frustration. "That's what you're supposed to fuckin' do with trauma, isn't it? Give people fuckin' space?"

Izuku snorted. "Real smooth. Blame it on that. If that's your way of telling me you don't want me around. I get it, Kacchan, I'm used, dirty goods-"

"I never said that you were used, dirty goods, Izuku," Kacchan said, his tone soft but serious. It had that passion behind it that was missing these last few weeks. And "And I never said that I didn't want you around. So don't fuckin' say that."

Izuku couldn't help it. His lower lip trembled. His emotions were getting tangled into that web of panic and frustration and utter desperation that he was so known for. Tears stung at his eyes, but he tried to force them back.

"T-Then w-why?" he stammered, his face contorting. "W-Why won't you talk to me, K-Kacchan? W-Why won't you l-look at me? I-I don't w-want space! Being alone terrifies me!"

The blond's eyes, which hadn't found Izuku's since he'd first walked into the dorm, looked up. They were full of emotions that Izuku couldn't begin to list. But at the forefront of them all was pain and sorrow and remorse.

"I'm bad at talking. I know that, but I can't help it," he said, running his fingers through ash-blond hair. "I've been trying. Honestly, I have. But I don't know what to say to you."

"Why?" Izuku pleaded.

"Because I blame myself for what happened to you, okay?" Kacchan said, his red eyes burning into Izuku's own. "I let you out of my sight for fuckin' forty-five minutes, and then that fuckin' perv got to you. Each time I think about it, I ask myself, what if I had been ten minutes late?"

Izuku blinked one, twice, three times. Kacchan blamed... himself? He couldn't understand why. None of it was his fault. He didn't have any reason to blame himself. It was all Izuku's fault. He was the one who got stupidly drunk. He's the one who didn't know how to cut himself. He was the one who kept accepting drinks from strangers. He was the one who took out his hearing aids and got himself into that situation. It was all his fault. How could Kacchan blame himself for any of this?

"You're the victim, Izuku," Katsuki suddenly said, anger marring his features once more. "You can't blame yourself for what happened. You probably shouldn't have kept drinking, but that doesn't excuse the actions of others. Intoxication is not consent. When I found you, you were out cold. There's no way you could have given consent. So don't fuckin' blame yourself!"

His lower lip trembled even more and his onslaught of tears only continued. Of course, Katsuki had heard all of that. Because he'd been mumbling again. He was muttering, and letting Katsuki know all of the things that had been haunting him these last two weeks. He really needed to work on that...

"Y-You're not to blame, either, Kacchan," Izuku said through his tears. "But if you don't blame me, then why?"

"Why what, nerd?"

Izuku wiped at his eyes. "Why won't you look at me? Why didn't you say anything when I told you I liked you? Just- why?"

"You were fuckin' drunk," Katsuki groused, his eyes averting again. His cheeks were flushed pink. "I couldn't tell if you were serious or not, and when you didn't bring it the fuck back up-"

"I didn't bring it back up because you had a hard time holding a conversation with me for more than five minutes, let alone you couldn't look at me."

"Okay, okay we get it. I'm terrible at fuckin' communication. Story of my life," Katsuki grumbled, the blush only spreading. "What did you expect? You did your shitty flirty thing, and I just couldn't get with the fuckin' idea that someone like you could like someone who allowed you to get hurt."

"We already said that it wasn't your fault, Kacc-"

"That doesn't make me feel like it's any less of my fault, shitty nerd," he snapped. Katsuki groaned, running his hands through his hair. "Look. We obviously have shit that needs to be cleared out now."

"Yeah. We do," Izuku said, drying his face and eyes with the sleeves of his shirt. He took a deep, shuddering breath. "Can you start?"

Katsuki nodded. "Let's get some things straight, shitty fuckin' Deku," he said. Then there was a pause. The blush that was just fading away from the blond's cheeks came back full force. "I'm not."

Instantly, a weight that Izuku hadn't realized that had been sitting on his shoulders lifted. He sighed in relief. If what he was interpreting was correct, Katsuki wasn't straight, which meant that he was either bisexual or straight up gay. That meant Izuku had a chance.

"What the fuck is that response, shitty nerd? I put my soul on a platter, and all you can do is sigh? What the fuck gives?"

Izuku's eyes widened and he crossed over to Katsuki. He looked up at the blond. "I mean, neither am I," he said, a hint of sass in his voice.

Well, that hadn't come out the way he'd wanted it to. He wanted to be a bit more delicate about it, but his nerves were so bad, okay? He couldn't help it.

Katsuki smirked. "You don't fuckin' say. I figured that much from how hard you were coming onto me, albeit with the worst flirting in the world."

It was Izuku's turn to blush. He really had started flirting with Katsuki drunker than he'd ever been before. And that was just a miserable way to tell a person you liked them. God, it made him look like an idiot.

"I'm sorry for flirting with you when I was drunk," he said, burying his face in his hands as he stood before his roommate. "Gosh, I didn't even know your sexual orientation. I just assumed. I'm awful!"

Katsuki's hands grabbed hold of Izuku's wrists, pulling his hands away from his face gently. "I told you to stop apologizing for everything, nerd," he reprimanded, but there was no malice or anger in his voice.

Izuku shrugged sheepishly, his hands falling to his sides. "I probably won't ever stop apologizing."

The blond gremlin before him snorted. "If you can't do that, then humor me."

"With what?"

"Tell me how you could like someone like me?" he said.

And right there. There. That was the most vulnerable Izuku had ever seen Katsuki present himself. His posture was loose. His words were soft. His walls weren't up. Right now, at this very moment, Izuku could see straight through to everything that was Katsuki.

Izuku sighed just a little bit. "For someone so smart, you really don't listen."

"What do you mean, Deku? I can hear you just fine. You're the deaf one."

"Hearing isn't listening, Kacchan," he said gently. "If you'd really been listening, you'd have known for a long time how I felt about you."

"What the fuck do you me-"

But Izuku cut Katsuki off by wrapping his arms around his neck and pressing his lips to the blond's. Sparks flew around him. His heart soared in his chest. He was kissing Katsuki. He was kissing Katsuki! He had pined for this for way too long, since he'd seen the grumpy, handsome man that first day in their dorm. Granted, he hadn't realized who Katsuki was as a person yet... But still, the kiss didn't disappoint.

Katsuki's lips were soft and tender. They moved gently against his own, spreading their warmth through Izuku. It only lasted a few seconds, but those seconds felt as if they were a lifetime. Katsuki's hands reached up, one resting against Izuku's cheek and the other tangling into his thick forest of curls. His touch was just as gentle as his kiss. It wasn't coarse like Izuku would have imagined based on his rough exterior. No. This was the deeper part of Bakugou Katsuki, one that Izuku was finally getting the chance to see.

When the kiss broke, they stared at each other. The silence between them wasn't tense. It wasn't hard for Izuku to sit through the silence used to be. It was kind and filled with unspoken emotions. But Izuku felt as though it wasn't enough to

"Kacchan... There's two sides to every gremlin."

Well, that hadn't come out very good either. Great thing to say after you just had your heart kissed out, Izuku, he thought mournfully.

The blond gave him an irritated look, and Izuku had to wave his hands in a placating manner. "Hear me out! When I feed you after midnight, I know you can be grouchy and crabby and irritable."

"Just keep diggin' yourself a hole, Deku," Katsuki grumbled, but Izuku knew he didn't mean it. His face was too pink and his brows weren't pinched toward the center of his head like they'd normally be if he were angry. "I'll put you right in it."

"BUT-" he said. "I can see past all of those things because of your fluffy gremlin side. You're passionate and you work hard. You have all of these aspirations for life."

Izuku took hold of Katsuki's hand which still rested against his cheek. He leaned into his touch. The blond didn't shake him off, so the greenette took that as a good sign.

"And even though you say a lot of things that you don't mean, it's what's beneath all of that that makes me smile. It makes me want to carefully unwrap all of the complex layers that are you so I can see all of you. That's why I like you."

"I like you, too, Izuku," Katsuki said softly.

Izuku smiled. "Well, good, considering I just kissed you. That would make things incredibly awkward otherwise."

"No shit."

"Will you tell me why?"

"Why what?"

"What you like me."

"Not yet. I'm not ready."

Izuku's heart sank a little bit. He would have loved to know Katsuki's reasoning for liking him, but he understood that the grumpy blond needed time. It seemed as if he wasn't used to opening up, no like Izuku. The greenette wore his emotions on his sleeve for the world to see, but Katsuki... He was so reserved and closed off with all of the layers he blanketed himself in.

"Oh, shut the fuck up nerd," Katsuki said, his thumb grazing over Izuku's cheekbone. He reveled in his soft touch. "I'll tell you soon.

The blond suddenly took hold of his cheek, drawing Izuku in gently. Their lips were pressed together once more. The sparks were still there. They exploded around him, made his heart soar. Katsuki tasted sweet. Like cinnamon and sugar and spices. He wanted more of him, all of him, but he couldn't push too far. It was too soon. He wasn't even sure that Katsuki wanted him in that way. He wasn't sure if they were even going to make it to the dating stage yet. It was way too soon for Izuku to think about sex.

"Hey, Izuku," Katsuki said, interrupting his stream of consciousness.

The shorter man breathed out a contented sigh. "I like it when you say my name."

Kacchan rolled his eyes. "Don't get used to it."

"Kaaaa-cchaaaan!" he whined

"I want to cash in on that bet," he said.

That made Izuku's interests peak. He looked up at Katsuki curiously. "What do you want?"

"I want a date," he said.

A smile spread onto Izuku's features. "Gladly."