Bakugou sat on his balcony, the heat of the day slowly evaporating as the sun began to settle down behind the horizon. He watched as darkness seeped across the city, lights popping on, slowly at first, then at regular intervals until they shone through the night. His phone flashed on the table, more texts, he ignored them. He drank from the almost empty bottle of beer. Reaching down into the cooler next to him, he grabbed for another, his fingers only finding ice. Looking down, it was empty. "Fuck," had he really already drank six beers? The empty bottles on the dark table lit up as his phone flashed again. He grabbed the phone and scrolled through the names. Everyone, they were all texting, all the fucking extras.
Sero - Wanna hang out?
Kiri - Gotta a new video game, come over.
Mina - Found an awesome new ramen shop, we wanna go to dinner with you.
Lida - There's a job fair tomorrow. You should go.
Momo - Don't sit around drinking by yourself, you might as well get wasted with us.
Katsuki let out a snort, at least she was fucking honest.
Denki - this sucks, I'm drunk and sad, are you?
"Fuck," he growled throwing the phone back on the table, piece of shit Dunce Head. "Am I fucking sad?!" He wanted to smash the bottles off the table, clenching his fist he stopped. It was too much fucking trouble to clean up afterward, he knew that from experience. The smart ones hadn't texted him, the ones hurting like him. He shifted in his seat, that wasn't fair, they were all hurting. Holding his hand up in the air, he popped small sparks off into the dark sky. Watching as they drifted upwards fading slowly, memories flooded through his mind, the casket, balanced perfectly on his shoulder as he had walked with them all. His lungs constricted. Bending over he stuck his head between his knees, he panted trying to suck in air, gripping his right shoulder tightly, he squeezed his eyes tight. Would he ever forget? The physical weight of the casket had been nothing, carried easily by all of them, but the true weight, the weight of the body inside, had left a twisted knot in his muscle that he was sure would never heal. Tears slipped from his eyes, hot and fast, slamming back in his seat, he screamed at the top of his lungs, "DAMN NERD!" A dog barked at him in the distance somewhere, the noise echoing between the apartment buildings, two more howled their answer. His phone flashed again. Swallowing against the rawness of his throat, he looked at the text.
Shouto - I heard you.
"What the fuck?" Looking up, Bakugou peered at the apartments across the way, nothing, just empty balconies.
Bakugou - Where the fuck are you?
Waiting, there was no reply. He shivered, his bare feet feeling cold. He rubbed his arms, it was already late summer, but fuck was it already getting cold at night? He realized his feet were getting colder, looking down, a thin sheen of ice was forming over his balcony floor. "Fuck! Icy Hot!" Carefully standing, he slipped over the ice to the edge and looked over. Shouto smirked up at him, balancing on his railing, he was touching the underside of the balcony.
"Howdy neighbor," Shouto quipped sarcastically. Switching hands, he warmed up the concrete slowly to melt the ice.
"What the fuck are you doing down there?"
"I moved in last week, would've skipped it if I'd known my upstairs neighbor was an asshole." Shouto dusted off his hands and jumped down.
"Damn money bags, these places are shit, you slumming it these days?"
"I am," He leaned backwards over the railing looking up at Dynamite, it was hard to see him in the dim light. "Gotta wean off my dad eventually, figured life was starting over, why the hell not?" He paused studying the shadows on his face, he noticed the bandage on his forehead. "Did you knock some sense into yourself?" Katsuki touched his forehead and laughed.
"Wish I had!" He quipped, "too fucking hardheaded for that." He rubbed the bump gingerly. What he didn't want to say was that he'd fallen down the stairs drunk the night before.
Even in the growing darkness, Shouto could swear he saw a blush on his cheeks. Sighing, he didn't have to guess too hard what probably happened. The UA gossip chain had kept him informed of Bakugou's growing habit. Twisting his lips, he clenched his jaw. Not that he blamed him, he was miserable every second of every day. Anything to suspend that sadness, even for a moment, was a welcome relief. Tilting his head he stared at those blazing red eyes, "I'm curious, does yelling at him help?"
Katsuki flinched at the change in subject. "Yeah, it does," he whispered hoarsely.
"Good to know," Shouto glanced away, looking over the city, "I may need to try that sometime."
"Fuck."
Laughing softly, Shouto slowly looked back up at his friend. "That Bakugou is the best use of that word that I will ever hear in my lifetime." Red eyes just stared at him intensely. Shouto captured his gaze not moving, he felt a familiar chill run down his spine as those eyes focused on him intensely, a sly smile finally broke out across Katsuki's face.
"I jump rope at four in the morning," he teased, "guess I'll be right over your two-toned head."
"Better not," Shouto sniped back, a smile ghosting his lips, "I'll bust down your door and feed that stupid rope to you for breakfast."
"Breakfast?" Katsuki leaned down further, his smile growing wider as he saw the brat arch a brow at him. "If you're offering to feed me, then I'd rather eat real food at about seven instead? Your place?" He dragged his teeth over his lip, "If you're offering."
"Seven? My place?" Shouto's brows snapped together. Bakugou moved slightly, his foot kicking at the railing, his eyes grew soft, almost desperate. "Oh," he took a deep breath, "breakfast at seven." Tapping his fingers on the metal bar he nodded slightly, "I guess I'll see you down here tomorrow, seven sharp." Without waiting for a reply, he went back into his apartment and closed the slider, keeping his hand pressed on the cool glass. He couldn't believe Katsuki had been above him this entire week, so close. Fuck he had missed him, he missed them both. Looking up at the ceiling, he imagined him standing there looking down at the floor, he reached up into the air. The raw pain that seemed to always bleed through him stopped for a blissful moment. Letting his hand drop, he walked to the kitchen and opened his fridge. He didn't have much food, not enough for breakfast. Grabbing his keys and wallet, he let himself out and headed to the market.
Clenching his jaw, Bakugou wasn't sure why he'd said that, he ran his hands through his spikes and sat down in his chair again. It had been such a surprise seeing him, standing there on the balcony, his face lit up by the city lights. He'd been overwhelmed by the desire to really see him, not just over the balcony, but see him again, talking and laughing. Wait, fuck, Icy Hot never laughed, Bakugou chuckled to himself. Cupping his hands behind his head, he stared up at the dark sky, thinking back to all their time together. The image of him laughing popped in his mind. Shit, he grimaced, he did laugh, but not because of him, it was always the nerd. Shouto's face would light up, laughing at something Deku was carrying on about. Clicking his tongue, he smiled wistfully, he loved how Shouto looked in those moments, soft and happy. Dragging his lip through his teeth, Bakugou leaned back further, would he ever see him like that again? It was hard enough losing Izuku, but that part of Shouto that he treasured, the part that only Deku could bring out, he missed that too. Jumping from the chair, he growled, "you got me all fucking sappy, Deku." Going inside, he started the shower, he really fucking hoped damn nerd could hear him.
Taking another swig of cold water Bakugou stood at the open fridge door trying to cool his sweaty skin, he slammed it shut. Sleep was fucking easy when your life wasn't a nightmare. Sitting down, he downed more of the cold liquid, his eyes burning from fatigue. The nightmare was always the same, but then reality has a way of being consistent. The moment when he'd lost sight of the nerd, that's where the dream always started. Endeavor had arrived first and scouted ahead, the three of them had gone around trying to flank All For One, but he'd snuck back on them. The moment when Bakugou realized it was Deku that was face to face with All for One, alone, his heart had wrenched. He wasn't even sure if his scream had ever reached him. The explosion had knocked them back the entire block, but that wasn't what had destroyed the ward that day. It was the strange void that erupted in the spot where the two had faced off, like a black hole settling on earth, it had pulled everything into its massive maw. Lifting everything off the ground with ease, buildings, cars, lights, entire sections of pavement. All of it had sailed towards the expanding black ball of energy, sticking to it like metal on a giant magnet. He'd clung desperately to a water hydrant and would've been in the casket next to him if Todoroki hadn't grabbed him, encasing them in an icy fortress that he'd fortified for almost fifteen minutes until the trembling subsided. When they'd emerged, it was to find the entire ward now a mountain of rubble. Endeavor had obviously been able to take cover too because they could see him standing on the top of the debris yelling at them. Leaping up the shaky pile, they had begun the slow process of digging down to find their friend somewhere near bottom.
Covering his eyes, he took a deep breath, Katsuki hated the next part. After digging they'd found his broken body. Tears clung to his lashes as his breath came in gasps. Leaning over he put his head between his legs trying to calm himself. But he knew there was nothing he could do at this point but let the sadness rip through him.
Shouto sprinkled scallions, mushrooms and shaved cheese into the omelet, he watched the edges bubble. His phone was quiet. Shaking the pan slightly, he lifted the edge, letting the liquid slide underneath to continue cooking. Focusing, he was able to keep the mounting frustration at bay, if he didn't come, there wasn't anything he could do, he'd eat the food himself. There was a knock at the door. "Finally," he muttered. "It's open!" He called over his shoulder, lifting another edge of the omelet. He heard the door slam shut as Bakugou came into his apartment.
The layout was the same as his own, Katsuki looked around curiously. For someone that had just moved in, it looked like he'd been living there his entire life. It was minimalist style, traditional furniture. He stopped, taking off his shoes quickly, he ran back and put them by the door.
"Thanks," Shouto looked pointedly at his socked feet.
"Sorry I forget sometimes living alone," Bakugou rubbed the back of his neck, "smells good, what is it?"
"Omelets, nothing fancy."
"Fuck, fancier than leftover rice balls." Bakugou began looking through his cabinets for plates, finding what he needed, he set them by the stovetop. He looked in the fridge for something to drink. "Pouring anything stronger than this?" He shook the small container of juice.
"If you want alcohol, you can go home, I'm not contributing to your decision to slowly kill yourself."
Brows shooting up Katsuki stopped shaking the juice. "Tell me how you really fucking feel," he snarled, stalking to the table and slamming the juice carton down. Stomping back into the kitchen he opened several cabinets looking for glasses.
"There's coffee too," Shouto pointed to the coffeemaker.
"That's what I fucking meant by the way." Finding a coffee cup, he filled it up, leaning back on the kitchen counter, Bakugou watched him make the omelets. "Do you really think I'm becoming a damn alcoholic or something?"
"No," Shouto sighed, "sorry, I'm being overly sensitive, I think we've all been drinking more than usual, things are pretty fucked up."
"Yeah, they sure as shit are," Bakugou took a sip of the hot coffee. It was good, better than the swill he bought. "Did Tenya tell you to go to that stupid job fair?"
"He did."
Katsuki rolled his eyes, he kicked him in the ass gently, "and?"
"My dad wants me to work with him, so if I want some filler no-use job, I've got one." Shouto plated the second omelet and handed it to him. "Let's sit down."
Taking the plate Katsuki stared at his blackened fingertips. "They never healed?"
Closing his damaged fingertips into his fist, Shouto frowned. "No, frostbite is permanent." Forcing a smile, he picked up his own plate and pushed Katsuki towards the table. "C'mon I don't have all day."
Sitting over the omelet Bakugou tried a small bite, "it's good, not bad for a two-toned brat," he winked at Shouto but he kept a straight face, not reacting to his jab. He shrugged, "so if you're not working for your dad, what are you gonna do?"
"I'm putting in my application for one of the detective slots they're making available to us."
"Fuck them," Bakugou's fork clattered on the plate. "They yank our Pro Hero licenses, take our shit and close our fucking agencies!" He picked up his fork and jabbed it towards Shouto. "And you're gonna go crawl on your hands and knees like some whore after a few measly crumbs." Huffing loudly, Katsuki stared down at his food.
Coughing, Shouto took a drink of his juice, swallowing hard. "Tell me how you really feel, asshole." He swirled his glass trying to think of what to say, how to explain. "Look it sucks, I hate it as much as you do, but I'm not cut out for sitting in an office discussing finances with people, that's my dad, not me."
"So? Do something else then."
Twisting his lips, Shouto tipped his head. "Alright, tell me then, brilliant man, what are you going to do? Since you seem to have it all figured out."
"I fucking don't know," leaning back, Katsuki glared at his plate.
"That omelet never did anything to you," Shouto teased softly. Popping his head up sharply, Katsuki blushed and looked away again. "Look, I don't know about you but I liked tracking down villains. I want to help, however I can," Shouto leaned forward. "I wanna hunt down killers or whatever else comes my way. I wanna be part of the official police force if that's the only way they'll let me."
"No using your fucking quirk."
"I know, that'll be hard at first." Shouto thinned his lips, "but at least I'm willing to try. We only have one year, almost four months are already gone, I gotta figure something out." Taking another bite, he watched Katsuki fidget with his napkin. "Denki, Kirishima and Momo are all applying too." He looked up at him again.
"Yeah? They are?"
"Yeah, they are."
"When's the deadline?"
"Two weeks and if you get in, they'll promote you to detective right away, no bullshit street cop stuff, unless you want that." Katsuki shrugged, twisting the napkin in his hands harder. Shouto sighed, he looked like a little kid, sad and hurt. He wanted to hug him, tell him everything was going to be okay, but this was Bakugou, the prickliest bastard out there, hugging him could hurt.
"Fine, I'll fucking apply."
"Don't do it because of me, shit, do what you want."
"I want to fucking apply," Katsuki snapped.
"Okay, okay," Shouto took another bite. "Are you going to the party?"
"What party?"
Shouto paused, "the invitation? Didn't you get it? Momo sent it out last week. She and Tenya are hosting a celebration of life."
"What the fuck for? He died over four months ago." Bakugou bristled, his knee started bouncing. "Why do we need to celebrate his life now?"
Poking his omelet with his fork Shouto didn't answer, he could feel himself shutting down. First the job, now this, why did he always have to be so difficult? "We didn't really get a chance to do anything," He murmured quietly, "at least not just our group."
"Yeah whatever," pushing away his plate, Bakugou clicked his tongue. He thought about the nerd every day, bawling over some crappy pictures and memories with a bunch of extras was only gonna hurt worse. Fuck them. Crossing his arms, he clenched his muscles against the harsh pain rolling through his body, it was so sharp it felt physical. He'd make it through on his own, he always did.
Watching him, Shouto could see the defiance glinting in his eyes, almost daring him. To do what? He knew what Midoriya would do, he'd go on nonsensically until Bakugou gave up and did whatever he wanted him to do. Shouto knew he could never be like Izuku, drawing a line in the sand with Katsuki was necessary. But? Shouto looked at his stiff agitated posture, was he angry or hurting? What if he really did want to go? Tapping his fork against his plate, he took a deep breath, maybe he could try this one time, for Izuku. "All right then, I'm going and I would like you to go with me." He flinched at the look of surprise on his friend's face. "I understand if you don't want to go though," he rushed out. Bakugou grunted, his knee slowed to a stop.
"You're gonna go?" Katsuki peered at him.
"I am." He watched as Bakugou's body relaxed. The tension flowing off him earlier vanished, he sagged back into the chair.
"You really want me to go?"
"I do," Shouto choked, his voice was so soft, almost tender.
A small smile played across Katsuki's face. "Okay, it'll be fucking hell, but I'll go, for you." Leaning forward he began eating his food in earnest, he was hungry suddenly. Shouto sat staring at him, "what? I got food on my face?" He wiped his mouth with his napkin.
"N-No," Shouto blinked, "wait, wait, you're going because I want you to go?" He needed to make sure he understood.
"Yeah," Katsuki took another big bite, "this is good by the way."
"Thanks," Shouto sat back and watched him eat, suddenly he started laughing. Bakugou's head jerked up, which made Shouto laugh harder. He wiped his eyes with his napkin, giggling almost uncontrollably.
"Why're you laughing?" Katsuki was stunned, had he just made Shouto laugh? It was that face, the one he'd thought about last night, his face was lit up, his eyes half-closed in laughter, tears clinging to his lashes. His cheeks were even slightly red, a soft blush staining them. A rush of desire clogged his mind, he blinked trying not to stare but nothing could drag his gaze away.
"I - I don't know, because, because you're going." Shouto sighed, letting the last of his laughter go, he finally stopped and smirked at him. "Because in a million years you wouldn't have gone with me in the past."
"I would've," Katsuki mumbled, "you just never asked."
"Then that's why I'm laughing." Shouto face broke out into a wide smile, "I would've never asked but instead told you to go fuck yourself."
"Yeah, you sure would've," looking up, his heart stopped at the beautiful smile cutting across Shouto's face. His eyes darted back down, "why not now?"
"I - I'm not sure," Shouto stammered trying to hide the truth as a tingling swept through his body. Looking at him across from his table, he felt a serene calm. He missed him, he missed Midoriya too, but if he was being honest, and why the fuck not at this point, how could life get worse? He really missed the man in front of him, the last four months had been absolute hell without him around. Looking around the little apartment, he wondered what had made him decide to take this place, it was a shit hole. Was it chance? Luck? Shaking his head, he wiped his mouth and stretched. "Whatever the reason, I'm glad you're going." Standing up he grabbed their now empty plates, taking everything to the kitchen.
"Thanks, I better run, I gotta meet my hag later today to go over some stuff." Katsuki followed him with the rest of the dishes, putting them in his sink. "Sorry for not cleaning up."
"Don't worry about it," he waved at the dishes dismissively. "Are you going to put in the application today?"
"Yeah, I'll do that too." Katsuki headed to the door, he stopped and turned, "Shouto?"
"What?" Chills ran across his body at the sound of his name spoken so gently from him.
"Thanks for breakfast, I'm glad you're my new neighbor, it's been a while."
"It has," Shouto nodded, then grinned, "of course, you'll change your tune on that soon."
"Why's that?"
"Looks like you've been laying off the gym, part of the application process is a fitness test," he nodded towards his growing beer belly. "Gonna need to start working out. I'll come get your ass starting tomorrow at 6am."
"Fuck that," Katsuki slid on his shoes and opened the door. Turning he winked and let it slam behind him. Shouto laughed to himself as he finished up the dishes. He really had missed him.
Standing at a table by the bar, Shouto watched the group trickling in slowly, hugs and tears already started. The rule had been no black, so he'd gone with gray trousers and a snug button up dark blue shirt. Kirishima waved at him as he headed to the bar.
"Todoroki, good to see you." He thumped him heavily on the back. Waving at the bartender he ordered a drink. "Is he coming?"
"He said he would."
Kirishima sipped his drink, surveying the group. Yaoyorozu and Lida were working on connecting to a large monitor. Suddenly a blown-up picture of Midoriya flashed on the screen. He was in his training outfit from UA, turned sideways laughing at someone off camera. "Fuck," Kiri downed his drink and looked down at the table. "Fuck."
Clearing his throat, Shouto nodded, he managed to keep his gaze on the picture of his friend though. The rush of emotions made him hot, his skin prickly and uncomfortable, like wearing itchy fabric. He took a sip of his cold drink. Izuku looked happy, he always did and was, that was, until the switch would flip. Then he went from best friend, to holder of One For All, that's what made him special.
"Hey guys," Momo had a small microphone, "wanna keep this informal, so how about everyone cuddle up here, we'll say some stuff, keep it light and then afterward, we can go to dinner, drinks, or dancing," she forced a smile, someone laughed quietly. "Well, we'll do something."
"Shall we?" Kiri motioned to the area where they had set up chairs.
Following Kiri, he saw the main door open as Uraraka stepped through, Shouto did a double take. "Ochako?" She looked at him, her eyes were puffy, so much so he could barely see her pupils. Her skin was sallow, pasty white, her hair pulled back in a clumsy braid. She walked blindly to him as she stared at the huge picture of Izuku.
"Shouto," her voice sounded lifeless.
Putting his arm around her, he guided her to a group of chairs. Mina jumped up and sat on the other side of her holding her hand. Tsuyu sat behind her, hand on her shoulder.
"So," Momo continued, her voice shaking, "we wanted to remember the good stuff today, talk about the man we knew as a teenager who became the number one hero." A quiet settled on the group, the door opened with a loud bang, Katsuki walked through, he was dressed in black from head to toe.
"You start already?" He strode into the room, his eyes landing on Shouto, arm around Uraraka. He made his way to him, sitting down in the chair next to him, he patted his thigh, "sorry I'm late."
Staring at his hand that didn't move off his thigh, Shouto whispered, "it's okay, we just started." He could see he'd spotted the huge picture, his body jerked visibly but he stayed quiet.
One by one everyone talked about funny stories they'd had with Izuku, mostly about him getting into scrapes, but always about his friendship. Even Ochako had shaken off her stupor to talk, Shouto and Kiri after her. As the stories finally lost steam, a few eyes glanced at Bakugou, he'd remained motionless the entire time, Shouto wasn't even sure he was listening.
"You all done?" His voice was gruff as he looked around the group.
"Uh, sure I guess," Tenya walked over with the microphone.
"I don't need that shit." Standing up he walked to a nearby table. "You know I grew up with Midoriya, you could say we've been friends for a long time, that is, when I wanted to be his friend, he was always my friend though." He cleared his throat. "Cleaning out his stuff I came across these things." Opening a bag, he pulled out a figurine of All Might and his notebook, he set them on the table. "You could say this encompasses him in some way, his obsession for All Might and heroes, the drive to be the best. Difference was, he did it because that was what he had to do, right?" Bakugou picked up the figurine, "I did it to be the best, better than all you fucking extras." He looked up, his eyes glassy with unshed tears. "What I realized, too fucking late, was that this isn't a damn competition or a right, you know?" He shook his head, "to put on that suit every day was a privilege to him. His obsession was to better this world by taking down All For One and villains that abused their powers." He put everything back in the bag carefully. "So, his mission is complete, his life's dream fulfilled. I might fucking miss the damn nerd, but he did what he wanted to do and let's face it." He gazed at everyone in the room. "Every single one of us would've happily stood in his place. We would've given our lives to do the same thing and been smiling while we did it, so that's what I hang on to," wrapping up the bag he shoved it under his arm, running his hand through his blonde spikes. "Izuku was fucking smiling when he killed that bastard." He quickly moved through the small group of chairs and walked back out the door.
"Shit," Shouto bounced to his feet and ran after him. He could see his big body stalking through the restaurant. Winding through the tables he pushed open the door to the street. The walkway was crowded, he could see him just ahead. "Katsuki!" Pausing, he turned and nodded, holding out his hand. Catching up to him, he grabbed his outstretched hand. Words disappeared from his mind.
"Yeah?" Watching his red and blue eyes dart back and forth scrutinizing his face, Katsuki stayed still.
"I-" Shouto clamped his mouth shut, his body was vibrating with the need to be with him. Katsuki didn't move, the flow of people on the sidewalk parted around them.
"Yeah, I want you too." He closed his hand around his, letting his desire take over. "Let's go," he tugged gently and began walking.
Shouto didn't even look where they were going, he just stumbled along one foot after the next, Bakugou's words pounding in his ears. "Where are we going?" He grabbed him with his other hand.
Ignoring him, Katsuki led him into their lobby, pulling him up the stairs to his apartment and unlocked the door. Yanking him inside, he turned as he pulled him through the door, wrapping up his waist and slamming him against the wall, arms caging him there. He covered his mouth in a kiss, demanding and powerful.
Shouto's heart was racing as Katsuki tackled him, pressing him into the wall, his lips on him. His tongue pushing into his mouth, hot and insistent. Shouto let go, the mind-numbing sadness melting away, the rage of desire building in his body took over. Grabbing Bakugou's ass, he pressed against him, letting him feel his desire for him. He could feel Bakugou was erect too, the sensation of his hard flesh almost dropped him to his knees. "Bed?" He pushed him off his body forcefully, "where the fuck is your bed?"
Letting out a cocky laugh, Katsuki kissed him hard, "follow me."
Campfire, Shouto stirred as he dreamt, he was sitting at a campfire, his eyes opened slowly. Looking around he didn't recognize the room, his stomach clenched, where was he?
"You're awake?"
"Oh, shit," Shouto turned to see Bakugou sitting naked next to him, a glass of water in his hand.
"What happened?"
"You fucking came so hard you almost took my dick off," he smiled at those glassy bi-colored eyes. He looked so fucked out Katsuki knew he'd get hard again if he sat and stared at him too long. "You burned my bed but thankfully put it out at the same time." Katsuki looked at his now scorched headboard, a black mark going up the wall.
Shouto spun to look at his bed, the campfire, that was the smell. "Never done that before," he mused. Katsuki leaned over him, kissing his lips tenderly.
"Then you've never been fucked right until today."
"Maybe," Shouto laid back down, whatever happened he was still riding the high, his whole body felt like it was buzzing.
"I got you some water," Katsuki pointed to the nightstand. "Are you cool if I take a shower?" He didn't want to be an asshole and just leave him in bed alone.
"Yeah, I'm gonna go back in a bit myself."
"Wait? Why? I thought," Katsuki stopped, fuck, what had he thought? This was Icy Hot.
"I don't like sleeping somewhere other than my own bed, sorry."
"Dinner?"
"Together?" Shouto smiled, he was glad Katsuki didn't want him to cut and run. "Sure, that'd be nice." Getting up on one elbow he pulled the water from his hand and took a long drink studying him. Did he really want him to stay? His heart picked up speed, there was no way. "Ah, not sure what just happened here, but I know that celebration for Izuku was tough on both of us." He pushed the glass back to him, keeping his face neutral. "It was nice to feel something other than sad for once." Katsuki just stared at him, piercing red eyes not wavering. Shouto sat all the way up, running his hand through the white half of his hair. "Look, what I'm trying to say that I get it if this was just," he shrugged, "one time." He peeked up, Katsuki's expression hadn't changed. "You were incredible and since you obviously know what you're doing, I guess I don't need to show you how it's done."
"Shit, that sucks."
"It does?" Looking up, his eyebrows raised, Shouto had thought it would be his out.
"I hate this shitty bed, I was kinda hoping that between us we could reduce it to ashes." A playful look crossed his features. Shouto's eyes grew wide as he smirked at him, "In fact I bet your bed is shit too, we could wipe 'em both out with enough time."
"Time?" Shouto fell back on the pillow. So, this was more than grief? A hand on his leg warmed his skin, smiling he reached down and squeezed it tight. "Dinner then?"
"Sure," Katsuki nodded. "Where?"
"I'll go home and shower and come get you, there's a place I really like by the old agency building." Getting up he picked up his discarded clothing, putting everything back on carefully. Looking in the mirror he fastened his belt. If it hadn't been for his swollen lips no one would guess what he'd been doing for the last hour. Turning he looked at him, "how much time do you need?"
"I'm starving, fifteen minutes max."
Shouto laughed. "Okay, I'm hungry too, I'll do my best." He crossed to the bedroom door, tapping on the handle with his finger, he turned back, his heart skipping seeing him sprawled naked across the bed. "I have one rule," he saw him glower. "Whoever does the fucking pays for the meal, agreed?" He almost laughed out loud at the look of concern that crossed his face.
"This place better not be fucking expensive, you know I live on the fucking Pro Hero pension."
"I know, I do too." He glanced at the bathroom, "maybe we should shower together then?" He teased, "I'm more than happy to pay."
Drinking the rest of his water, Katsuki jumped to his feet and kissed him. "I got enough in savings to pay for three meals a day for you Sho," he drawled huskily, slapping him on the ass as he went into the bathroom.
Shouto shuddered, his words were like a soft caress running down his back.
"See you in fifteen or I'll come and break down your door!" Katsuki shouted as he shut the bathroom door behind him.
Laughing softly, Shouto let himself out of the apartment.
