Preface
Tell Me How You Really Feel
Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at /works/33551668.
Rating: Mature Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply Category: M/M Fandom: 僕のヒーローアカデミア Boku no Hero Academia My Hero Academia Relationship: Bakugou Katsuki/Midoriya Izuku Characters: Bakugou Katsuki, Midoriya Izuku Additional Tags: Class 1-A Dorms (My Hero Academia), Canon Compliant, Bakugou Katsuki Swears A Lot, Bakugou Katsuki is Bad at Feelings, Midoriya Izuku is Bad at Feelings, Bakugou Katsuki is a Clueless Mess, Cute Midoriya Izuku, Quirk Shenanigans (My Hero Academia), Truth Quirk (My Hero Academia), or is it..., No Spoilers, Confessions, Listen Izuku has very pretty eyes and Katsuki gets a lil lost in them that's all, Songfic, Kinda, Angst with a Happy Ending, lots of fluff, Cuddling, First Kiss, Love Confessions, Feelings Realization, Feelings, Midoriya Izuku Needs A Hug, and Katsuki gives him one, you know katsuki is touch starved and would melt the moment he was met with a comforting embrace Language: English Stats: Published: 2021-08-29 Completed: 2021-11-27 Words: 11,764 Chapters: 3/3 Tell Me How You Really Feel
by notanythingyet
Summary
"Oh my gosh, Deku! Now tell me how you really feel about your Kacchan!"
She was obviously being sarcastic. Everyone knows the nerd will always rant and rave about how awesome Katsuki is, which is why the joke triggered a chorus of laughter from their surrounding classmates.
So Katsuki decided to mind his business, ignoring the nerd's typical antics. What was definitely NOT typical, however, was what Deku said next.
Alternatively; Izuku gets hit with a mysterious quirk that forces him to spill his true feelings, even those which he couldn't even admit to himself.
Notes
Hello and welcome to my first work in this fandom!
I had the idea for this story for quite some time and finally got around to actually writing it and I hope you enjoy it!
Takes place shortly after Bakugou got his provisional license.
Chapter Track: You're The Reason I Come Home by Ron Pope
See the end of the work for more notes
Watching You Watching Me
Katsuki got the call before his morning alarm even went off, and arose from his bed so fast his head felt fuzzy. He'll let those few precious moments of sleep slide since a pro hero was asking him for back-up, and changed into his hero costume as quickly as humanly possible. Ever since the league of villains was sprouting up more and more, it had become common for high school students who passed their provisional license exams to help pro heroes out if a situation warranted it. Although the school told all parents their children were only to be called upon in "emergency" situations with plenty of pros around to assure their safety, that term had stretched rather thin in the last few weeks.
And no other U.A. student has more fervor to answer such calls as one Bakugou Katsuki, who became well-known in the pro hero circles as their regular first-responder, always the first to arrive on the scene bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. The boy with an explosion-quirk began this immediately following the procurement of his (belated) provisional hero license certification. However reckless his brash strategy was at the start-and oh, it was- the pros always seemed to get the job done faster with him by their side.
So thanks in part to this new mandate (and much to Aizawa's dismay) 1-A's two "problem students" were constantly late to or completely absent for some classes. Because naturally, wherever one fearsome Katsuki Bakugou goes, an equally fierce Izuku Midoriya can be found trailing not too far behind. Never too close, but always in safe proximity.
And that's how Katsuki found himself zooming through the streets after answering the call for students needed in the downtown area early that fateful morning. He listened in his headset for the rundown of the shitstorm he was about to walk into, blasting from rooftop to rooftop and breathing in the fresh morning air.
He was told to arrest a group of petty thieves terrorizing their way downtown stealing purses, nabbing wallets, and picking pockets. No other heroes were on the scene, since there was an even larger ruckus going on in midtown. Katsuki smirked to himself, knowing this meant the pros had more faith in his abilities to get the job done than he primarily thought.
Having been briefed on all but one of the delinquent's quirks on file, he knew what he was in for. And all he had to be wary of was the young girl who touted long silver hair, who was either quirkless or managed to withhold her quirk status from the government consensus for years now. Ideally, he should apprehend her first, since you never want a mysterious element to wander around and creep up on you.
But upon his arrival to the scene, Katsuki quickly realized it may not be as easy as he'd hoped. He noted that the regular patrol in this area must be shit given how brazen the group was going about their crimes. They had been robbing store clerks and patrons at knifepoint for five blocks now, and Katsuki arrived just as they were reaching their sixth (and soon to be final) stop on their onslaught.
He took a deep breath as he studied their dumbass movements from his spot on an adjacent rooftop while brainstorming his plan of attack. He usually wouldn't do this much planning, he's much more of a "run in there guns blazing and manage any fires as I go" kind of guy, but he was still doing work-study and schooling on the front of all this, so he knew to strictly follow the procedures (however foolish) laid out for him so he can get his license and start working as a real hero.
If all went according to his awesome-as-fuck plan, Katsuki wouldn't even need any of those extra classmates of his that were likely trailing far behind him, and he might even make it back to the dorms well before lunch. Lunch Rush was making his favorite smoked salmon today, and Katsuki was not about to settle for sloppy seconds.
As Katsuki descended upon the villains down below, Katsuki pointedly ignored the bright green shock of electricity that he undoubtedly saw enter his peripheral vision.
Bracing his impact with the blasts from his gauntlets, no guns blazing but still as angry and as frightening as ever. He made sure to plaster on his signature smile to throw the fucking losers off. Is that a hero or villain? He imagined they thought to themselves. Why does he look like one of us? Dumbass villains would have to learn to fear him sooner or later. Katsuki prided himself on his ability to shock their pea-sized brains, he'd make sure those losers could even decipher who they were dealing with before he'd have them in cuffs.
This conviction to beat every villain in his sight is the very reason everything goes according to his awesome-as-fuck plan. Well, almost everything.
When Katsuki was walking away from the villains who now laid motionless—but still breathing—on the floor in specialized quirk suppressant handcuffs, Katsuki was still missing one. The outlier, the mystery, the very woman with long silver hair that he needed to steer clear of.
Fuck . Katsuki thought to himself. This was almost a perfect morning.
So naturally, that's when Deku, who he left in the dust not so long ago on that rooftop, was hot on his heels asking Katsuki what he was looking for.
He flatly responded, "Some silver-haired bitch."
"Kacchan, that's the outlier! We need to find her!"
"Don't you think I fucking know that, Deku?" He tried to keep himself level-headed while he was internally pissed at himself for this not going smoothly. And therefore pissed at Deku for screaming his insecurity right into the atmosphere, making him ten times more likely to blow a gasket. This is the first time he has made a mistake on the field like this, and it was a huge one. It was detrimental that they found her, not only to secure the area and bring everyone in to answer for their crimes but to get her quick on the census.
Just as Katsuki was bracing to blast up onto a rooftop to scout her out, he heard Deku let out a timid, "Kacchan, i-isn't that her?" pointing directly behind Katsuki.
Katsuki was smart enough to wait before turning to look, if the way Deku was staring off behind him was anything to go by, it likely was the possible assailant. But as he looked hard at his green-haired classmate, he grew more worried. Deku stood tall and focused, but his gaze was beginning to glaze over, and his mouth uncharacteristically silent. The nerd would always jump straight into the action without a second thought. If he saw this broad behind Katsuki, his body would move before he could think like always, right? So whatever the fuck Deku was doing, was not him .
This is the mystery , he thought. He didn't want to admit (even to himself) that he was worried, but Deku looked so pale now, and his jaw slack, eyes completely unmoved, almost petrified where he stood. This is what I should have watched out for.
Not wanting any hypnotic spell to keep Deku in this state, Katsuki threw caution to the wind and spun around as fast as he could, coming face to face with the very woman he was looking for.
The first thing he noted was her eyes, also glazed over in the same way Deku's were. The second thing he noted was the devious smile plastered on her pale face. And lastly, he noted how young she looked. What was this young girl doing with these punks? Katsuki wondered. Neither of them spared so much as a glance in Katsuki's general direction as they stared at each other in pure silence.
In fact, the two seemed to have forgotten all about Katsuki altogether, stuck in a hypnotic daze that, if it was her quirk (which it likely was), it seemed pretty shitty if it incapacitates her completely like this. So Katsuki thought on his feet and took this moment of vulnerability as an opportunity to stop all her possible escape routes. Once she was done undressing Deku with her eyes or whatever the fuck she was doing, he would close in on her and cuff her before she could even breathe. He found the right vantage point in the nearest alleyway, hoping she didn't also have a flying quirk up her sleeve.
Deku was still far from being sentient, which irked Katsuki to no end. If there was one thing worse than the nerd's incessant mumbling, it was his utter silence. What does this bitch's quirk do? Does it cause long-term side effects? What does their connection mean? Why is Deku still frozen in place? When will she release him?
Right as Katsuki caught himself for internally rambling like the nerd himself would he saw Deku's shoulders slump and knees give out, obviously taken out of whatever haze he was put in. Katsuki would never admit this to anyone, but he let out a breath of relief at the sight of his childhood friend back to his senses. But his muscles suddenly constricted when the woman gave out a shrill laugh and stalked over Deku's crumbled form and said, "I had no idea what I would find with you, but boy was I lucky! I struck a goldmine, literally a goldmine of feelings. Damn, you really should let that shit go, my friend. Take it from me, a girl who literally can't feel anything anymore, you can free yourself from this pain."
Katsuki felt his fists clench reflexively, ready to attack but keeping his wits about him and staying put in the alleyway, not wanting to squash his plan. He hated hearing her talk down to him like that. He continued to watch from the alley as she crouched down close to whisper something to Deku then, who gasped and hugged his arms tight around his legs, and started sniffling. Was he crying? What did she say to him? What the fuck was happening? Was Deku in pain? Should he step in?
The bitch stood up and started walking towards the alley Katsuki was hiding in, checkmate bitch, but glanced back at Deku, who was starting to stand on noticeably wobbly legs. She yelled an excited, "Sorry to hit it and quit it, sweetie, but I gotta run! Good luck with your b-" and was cut-off when she leaped straight into Katsuki's chest.
"In your dreams bitch," was all Katsuki said as he placed the quirk-suppressing cuffs on her in one swift move.
"Oh, fuck me," she stated dismally.
Deku, now fully back to reality, still on weak legs in the middle of the street yelled out a pained, "Kacchan! D-don't look in her eyes!"
Katsuki shouted an affirmative, ignoring how concerned he was for his classmate's well-being, as usual, but didn't miss the barely audible mumbling under Deku's breath. He was relieved to hear it, after just a brief moment of his forced silence.
Even with the cuffs on, Katsuki knew better than to trust this woman and her nameless quirk, so he listened to the nerd's warning and cast his eyes down towards the floor while he dragged her towards the now (fucking finally) gathering police force.
As he walked her towards them, Katsuki found his eyes looking back towards Deku without thinking twice, who was now walking normally and looking like he just saw a ghost.
Deku looked up, almost sensing the other's eyes on him, and they stared at each other for what was likely just a brief moment in time, but to Katsuki it felt like time had slowed to a stop, his heart suddenly hammering in his chest so loud he was sure the girl he was still walking with could hear it.
This wasn't unlike any of the other times Deku and Katsuki would look at each other. But this look was reserved for when Katsuki would hurt him, the only time Katsuki was on the receiving end of this look, with tears threatening to spill down red cheeks, was when the blonde would make the nerd cry. He'd see it whenever he mercilessly hurt Deku's feelings or shoved him around to make himself feel stronger. Ever since he stopped assuming the worst intentions from Deku, it had become increasingly hard to look into those dark green eyes.
Especially now, those eyes were so honest that they became a source of information, always giving too much away from the boy's feelings, reflecting back at him, and confusing Katsuki to the point of near lunacy. So naturally, Katsuki wouldn't look into them, couldn't look into them for too long, so as to spare himself the confusion of not knowing what he did to make Deku so… sad. And right now his heart was beating like crazy, feeling guilty for a crime he didn't commit because what did I do to you, Deku? I didn't hurt you, did I? Stop looking at me like that!
Katsuki couldn't bear another second of this look, feeling himself grow heated in frustration, wanting to know what those eyes meant, but too stubborn (or too scared) to ask.
Katsuki was the first to look away.
The young girl never stopped giggling.
Just as Katsuki had predicted, he was back in time for lunch, his mouth watering as he served himself the best meal this school had to offer. He took his usual seat on one end of the cafeteria and started chowing down like nobody's business.
No surprise, he could still hear the conversations on the other side of the cafeteria since everyone in class 1-A was seemingly in an unspoken contest to see who was the loudest student. Right now, however, Katsuki was singling out one particular conversation in particular. Just to check in and see how the nerd was doing after that morning.
Deku seemed to be talking normally with his friends, so Katsuki felt relieved. He thought the nerd would have to stay with Recovery Girl until they figured out more about the quirk he was hit with. But if he was at school, that meant he was likely cleared to come back.
Katsuki was planning to go back to tuning the nerd out completely had he not heard his own name on round face's lips.
"Hey Deku, I heard you answered a backup call this morning with Bakugou, how did that go?"
"Oh, well I must have arrived a moment later than Kacchan, but like always, Kacchan had a plan, and executed it perfectly. He nearly got a dozen criminals in quirk suppressant cuffs in under three minutes! Seriously, Kacchan sure knows what he's doing out there! Even when we missed one criminal, Kacchan snuck up and cuffed her too. It was so quick, he was so sugoi, you should have seen him! He's going to be a great hero one day! He already is! I was busy evacuating civilians from the surrounding stores but got caught up in the end with one villain. She used her quirk on me which stunned me for a few minutes, but Kacchan saved the day like always! Even when things didn't go smoothly, Kacchan was victorious! It sure was nice to watch Kacchan do what he loves, what he does better than anyone, you know?"
Katsuki choked on his milk at that last part, because it wasn't unusual for Deku to sing his praises especially after calls into the field like this morning, but this seemed different. He always talks your ear off, but this wasn't so much word salad, but word vomit. This seemed more personal rather than his usual tactical breakdown of how Katsuki fair's in battle.
"Oh my gosh, Deku!" Round face piped up with a nervous giggle, "Now tell me how you really feel about your favorite hero Kacchan !"
She was obviously being sarcastic. Literally, anyone who knew the nerd could tell that it was a rhetorical question. Everyone knows the nerd will always rant and rave to anyone willing to listen about how awesome Katsuki is. And rightfully so, Katsuki is fucking awesome! It was a goddamn joke, which is why the moment she said it triggered a chorus of laughter from their surrounding classmates.
Ever since they were kids, praise was all Deku bestowed upon the blonde despite Katsuki's own explosive reactions. Because at this point, Katsuki had become immune to his childhood friend's exuberant praise, so long were the days when Katsuki would actually get upset when the grenette spoke highly of him. Katsuki likes to think that he has come to terms with this just being the nerd's typical behavior towards anyone and everyone who is that good at what they do. So like always, Katsuki decided to mind his business and continue eating his smoked salmon, ignoring the nerd's typical antics.
What was definitely NOT typical, however, was what Deku said next.
"Oh! Well, I've been in love with Kacchan ever since we were kids! Back then I probably didn't even know what love was, but what kid does, right? I just knew I loved him and wanted to be with him all the time. When Kacchan started warming up to me and slowly letting me back into his life this past year, I was elated! I didn't even know what to do with myself! Because despite everything we've been through, despite all his flaws and my own, Kacchan is just so easy to love! Although I couldn't stay away from him even if he tried his hardest to stop me. Kacchan is just so amazing !"
Katsuki's body stilled while his red eyes snapped up to meet green ones that were already staring back at him.
Dip Through The Stars and Wake Up Slowly
Chapter Summary
This moment was too perfect, the timing was just right. He was finally ready to talk to Kacchan, to be honest, and to express his feelings for the other without any help from a quirk.
These feelings he subconsciously buried as soon as he noticed them sprouting, so sure they could never ever be reciprocated, deep in his soul never to be unearthed until the right moment… this moment.
"Please, let's stay out a little longer? I wanted to tell you something." Izuku looked at him seriously. Praying the other got the hint. Luckily, he did, Kacchan always did.
"Finally ready to tell me how you really feel, eh?"
Chapter Notes
I was incredibly surprised by the responses I got with this story, so thank you so so much to everyone who read and for patiently waiting for this second part! I don't know when the third part will come out, and I don't want to promise any time frame since I am incredibly busy. But I promise, I have a plan and will be updating this story and seeing it all the way through!
A HUGE shout out to Nix who really came through as a beta for this work, they also have some incredible works I highly recommend you all read immediately! Seriously, you will not regret it.
Chapter Track: Golden Train by Justin Nozuka
See the end of the chapter for more notes
The words came out of his mouth before his brain could catch up, and Izuku knew they would have kept coming were it not for the hand he slapped over his mouth. Thankful for having stopped himself from revealing more of that godforsaken confession, while his subconscious mind kept humming with more to say.
He could only hope that Kacchan didn't hear any part of his dreadful tirade, but Izuku already knew he had no such luck. Looking up in the direction he knew the blonde always sat in the cafeteria, green eyes were immediately met with piercing red staring right back at him in horror.
Mouth agape and chopsticks nearly dropping from his slackened grip, Kacchan looked like he'd never seen him before. Confused, shocked, and with a hint of his standard irritation all flashed in his childhood friend's features in one convoluted expression.
Concern etched its way into Izuku's mind, and he was struck with the need to ease his confusion, write all that off as some terrible quirk reaction but knowing that would be fruitless. The greenete hadn't the slightest idea what he would even say to his explosive comrade right now. No words came to mind, and when Izuku saw Kacchan staring back at him like that, he felt a surprisingly familiar ache in his chest.
Before he knew it, tears were spilling from his dark green eyes and down reddened cheeks, and the next thing he did was without forethought. Just like how it always was when it concerned Kacchan.
Izuku's body just moved on its own.
And this time Izuku was the first to look away.
The blush creeping down his neck was hidden behind the green electricity that illuminated his entire form. Booking it out of the cafeteria at the speed of light, leaving the dorms entirely, and heading straight towards the school's track and field.
He knew he couldn't leave the campus entirely, but was overcome with the desperation to get out of the suffocating atmosphere he just created and into the fresh outside air. Izuku couldn't stay another second in whatever scene he just caused against his own volition, not when all eyes were on him, not when those red eyes were looking right through him.
Why had he even said that? He never thought of any of those things before so he couldn't even find a valid reason for saying something that was so revealing in an entirely thoughtless way. He was dumbstruck at the words that escaped his mouth as if any and all sense of self-preservation evaded him without his consent for seemingly no reason at all.
He knew that unprompted word vomit must have come from somewhere deep in his soul since the aftertaste was familiarly painful. Leaving Izuku with a pounding heart and an anxious mind like never before. No confrontation with any villain could compare to the fight or flight reaction he caused himself after uttering the words "Kacchan is just so easy to love" out loud to his friends and by extension his entire class.
His mind was racing so fast he couldn't even sit still, just aimlessly walking around the track with 5% of OFA remaining. He tried to focus solely on the movement itself as well as the current of energy coursing through him. When his mind would still wander, he decided that for the time being, he would avoid thinking about the confession (if he could even call it that) if only to alleviate himself from the brink of a full-on panic attack.
Looking down at his feet scraping across the asphalt, he only then noticed his indoor slippers. He forced a chuckle at the sight of how out-of-place they looked in the outdoor terrain, but the sound came off as forced even to his own ears. He wasn't calming down in the slightest.
Now was as good a time as any to finally put some of those grounding tactics their school-sanctioned therapist taught his class to use, because if this isn't a moment of heightened distress Izuku isn't sure what is. He inhaled deeply and started counting down his senses; (5) he looked towards the orange trees beside the field on his right, spotted a squirrel climbing up its trunk, noticed the empty bleachers beside him, narrowing in on the flower beds sprouting below, and a bee buzzing past him. (4) he felt the warm slippers surrounding his feet, the t-shirt wrapped around his torso, the thin layer of perspiration beading down his forehead, and the familiar embers of one for all still coursing through his veins. (3) he smelled the distant morning mist, a hint of the nearly ripe oranges, and the freshly mowed grass. (2) he heard the leaf blower in the distance and the sweet melody of a songbird. (1) he tasted the remnants of his salmon lunch now forgotten... in the cafeteria he just confessed to Kacchan in.
Damn. After all that work, how did he manage to come right back to the subject he was trying so desperately to avoid? In reality, he couldn't even fool himself into believing he could ever attempt to get that blonde off of his mind. When that same blonde had been at the forefront of his mind for years now, mocking and demeaning, loud and unrestrained. The same blonde who never held back on anything he put his mind to, who never pulled his punches, who never took shit from anyone. The same blonde who refused to see Izuku as an equal until he could beat him in a physical fight, who took years to only slightly compliment Izuku, who can encourage him in the way only Kacchan can. The same blonde who knows his darkest secrets and chose to help him rather than use it against him, who practiced for hours on end to help him maintain the new ability, who can finally admit that they are not only on equal footing but are somewhat friends now.
Or, rather they were friends seeing as it was entirely fair game after what Izuku pulled today. In the best-case scenario, Kacchan would choose to ignore his outburst completely (Izuku would even expect a joke or sly remark about it) and the two could go back to training together like they were for so long. In the worst-case scenario, Kacchan would confront Izuku with either disgust or contempt and effectively break any connection they had built up over the years. All Izuku's hard work holding himself back, being patient with the other would be wasted.
Izuku does not know which option is more likely, since he'd never given any of this subject matter too much thought. Including the confession itself. Maybe if that part made sense to him, he would be able to weigh his options more thoroughly, but he first needed to understand the underlying feelings he might have been harboring for his childhood friend before weighing any options for an escape plan. Did he really feel that way about the explosive boy? Or was that girl's quirk some form of mind control?
But she already told you exactly what this was. The uncomfortable reminder of their encounter that same morning invading his train of thought. And she told you what this means and where it comes from, so why are you still fighting it? He couldn't even answer his own rhetorical question before he sensed a pair of footsteps approaching. Green electricity intensifies around him again, ready to fight or flight.
Thankfully, it was just Ochako and Shoto. The only two people he could actually handle seeing right now. Izuku visibly deflated from the puffed-up and electrified stance he was taking but was immediately disillusioned by their expressions, full of pity.
"Midoriya, you really shouldn't be using your quirk right now. You know the rules." Shoto stated in his usual calm tone, but his eyes were full of rigid concern.
"I can't really help it right now, I feel like my mind is going a mile a minute, and my heart is about to beat right out of my chest," Izuku notes just how easy that answer came to him, as though he never even had a brain to mouth process. It was similar to what happened in the cafeteria, where he just spoke without thinking.
"Hey Deku, why don't we go inside and talk in one of our dorm rooms? That way we will have a little more privacy?" Ochako looked down, noticing his indoor slippers on the gravel floor. Again, Izuku spoke without even thinking,
"I'd like that a lot, but I don't want to run the risk of possibly seeing him or anyone else, really." He looked towards his two friends earnestly. They looked at each other before looking back towards him, both nodding their heads and starting to walk back towards the dorms.
He followed the two of them in relative silence. Shoto looked back at him as they walked, "He's not in the dorms, so as soon as we get inside there we can walk into your room. Okay?"
"Where is he?" Izuku asked.
"He left shortly after you did, followed by Kirishima and Kaminari. I'm not sure where they went."
Izuku kept walking, looking at his indoor slippers walking on grass, then asphalt, up cement steps, and back inside their hardwood floors. He didn't even look up when they entered the common area, but Izuku was hyper-aware of the painful silence of the room that was full of most of his classmates. He was sure they were trying hard to keep quiet for his sake, which he truly appreciated.
However, now Izuku was anxious all over again. The fear of not knowing exactly what lies ahead truly irks him. All he knows is that once the three of them begin talking behind closed doors he is bound to open up. Pure and unadulterated, he'll keep spilling these… feelings that he never let himself feel before. Realizing this does nothing to ease him, and yet he continues to walk on.
Once they were safely in Izuku's dorm room, his two friends began questioning him about that morning, and what really happened between him and the quirk he was struck with. He spoke eloquently about the girl he locked eyes with, and in incredible detail about the whole ordeal. All his answers were shared aloud and without much thought, even to the most intimate questions regarding his childhood friend. Questions that, in any other state of mind, he would be tripping over his answers, but spoke clearly and sincerely. Until eventually, Shoto asked him something that managed to spike his anxiety yet again.
"Midoriya, you know you're going to have to talk to him about this eventually. He will likely want to talk sooner rather than later. Do you feel ready for that?"
"I'm ready to talk to him. I know it's inevitable, so I don't want to keep my false hopes alive, prolonging this will only keep me naive. I know he doesn't feel what I feel, so I don't want to live in some fairytale any longer, I'd rather get it over with than mope around until he inevitably walks in here and breaks my heart. I wish he could just forget all about this and I could go back to ignoring my feelings altogether, but neither of those things seem very feasible anymore. I'm an emotional wreck and he's a stubborn mess. It's just how it is with us. I only hope that he doesn't hate me for too long."
Izuku eventually sees his friends out and makes sure to thank them for helping him unpack a lot of his unearthed feelings. He's eternally grateful that they go without pressuring him to come down for dinner later. But when his stomach chooses that moment to loudly growl, he realizes he completely skipped breakfast to run after Kacchan in the morning and left his lunch half-eaten for obvious reasons, so when Shoto offers to bring him some dinner later Izuku agrees without thinking twice.
Kacchan looks so pretty underneath the stars. Izuku can't stop looking at him as they walk side by side under the moonlit night. He turns his head because really, he wants to commit this moment with his childhood friend to memory forever. As bright as he always is, Kacchan made those stars look pale in comparison. And suddenly Izuku couldn't stop himself from reaching down and holding the hand beside him. It's warm (as expected), and instantly envelops Izuku's entire body with its heat. The blushes they both dawn can still be seen under the moonlight, and Izuku nearly faints when he sees Kacchan look away with a small smile on his lips.
He clears his throat before asking, "You ain't cold Deku?"
Kacchan was so nice, so thoughtful, and so kind. Izuku felt like he was drowning in his warmth. So he said as such, "No, not with you beside me."
"That doesn't make any fucking sense, nerd. It's cold, now let's go inside."
Oh no, Izuku didn't want that. This moment was too perfect, the timing was just right. He was ready to finally talk to Kacchan, really talk to him, to be honest, and tell the other how he felt without any help from a quirk and to say what he should have said long ago. For years he's kept these feelings hidden from his friends, from his mother, from Kacchan, and even from himself. These feelings he subconsciously buried as soon as he noticed them sprouting, so sure they could never be reciprocated, deep in his soul never to be unearthed until the right moment… this moment.
"Please, let's stay out a little longer? I wanted to tell you something." Izuku looked at him seriously. Praying the other got the hint. Luckily, he did, Kacchan always did.
"Finally ready to tell me how you really feel, eh?"
Izuku suddenly jolts awake, the pounding in his head matching a knock at his door. He hadn't even realized he'd fallen asleep, and judging by the awkward way he was splayed out on the bed, he didn't intend to either. He must have truly been that exhausted from all the emotions he had to face that day. All the feelings he never faced before and was suddenly forced to. It would drain anyone, really.
He rose from his bed and stretched out his back. Another knock on the door, this time slightly softer. Was it Shoto with his dinner? One look at the clock said it likely was. He couldn't believe he had slept that long, almost his whole day was gone. He walked to his door and opened it wide, expecting to see his friend again.
But instead was winded by the sight before him. Because there was Kaccchan in front of him, holding two plates full of warm food covered in plastic wrap. And for the first time since he was hit with that dreadful quirk, Izuku just stared right back at his childhood friend in complete silence. Not even a word registered in his mind.
"I heard you haven't eaten yet." Kacchan cleared his throat before continuing, "Neither have I. So, uh, can I come in or whatever?" Izuku looked back towards the food in his hands, and back up to the (now blushing!?) face looking right back at him.
"Y-yeah Kacchan, please come on in!" Izuku couldn't control the smile on his face, nor did he want to.
Chapter End Notes
There it is, folks! Yet another cliffhanger! As usual, all your comments and kudos are greatly appreciated and help motivate the writer to write!
I have decided this will be three chapters with the possibility of an epilogue, so the next installment will be the grand conclusion you are all hoping for! I promise to make it worth any wait.
Thank you again for reading!
A Love Like This Would Make Even the Most Immature Dream Come True
Chapter Summary
"It's okay, Deku."
Objectively, it was not okay.
Katsuki's palms were fucking sweating and he thought he might literally explode if the nerd kept talking so brazenly with him.
Chapter Notes
Hello and thank you dear readers for waiting patiently for this last chapter to come out, it's finally here and I hope it doesn't disappoint!
Special thanks goes out to Nix again for being beta for this work! I would highly recommend you give their stuff a read as well! Seriously, you will not regret it.
Chapter Track: Only by LeeHi
See the end of the chapter for more notes
The moment Izuku ran out of the cafeteria Katsuki was bombarded by the incessant chatter of his classmates, giving him a sensory overload. He could hardly sit still after hearing that confession leave the nerd's lips, let alone think straight, and the voices around him were not helping. He just kept replaying it in his head.
"I've been in love with Kacchan ever since we were kids!"
What did that nerd even mean? How could he say something so heinous and untrue like that? No way no how could anyone love Katsuki. Deku couldn't love him, not now and definitely not back then. This nerd who knew both versions of Katsuki; the Katsuki that bullied Deku like it was his job, and the Katsuki who still for the life of him couldn't even bring himself to reflect on those emotions he was feeling enough to apologize. Both versions were unworthy of any affection from the grenette or anyone else, let alone love .
Sure, when they were really young kids they got along just fine, and to some degree maybe Katsuki could understand him loving the other back then in a familial way, but to say that he'd been in love since they were kids , that's the part that's really throwing Katsuki for a loop. Because Deku knew better than anyone how feral, vindictive, and cruel he was back when they were in middle school. After he started to resent Deku for not having a quirk (among other things), Katsuki couldn't even look at him without anger bubbling up like a chemical reaction, and that person didn't make any sense to love.
He knew this confession had to do with the quirk he was hit with that morning, it just had to. Katsuki had an idea of what the quirk might entail, but he was too much of a coward to think of what that could mean for them.
He couldn't stop any of his self-deprecating thoughts, though, not after the nerd spoke and definitely not after he had moments to process his words.
Because if his first guess was correct, and that nerd was spewing some backward ass shit, the quirk must have been--
"Maybe he was hit with some opposite-thought quirk?" Katsuki's ears perked up at the very thought that crossed his own mind being spoken out loud, cluing himself back into the conversation going on around him. He snapped his eyes in the direction of the voice, feeling deeply insecure all of a sudden. Sero continued wearily, noticing Katsuki's piercing gaze on him now, "Because that can't be like… real, right? No offense Bakugou but why would he--"
Bakugou couldn't help but snarl at the insinuation of his statement, venomously blurting out, "You saying the nerd hates me, weenus boy?"
A couple of their classmates snickered at the new nickname, but Bakugou's face grew incredibly hot. He could feel all of their eyes on him, analyzing him and trying to figure out what his next move would be.
Katsuki usually likes to make himself be seen, loudest in the crowd and all that, but right now he feels the visceral need to become completely invisible. Because now that everyone was dissecting his relationship with Deku, it hurt his psyche to know that everyone also believed that the confession couldn't be anything but a fluke, and worse, that the nerd actually felt the opposite about him.
He faintly hears someone mutter "You might be onto something, Sero", but he blocks the rest out. Overcome with unease at the possibility that Sero was actually right on the nose and upset with himself for how much that thought sent a wave of pain through his chest.
But he had no right for this pain, he knew that damn nerd had every right to resent him for what he did back then and for how petty he still acts now, albeit less so.
But to hate him… that idea admittedly hurts like hell. He'd never express this to anyone, but if Deku has secretly been hating his guts this entire time, while Katsuki was taking his sweet time coming into his own and learning how to be a good friend, he's sure his heart would fucking break.
As soon as he notices the unfamiliar feeling of tears filling up his eyes, his limbs move on their own, bringing him to his feet and marching him towards the door without so much as a second glance. The last thing he needs right now is to seem thrown off at the nerd he treated like shit actually hating his guts. He bounded out of the room without acknowledging the protests of his close friends to "please stay" and "let's talk about this", and instead swiftly jogged out the cafeteria doors.
He felt light-headed as he continued all the way to the other side of their campus towards the training rooms. He'd often come to this training room to blow off steam, usually followed behind by his friends who make sure he's not overworking himself.
But right now he's glad to be alone, his thoughts are still racing as he wraps his hands in tape and waltzes over to the punching bag at the far corner of the room.
He hooked a one-two punch on the bag in front of him with all this strength, trying his best to focus on his training.
However, his mind kept wandering...
"Back then I probably didn't even know what love was, but what kid does, right?"
Fuck no, Deku did not know what love was! Because if he did, and was being honest Deku would have a really twisted understanding of the word. Katsuki flung the nerd through the wringer and back, fighting with words and fists whenever Katsuki felt insecure, angry, annoyed, or even bored. What's worse is that the other just went with it, putting up with his anger time and time again without leaving his side. And that brings him to the other part, about Deku wanting to be with him all the time.
Deep down he knew that point held some truth to it. He shook his head and narrowed his focus back on the task at hand. His fists battered the bag in front of him at a vigorous speed. Minutes passed before he took a quick break.
Dissecting his relationship with Deku made him uneasy, it forced him to self-reflect in a way he'd never dared to do before for reasons becoming more obvious as he delves deeper. Katsuki really could have gone without hearing something so unfounded escape his childhood friend's lips. And he really could do without the feeling that it brought to him; the painfully familiar twinge that he recognized to be unbridled hope.
He punched the bag in front of him with reckless abandon, swinging so fast he could feel the air whip across his sweat-soaked skin.
And still, the confession echoed in his mind...
" I just knew I loved him and wanted to be with him all the time."
He remembers how irritating it was when the nerd followed him everywhere he went, no matter how hard Katsuki tried to make it seem like he was unwanted. In hindsight, Katsuki doesn't remember ever really saying the awful things he did for any reason other than to get the nerd to quit coddling him and acting like Katsuki needed protection when Deku didn't even have a damn quirk.
Katsuki knew this didn't excuse his actions, he knew that . But he also knows he never wanted Deku to hate him, and never want him to be around all the time.
He swung even harder then as if the red punching bag had personally offended him.
Because he never felt good about how he treated the nerd, even while he was acting cocky and spitting nonsense about how superior he was, he distinctly remembers feeling like shit himself. And he never really wanted the nerd to really leave him alone, at least not indefinitely. But he just needed the other to stop acting like he was important because he felt funny whenever the other was in his presence and treated him the way he did, and still does from time to time.
Katsuki can only now identify that treatment as care and affection, but he never needed any of that crap. He wasn't used to receiving it from his parents, so when the nerd showed him that level of kindness, Katsuki was thrown off. And that's how the anger showed up because he wouldn't back off.
" When Kacchan started warming up to me and slowly letting me back into his life this past year, I was elated! I didn't even know what to do with myself!"
But he never realized how much he needed Deku in his life until he joined him here at U.A. and they got closer to one another. Yes, at first Katsuki was still difficult to talk to, and tried to blow Deku up more times than not, but hey! Old habits die hard! But before Katuki even knew it he felt himself start to warm up to Deku, the secret they shared with the former number one hero becoming the glue to bond the two of them together once more.
This time Katsuki tried to be better. It was the friendship he missed out on that drove Katsuki to do try harder to be a better person, or so he told himself that. He wanted to make up for all the years he lost with his former best friend, with who he had so much in common with. He can admit now that he didn't want to go back to the way they were when they both felt like shit because Katsuki didn't know how to handle himself or his feelings. But there was still something missing, he felt it.
Fuck. He still didn't know how he felt, all he knew for certain was that he felt strongly about the other. If he didn't that fake confession wouldn't have thrown him off this much.
He punched a few more times, swinging the bag so hard he had to back away from it before it knocked him off his feet.
But now he's gotten to wondering; how do I feel about Deku? Do I even have a right to feel anything for the person I hurt so much? Do I have any right to even ponder the possibilities?
" Because despite everything we've been through, despite all his flaws and my own, Kacchan is just so easy to love!"
He hugged the punching bag now, sweat clinging to his skin as his heavy breathing echoed loudly into the empty room.
That last part of Deku's "confession" was where that insufferable feeling of hope couldn't help but seep through him, aching deep in his bones like an old break in the rain.
Katsuki? Easy to love? In his fucking dreams. For Deku to say Katsuki is easy in anything could almost be deemed an insult if Katsuki was being honest. Because he tends to purposefully be anything but.
Katsuki wishes feeling anything warm came easy to him, at least as easy as it seemed to come for Deku. Not in that fake "confession" that started this whole mess, but in the way that Deku wore his heart on his sleeve for their whole lives. No matter how much Katsuki pushed him away, Deku still kept coming back to him like a goddamn boomerang.
He turned and walked towards the water fountain, ducking his head down for a drink. He heard the door to the gym opens, and Katsuki didn't have to look to know who entered the room based on their lousy attempt at whispering.
"You talk to him" "No you !" "You said you would-"
Katsuki casually wiped the water off his mouth and walked back over to the punching bag, "One of you dumbasses better speak the fuck up before I punch you instead of this fucking bag." He looked up and saw his three friends, Kirishima, Ashido, and Kaminari looking back at him with wide eyes. God, he wished this door had a lock.
"Uh- hi! Bakubro, how are you… doing?" Kirishima spoke first, the concern in his tone being obvious and irritating.
"I'm fine. Just working out." He lied.
"Well, yeah we can see that, bro. But a lot happened back there, and we wanted to know if you wanted to talk about it. You don't have to, but we think it would be good not to be alone with your thoughts, you know?"
"I'm not thinking about shit." He lied again.
This time Ashido spoke up, "Cut the crap, Bakugou, let's just air this baby out. I know the wound is still fresh, and it might be confusing still but it'll be easier once you talk it through!"
"There's nothing to air out, E.T. I'm just working out like I usually do. I left because y'all were being weird as fuck in the cafeteria." He said more truthfully.
"Well then let me ask you this," Kaminari spoke up then, "How do you feel about what Deku said in there?"
"Nothing!" Katsuki spat unconvincingly.
"Well that's obviously bullshit" Ashido giggled.
"Fuck off, I ain't feel shit because it ain't mean shit."
"Oh?" she raised her eyebrow at that. "And what makes you so sure?"
"Sero hit it on the nose, this morning when we rounded up those villains he was hit with some backward quirk. Now the nerd is talking out his ass."
"Sero's a dumbass," Kaminari interjects.
"Well, that goes without saying," Katsuki responds. "But he's right about this, Because Deku was hit with a quirk this morning, I saw it with my own two eyes, and it made him act more dumb than usual. That's all that… outburst was."
"And what if I were to tell you that's not true, Bakubro." Kirishima looked earnestly at him, making a considerable effort to look into his eyes. Katsuki wanted so badly to punch him in the face, because who the fuck was he to say that so confidently?
That's when he noticed the manilla folder Kirishima very slowly brought out from behind him.
What the shit is that?
"Let me explain, okay?" He continued when Katsuki glared at the folder.
"You have 5 minutes."
A considerable amount of hours and one too many heart-to-heart conversations later, Katsuki found himself running back to the dorms with his friends trailing behind him as they giggled like fucking idiots.
"Bakugou, you need to shower first, you're all stinky."
"Yeah, and wear that new shirt we found at the mall last week, dude!"
"FUCK. OFF. You losers don't need to coach me into doing normal hygiene, okay? Stop making this weird."
"But dude, this is kind of weird, right?" Kaminari said as they reached the doors to the common room.
"And we want everything to go perfectly!" Ashido wiggles her eyebrows suggestively then.
Katsuki wrapped his hand tightly around the doorknob, glaring at her as he did so.
"I know what I'm doing, assholes." Katsuki lied. He didn't have any clue what he was doing, what he would say, or how this would play out. But he sure as shit didn't want to be coached by dumb, dumber, and dumbest.
"Sure you do, Bakubro!" Kirishima failed to say encouragingly. So much for having faith in him. What great friends they were.
Katsuki scoffed and opened the doors. He only felt slightly wary upon entry that he might run into the nerd. When he glanced around the common room, he didn't see any dark green hair, and he internally signed in relief, he did not want to see him just yet. He was embarrassed to admit it even to himself, but Katsuki was nervous as hell.
Katsuki looked back at his friends after finding the common room deku-less and said, "Uh, I'm going to shower then make some food. I'll see you later." His friends blinked at him, "And thanks, or whatever." He turned away before they could say anything, but they seemed to be at a loss for words anyway.
He took the stairs, too anxious to stand around in an elevator; when he made it to his floor he ran straight to his room to grab his things for a shower, his hands shook with anticipation as he did so.
As he showered, Katsuki figured that he should practice what he's going to say to the nerd when he sees him. People do that, right ? Rehearse these things? Katsuki was embarrassed to admit he came out of there with next to nothing prepared, his brain was as fogged up as the bathroom mirror.
He toweled off his blonde hair, angrily mumbling to himself, and wrapped another around his waist. As he walked out of the shower stall and slipped into his sandals, he heard footsteps approaching.
"Bakugou."
"What do you want half and half?"
"Kirishima told you, I hope?"
He grunted an affirmative and kept walking, grabbing his things to go back to his room.
"Hold on. Before you go I need to ask you something."
"No, I'm not going to be an asshole about this. I'm not going to ignore it or scream at him or whatever else It is you think I'll do."
"Oh, I'm glad to hear that Bakugou."
"Mhm. Is that all?"
"No, I want to know what you plan on doing?"
"NONE OF YOUR FUCKING BUSINESS!" Katsuki said and stormed away.
"Stop!" That Todoroki bastard had some audacity, Katsuki was freezing in his towel.
"WHAT?!" He growled back.
"Are you planning to talk to him about it tonight? Because I told him I would bring him dinner, but I think that should be you now. He should wake up soon, if he's not you need to wake him up because he hasn't eaten all day. He took a nap hours ago because he was tired after we spoke."
"I would be too, this shit is fucking exhausting!" Todoroki had the gall to laugh at that, "And besides, I was already planning on making his favorite dish, so save your lame attempt at advice for someone who needs it." At that Todoroki cocked an eyebrow and started to smirk. Katsuki barely caught the "I shouldn't be surprised" the half and half bastard muttered as he walked out the bathroom.
Katsuki made it to his room in a haste, drying off and changing in record time. He even made sure to put some effort into making his hair nice, for some reason. He looked at himself in the mirror in his casual dorm attire, soft blonde hair, and the blush taking over nearly his entire face.
He walked back down to the common area and veered toward the kitchen to make the nerd's favorite dish. Once he was finished making one plain and one spicy plate for Deku and himself respectively, Katsuki covered them in plastic wrap.
He was able to artfully dodge all his nosy classmates that surrounded him. Probably had something to do with him making enough Katsudon for everyone, who was now eating up (which he did so for this reason alone) and therefore too busy to ask him intrusive questions. He rounded up the silverware and napkins he needed for himself and Deku and walked towards the stairs once again.
A chorus of "Good luck bro!" "Knock him dead- but not really!" "Don't take advantage of his current state" was directed at him as he made his way up, and if he had any free hands he would have flipped off their class rep for that last comment. Katsuki would never take advantage of Deku. Fuck four-eyes for even insinuating that shit.
But as he made his way up to Deku's floor, Katsuki slowed his steps. He didn't have any speech prepared, and for some reason, that seemed alright, given Deku's current circumstances. He walked down the hall and took a deep breath, trying (and failing) to steady his heart rate in the process.
He was right in front of Deku's door now.
Shit.
This is it.
He felt his heart rate skyrocket as he moved the plate in his right hand to sit on his left arm so he could knock.
Once, no answer. Twice, still nothing. But he heard shuffling in the room, so he figured the other was coming to the door. He placed the plate back in his right hand just as Deku opened the door.
Deku must have really just rolled out of bed, green hair going in every direction, face slightly swollen, and pink lips lightly chapped with a bit of dried drool coming down one side of his mouth.
Beautiful, Katsuki's mind ardently supplied.
He realized they were both just staring at each other, so Katsuki decided to break the silence.
"I heard you haven't eaten yet." Kacchan cleared his throat, "Neither have I. So, uh, can I come in or whatever?" He lifted the plates in as casual a gesture as he could muster, but he couldn't help the blush that rose to his face. Deku looked directly at him, probably making the blush only get darker then, and the grenette smiled brightly before he spoke up.
"Y-yeah Kacchan, please come on in!" He stepped aside and gestured for Katsuki to come in, only to run ahead of him and hastily clear the crumpled notes and empty water bottles off his desk. "S-sorry, I wasn't expecting you here, or anyone really, to come into my room. That's why it's a mess, also after I embarrassed myself in the cafeteria I kinda just crashed for almost the whole day and didn't have time to clean up my room after my study session late last night. At least it's Saturday night, no school tomorrow!" Katsuki grew annoyed with the plates still warm on his hands as he watched Deku shove seemingly endless amounts of crumpled up papers into his drawers before he finally set his desk chair up and a stool beside it for the both of them to sit on, "So please um, just excuse the mess! I-"
"Deku." Katsuki cut him off before he could continue his anxious mumbling. "I don't care. I'm sure you're as starved as I am, so let's just fucking eat already."
Deku looked at him and blinked. He must be shocked by the gentle tone Katsuki was speaking with. All his usual colorful vocabulary was there, but it lacked his usual callous edge. Deku cleared his throat and snapped himself out of his daze and nodded before taking a seat on the stool. He motioned for Katsuki to sit on the desk chair, the nicer chair obviously, because Katsuki was a guest and Deku wasn't anything if not a gracious host.
"Oh wow! Katsudon!" Deku looked up at him like he could just cry. "My Favorite! Thank you Kacchan!"
"Yeah, anytime nerd. It's not that hard to make anyway." They ate for a few minutes in a heavily palpable silence. Katsuki wonders if he should break the ice with some casual conversation while they eat before they get into the other (and much more difficult) part of this talk.
"I-uh" he hesitated when Deku flinched at the interjection as if he was harshly interrupted from his thoughts. Katsuki continued anyway, "I still don't understand why you love this crap so much."
Deku suddenly stopped eating, put his utensils down, and spoke.
"As a kid, I would always get the words Katsudon and Kacchan mixed up. My mom thought it was so cute, and I just started to demand that my mom make Kacchan for me every night. My mom is a rather amazing cook, so of course, it became my favorite food! It reminded me of you every time I ate it, which I guess made it even better." Deku blushed when he was done speaking, and immediately followed with a much more subdued, "I'm sorry… I uh, I can't really help it. I don't know--ugh..."
"It's okay, Deku."
Objectively, it was not okay.
Katsuki's palms were fucking sweating and he thought he might literally explode if the nerd kept talking this brazenly with him. He'd only meant it as a conversation filler but the nerd had to go and spill his guts again. Not that it was his choice, no. That's precisely why Katsuki is here in the first place. Fuck. How was he meant to get through the rest of this if his heart was beating out of his chest at a simple childhood memory? But that memory was rather sweet. He quickly willed himself to continue, for Deku, who was probably feeling way more intense feelings that he couldn't even control because of that goddamn quirk. He cleared his throat, "Don't apologize."
He'll get the folder out after they are finished eating, and explain it all to Deku, and then slowly tell him how he feels. Yeah, that sounds good! For now, Katsuki just needs to make sure the nerd feels comfortable. He felt his own blush cool down as well before adding, "I just hope my Katsudon holds up, though I know I can't beat auntie's cooking".
"Oh, your Katsudon is amazing! But you're right, nothing beats my mom's."
Katsuki hummed as a response, wanting them to eat in silence for many reasons, one being that he needs the nerd to stop talking and his face to stop blushing as if on command.Thankfully, that's exactly what they did. When the two of them were done eating, Deku stacked their plates up and placed the utensils on top of them. After he was done with this, he looked like he didn't know what to do with himself.
Katsuki, rather than speaking, simply reached behind him and handed the envelope to Deku. "Just read it, then we talk." Katsuki was always the one to grab the bull by the horns, so to speak.
Deku looked scared as he peered from the envelope to Katsuki. Katsuki nodded towards the envelope to encourage him in silence. Not trusting his own voice. "O-okay Kacchan." The blonde watched as his childhood friend carefully opened the envelope and removed the classified documents. He saw the realization flash in Izuku's mind when he read on, and the nerd sat more comfortably in the stool to read more intently.
Katsuki watched him silently, the occasional light gasp or eyebrow scrunch the only indicator that Izuku was digesting the information. It was a relatively short document, so after about seven minutes, green eyes looked up at Katsuki.
"Hidden Truths?"
"Yeah, I guess she didn't want to give it a name, but for the consensus, they kind of needed to, so the interviewer just put that on file. Kind of lame, if you ask me."
"Who gave you this?"
"Kirishima brought it to me. Apparently, your dumb friends got it from the old lady right after you went to sleep, she brought it straight to them after questioning that bitch about her quirk. They should have handed it over to you, but I guess they were really worried about you and read ahead. Uh, and with the invasion of privacy aside, I'm kind of glad they did. Because they gave it to my friends who thought it would be helpful for me to know, as well."
"I see." Deku chuckled.
"Yeah" Katsuki responded, not sure what to say. Damnit. He really should have planned this.
"Listen, I'm sorry Kacchan. You didn't need to hear all that. This morning. I- I didn't even realize what my feelings for you were until this morning, okay? I- I hope this doesn't ruin things between us." Deku's eyes were brimmed with tears now, "We're at a better place in our friendship now and I would hate to go back to before when y-you h-hated me. I could never go back to that Kacchan, I would die."
"Stupid idiot! I love you."
Deku blanched.
FUCK! So much for subtly easing into it , Katsuki thought.
"I..." Deku looked at him with tearful wide green eyes, "Don't joke about this, Kacchan. My heart has already been through enough today."
No. No no no. That is not what this is, stupid Deku!
"I'm not. Uh… fuck okay let me explain." Katsuki took a deep breath. "I only realized this shit today too, okay? Cut me some fucking slack."
"But Kacchan--"
"No, shut up. You've done enough talking today as it is, and none of it was from your own will. It was forced out of you by some bitch I let get to you, so the very least I can do is fucking force it out of me too."
"Don't do that! You c-can't," Deku was bawling now, "force yourself to love me out of pity!"
"DEKU GODDAMNIT," Katsuki actively stopped himself from screaming further, working hard to calm his nerves along with his irritation with the latter for taking this all so wrong. "I thought I told you to shut up already! Look, whatever you're thinking, that's not fucking it. Shut the hell up, let me say what I gotta say, then you can speak when I'm done, got it?"
Deku only nodded in response, wiping the remaining tears from his cheeks. Katsuki took a deep breath and then continued.
"Okay, so, uh, what I just said, I meant it. You know I'm not one to sugarcoat shit, and I sure as hell wouldn't lead you on with this bullshit, okay? I just wanted to say that out front so you would stop your annoying word vomit. Do you really think I could hate you? After everything we've been through?"
"I'm not sur-"
"Deku. I'm not done. Shut the fuck up." Deku sat up straighter at that, looked directly into Katsuki's eyes, and bit his lip. Cute. "I- when you said what you said in front of everyone, I freaked the fuck out. And at first, I was dead-set on believing you were actually hit by some backward quirk and you secretly hated my guts. That made way more sense than what you said this morning."
Deku made a noise of protest, but Katsuki put his hand up.
"Let me finish. But then Kirishima and the other extras showed me the document that practically confirmed that you felt those things, and although they were forced out of you, I remember feeling so much relief after that. And with that weight coming off my shoulders I was able to reflect on, well, my own feelings that I hadn't ever engaged with because I never cared about that shit. But this shit show kinda forced me to finally think about uh, my insecurities, or whatever. And I realized I was most afraid of the prospect of you hating me."
"I could never hate Kacchan." Deku reached his hand out to wipe the tears spilling from Katsuki's eyes. Huh, when had I even started crying?
"I know, nerd. We're the same. I could never hate you, and you could never hate me. You love me, and I love you." Katsuki sighed, "And before you say anything, no, I'm not saying this just because I don't like the idea of you hating me. I'm saying it because it's true. I love you.
"But why? I don't get it, Kacchan."
He took another deep breath. This part, he didn't even have to prepare. This part came as easy as breathing, now.
"I love you because you make me want to be a better person, a better hero, a better friend, and all that shit."
Deku suddenly jumped into Katsuki's lap for a tight hug, which the blonde accepted with open arms.
"Thank you, Kacchan. You know you've always been my image of victory. You are the person who always lit a fire in my heart for better or worse to never give up on what I want. I'm just shocked that you actually feel the same way about me when I didn't even know I felt this way", he dreamily added, "Kacchan catches up to me so easily !"
"I'm glad this is out in the open now, it's like we're finally on the same page after years of being steps away from each other or completely misreading shit like I was."
"What did Kacchan and his friends even talk about?" Deku backed away from their hug to look at him with wonder. "It's like you're a different person now, that you've opened up yourself like this to me."
"I'll never tell." Katsuki smiled grinned when Deku pouted at the strict response. "But I will tell you that I'm sorry. Not just for how I treated you in the past, that is something I'll have to apologize for with my actions for the rest of my life. But I'm also sorry that it took a goddamn quirk forcing you to tell me your feelings, for me to realize my own..."
Deku hummed, looking as if he's contemplating something.
"Is that all?" Deku asked after a beat. Katsuki nodded, and Deku continues "I feel like I might be dreaming."
"Heh?"
"I just woke up from a dream about you…" he turned towards his bed and lazily added, "Maybe I'm still dreaming?"
Katsuki's cheeks felt infinitely warmer at that comment, contemplating something of his own.
"You're not dreaming," he grinned before making a pointed and split-second decision, "Izuku."
"See, that right there, Kacchan calling me Izuku, that's dream Kacchan." He tsked, seeming angry at his believed circumstances. "I hate this dream! Make it a reality, Kacchan!" Izuku spoke through an annoyingly cute pout.
"You're so goddamn annoying", Katsuki replied fondly before leaning into Izuku's personal space. "What do I have to do to help you realize this is not a damn dream, huh? Kiss you?"
Izuku gasped, before looking down in his lap with a bright red blush dusting his cheeks. Katsuki watched intensely as the boy licked his lips.
Then he said something amazing
"Yes, Kacchan. Please kiss me."
And they both moved at once.
They met somewhere in the middle, soft lips tenderly fit around each other at a slow and calculated pace. Far be it for the explosive blonde to be this deliberate with any of his movements, but it couldn't be helped. He wanted to savor this moment and sear it into his mind forever. Izuku's lips were incredibly soft, tasted like his katsudon, and now the nerd fucking smiling against his own lips.
When scarred hands rested around the back of his neck, Katsuki felt another shiver run down his spine.
Izuku pulled away slowly, but not before softly biting at Katsuki's lower lip, which made him let out a growl that startled them both.
They kept their foreheads together, breathing in their shared air.
Katsuki closed his eyes. He could get used to this.
"Yeah, I still think I might be dreaming. Could you do that again?"
Katsuki let out a goddamn giggle. Izuku had him fucking giggling now.
He crashed their lips together again to hide his own embarrassment.
Izuku looked drunk like this, cheeks painted red from the warmth that emulated where their bodies met, his lips swollen red, and his emerald eyes heavily lidded. Somewhere between either their fourth or fifth go, they moved their makeout session onto Izuku's bed. The greenete practically melted into Katsuki, this time burrowing his face against Katsuki's neck and rubbing his nose against the blonde's nape, sending yet another shiver down his spine.
"Does this make Kacchan my boyfriend now?"
Katsuki would have exploded at hearing those words in any other setting. But right now Izuku had his arms wrapped around Katsuki's torso, scarred fingers gingerly rubbing circles over any surface he could find, and all he felt was warmth.
He didn't peg himself for a cuddler, but Katsuki had no idea cuddling could feel this goddamn good.
And now that he knows this fact, Katsuki wouldn't dare to ever let it go.
"Fuck yeah, it does."
Katsuki was on the edge of falling asleep when he finally asked, "So that dream you had about me..."
Izuku hummed directly onto Katsuki's neck, making the blonde hair on the back of it stand up.
He muttered against his skin, "What about it?"
"Tell me about it."
"It was weird. I don't think I've ever had this dream before, but it still felt so familiar. I was about to confess to you, but you seemed to already know exactly what I was going to say before I said it. Like you already knew how I felt."
Katsuki scoffed at that, "I wish."
"You do?"
"Yeah, If I knew you felt this way about me before, we could have been doing this a lot longer."
Izuku looked up from his spot to send him a look that Katsuki could only describe as smug. "Oh, does Kacchan like cuddling me?"
"Fuck yeah. Wanna do this forever." He hugged his boyfriend tighter.
He made a choked sound at the other's honesty, "A-are we sure Kacchan wasn't also hit with a quirk?" He giggled maniacally, just barely dodging the pillow aimed at his face.
END
Chapter End Notes
And there you have it, folks!
Thank you all for being so patient and waiting for this last chapter. I'm thinking of possibly writing an epilogue for this one 3
And I'm already writing a KageHina fic that's somehow even cuter than this one, so stay tuned if you're interested in that one!
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Afterword
End Notes
Hi! Thanks for reading :)
I hope this trope isn't worn out, I personally really like a good truth-quirk story, even if it puts our protagonists in an unfair position.
I just thought I would make it interesting by giving the quirk in question a bit of mystery as well, so please do stick around to find out what that is!
So what did you think? Do you like it so far?
The author gets motivated to write and edit when they read constructive comments and thoughts from readers!
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