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Every memorable story has a beginning, a middle and an end. The small concepts found within these define what some consider to be great but make no mistake. What really sticks to your bones as a reader is how it all started and the feeling it leaves behind when it finally ends. We forgive the author the angst, the heartbreak and the sadness when we see the happily ever after. We find it hard to dwell on the good when tragedy overtakes us at the end.
For class A, watching the story of Bakugou Katsuki versus Midoriya Izuku is much the same way. They missed much of the beginning to be sure, so for them it starts as two boys announced as childhood friends who grew up together in constant heat and altercation for the majority of their first year. Then it was the inspiration the two bred within them as they championed for the number one spot. It changed into watching the two sneaking away for extra training, then stolen moments of uncharacteristic softness witnessed from the shadows when the two thought no one was watching.
The common trope of “Will they? Or won’t they?” playing out on a green field and on tiled floors instead of a shiny silver screen. Nonetheless, it was better than any drama from any gifted playwright because it was real.
To some in class A it was never a matter of if so much as it was matter of when.
So they watched curiously and silently, showing support in their own small ways until finally they could sit at a reception sipping champagne saying:
I told you so.
Kaminari Denki
“Fucking nerd!” Bakugou screamed from across the floor, chunks of cement pelting the ground like rain, sending the bulk of the class running while shielding their sensitive skulls from the onslaught. Bakugou, however, trudged forward, at one point catching debris straight from midair so he could throw it threateningly at the trembling green haired boy at the opposite side of the room.
“Wahh-chan! Please would you just...”
“Just nothing shitty nerd, you didn’t sleep properly last night. D’ya asshole?”
Denki smirked to himself as he watched. Denki wasn’t the brightest bulb in the room, despite his innate ability allowing him to control electricity, but it had never been more obvious to him that Bakugou Katsuki was only furious over one thing despite his aggressive demeanor.
“I did!” Izuku began to argue but the angry blonde merely clicked his tongue. Never stopping his frontal assault for a single moment.
“You fucking didn’t!” Bakugou screamed back. “I expect you to fight me with 100% loser! One-fucking-hundred. I want to beat you at your best! I can’t do that if you’re running low on energy cause your punk ass didn’t sleep last night!”
Bakugou was red faced and seething, spittle flying from his mouth in a glorious spray of undulating anger that rolled and crashed over the smaller boy. Pulling poor Midoriya Izuku down into a torrent of anxiety as he frantically waved his arms back and forth trying desperately to assuage his rival’s temper. Assuring him that he surely was trying his best to defeat his beloved Kacchan.
Denki has been watching this shit for three years. Bakugou Katsuki was a man who said what he meant but never said what he felt. Not in so many words. His language to those he cared about came in small acts of service. So, when the angry blonde grabbed Midoriya by the back of his hero costume, dragging him bodily from the floor to shower, eat and rest Denki couldn’t help but chuckle. Some saw aggression, but Denki saw it for what it truly was instead: adoration.
Bakugou screamed die as he literally threw Izuku through the double doors toward the locker rooms, but his actions clearly stated, live. Live better, live longer. Take care of yourself because you matter to me. Because I care.
Denki was quite sure Izuku didn’t see it that way, but there was nothing more auspiciously obvious as Bakugou’s unadulterated affection for the class green bean.
It was kind of sad.
You could cut the air with a knife whenever the two brawled. The taste of smoke lingering in the air, electricity crackling on your tongue. It made you wanna adjust your jockstrap as it stifled your dick. Two perfect sweaty bodies gyrating and grinding against each other in a heated battle too lewd for prying eyes and yet class A had been given a front row seat for three...long…years.
Fuck.
“Think Bakugou will ever stop this aggressive form of flirting?” Jirou asked sidling up to her boyfriend with a smirk toying at the edges of her mouth.
Denki smiled and intertwined their fingers, laughing loudly as a vociferous scream and thunderous crash came from the showers.
“Nah.” He answered, “Bakugou doesn’t do anything, like, not aggressively. Why should love be any different?”
“Poor Midoriya,” Jirou mumbled but Denki shook his head.
“Lucky Midoriya,” he said, his voice uncharacteristically soft and thoughtful. “Bakugou is a scary dude, sure, but we all know how it feels having him on your team.”
Jirou quirked a purple eyebrow just as the sound of an explosion sounded followed by a long drawn out “Kaaaa-chaaaan!” filling the space like a dead man’s last plea for air.
“Never mind,” Denki quipped, his eyes wide as smoke leaked from under the heavy steel doors and out onto the training ground.
He shuddered to know what kind of mayhem lay on the other side.
“Poor Midoriya.”
~*~*~*~*~
Uraraka Ochako
“Deku-kun!”
Uraraka raised up in her seat, leaning heavily on the table and almost toppling it over as she waved excitedly to her best friend. Tea spilt from Iida’s cup to pool and run down the table. Shouto nonchalantly grabbed his orange before it rolled away and Ochako smiled back at them sheepishly. Faint, however, was Iida’s chiding in her ears as she waited for her bestie to stroll over with his characteristically large and sleepy smile that was better than summer sunshine. All prominent green curls standing in stark contrast to the beige walls of the dormitory; a veritable fount of happiness that encapsulated boyhood charm and friendliness.
Lunch Rush had prepared a breakfast fit for kings that morning! All kinds of classic American sweet snacks- pancakes, doughnuts, cinnamon rolls. It was her favorite day of the week and she always arrived early to snag all hers and Deku’s preferences before the rest of the savages in their class came down to claim the sugary sweetness for themselves. Boys who worked out constantly, as did most of class A, required large protein and carb sources in order to keep up their energy and build muscle. Therefore, petite brown eyed girls had to be quick, or they would be left hungry.
Deku’s wide green eyes searched for her until they crinkled in happiness. A genuine skip in his step as he crossed the room to greet her where she sat with their friends. He approached the table with his normal cheer, eyes scrunched up by his wide smile as he slid into his seat, greeting them in his normal ebullient way. His eyes blew wide like a child’s as Uraraka slid a large chocolate glazed doughnut towards him, like a cartoon character about to have his first meal after being stranded on a deserted island; Floating lazily on a perfect aromatic cloud of sugary goodness. His sweet red mouth mumbling a million miles a minute as he thanked her for grabbing his favorite before they disappeared.
No sooner, though, had Deku reached for it when a rough, calloused palm reached out and grabbed his arm at the wrist.
“What the fuck, nerd?” Katsuki rumbled, his eyes murderous as he gazed at his adorable nerd.
Yes, his. Uraraka had no doubt about this. She had hoped they could share custody of the amiable boy but as their final year progressed so had Katsuki’s ownership of Izuku.
“Are you gonna blow your workout before we even make it to the fucking gym?”
The heat between them was palpable. It sizzled against her skin and made her wet and uncomfortable. These two were a Yaoi fangirl’s wet dream. Childhood friends turned rivals turned lovers. What an amazing flavor. She sighed as she watched them. Katsuki’s blazing ember eyes roving the exposed expanse of Deku’s skin in his oversized t-shirt that slid off one shoulder. Katsuki looked absolutely ravenous and Uraraka quickly shoved a large chunk of cinnamon roll in her gaping maw to keep it busy before she began to drool.
Deku’s mouth formed a soft pout, the crystalline green eyes sparkling with want. Some may think it was for the doughnut Katsuki was threatening to take away, but Uraraka knew her best friend. As the two men argued over Deku’s nutrition, she saw the way those effervescent emerald pools darted down to the cherry blossom pink lips of the explosive blonde a little too often to be considered an accident.
If someone wrote a fanfiction of this shit she would kudo, comment and subscribe.
When Katsuki made to grab for Deku’s doughnut the green haired boy quickly grabbed it first, teal lightning dancing across his skin as he rose to his feet in one fluid movement before cramming it all in his mouth and huffing triumphantly. His eyes watered and sparkled as he tried to force it all in, cheeks round and full, a single tear trekking down the constellation of freckles on his cheek. Uraraka watched as Katsuki tracked it with his eyes, the soft pink tip of his tongue wetting his lower lip as if to taste the salty treasure before he scoffed.
Soon Deku was up and running, his beloved Kacchan hot on his heels. Deku was spluttering and gagging as he tried to swallow the large lump of dry bread, while Katsuki was yelling at him to at least ‘drink some fucking water, ya damn moron’.
The chase ending in a tickling match against the dorm refrigerator where Katsuki looked murderous in his intent. To the trained eye, which Uraraka undoubtedly had after watching these two for three years, the edges of Katsuki’s mouth were clearly up ticked into a small smirk as he forced himself not to smile the way he wanted. He slapped Deku on the back a little too hard as he spluttered and choked around the bread dough in his mouth before pouring him a glass of water from the sink. Katsuki was so gentle with Izuku. Everyone saw the roughness, heard the insults. The others being so loud they sometimes drowned out the quiet moments such as these to people’s memories but not Uraraka’s.
She saw the slow lift of the glass to Deku’s mouth; the movement deliberate and full of care, the red eyes garnet and glowing with concern as he rubbed the other’s back while he drank. She saw the rosy blush that crept up Deku’s neck as he locked eyes with Katsuki, whispering a sweet thank you against the other’s palm as the blonde wiped a drop of water from Deku’s bottom lip. For a long moment the two stared at one another, their bodies close enough to touch, their breath mingling against one another’s skin- each one completely lost within the other.
Kiss him! Her brain screamed, Kiss him!
Alas, the kiss would be a story for another day. Kirishima pranced into the kitchen and threw an arm around his best friend, cajoling and canoodling Katsuki back into the other room to eat with their friend group.
She watched Izuku sigh and relax against the fridge. His shoulders almost slumped in disappointment as he watched the retreating back of his oldest friend and greatest love. His large fingertips grazing the spot where Katuski’s hand last traced. Her friend seemed to shake himself, before taking in a large breath and exiting the kitchen with downcast eyes. Missing how Katsuki looked back longingly over his shoulder at Izuku’s retreating form.
So romantic.
~*~*~*~*~
Tokoyami Fumikage
“When are those two going to kiss and get it over with?” Dark Shadow murmured lowly by his master’s ear.
“Quiet,” Tokoyami scolded, peeling his apple from the kitchen bar as Bakugou and Midoriya sat silently studying alone in the common room.
He had felt peckish and came down for a midnight snack, being careful to stick to partial shadow as to not disturb his two classmates who sat in comfortable bedtime clothes, heads almost resting one against the other. Blonde bleeding into green. Of course, being so covered in darkness, gave his quirk the ability to be much more assertive than usual.
“I’m going to yell at them to get a freaking room,” Dark Shadow taunted, “Or better yet to get a freakin’ clue!”
“You’ll do no such thing Dark Shadow,” Tokoyami warned, his calm voice full of reproach. “You know as well as I that revelries in the dark belong only to the whims of those who live them. It is not our business to intrude upon a private moment.”
“It’s not private!” his quirk argued in an aggravated tone, “They’re in the common room.”
“And yet they are utterly alone,” Tokoyami countered. “Let them move at their own pace.”
“Bullshit.” Dark Shadow murmured, retreating back from Tokoyami’s shoulder until he fell into the shadows crafted by the single kitchen light that glowed golden from above the sink.
“Love is often blind. It hides in shadows and surprises us when we least expect it.” Tokoyami mused as he popped a crisp, juicy piece of apple in his beak.
He chew thoughtfully for a moment before speaking again.
“I don’t believe they yet realize the depth or brevity of their emotions towards one another.”
“Duh.” His shadow answered. “That’s obvious.”
“Is it?” He questioned. “I believe they know that there is attraction, even desire to be close. Neither know that they are in love not because the emotion isn’t felt but because it is ignored.”
“That makes no sense.”
“It certainly does!” Tokoyami snapped, having had enough of his mouthy shadow’s antics for one night before moving into a brighter space in the hallway as he retreated back towards the elevator.
“They have lost their way once and fear doing so again. The risk of losing one another far outweighing their desire to be together.” He sighed as he pushed the elevator call button and turned to face Dark Shadow who looked at him curiously from his perch.
“What I mean to say is, they would rather have something rather than nothing.”
“So, they’re cowards,” Dark shadow deadpanned, excellently punctuated by the ding of the elevator as the doors swished open.
“Yes, dear friend,” Tokoyami chuckled. “I suppose they are, but we are all fools in love and fear is the natural instinct that keeps us safe.”
~*~*~*~*~
Ashido Mina
Mina twirled her fuzzy pink pen nimbly between her fingers as Present Mic dwelled on and on about some dead English chick and the book she wrote. The language was so boring and despite loving a good romance drama, Mina had a hard time concentrating on it. Her eyes glazed over as her mind drifted through the various topics on her social media she had perused just that morning. That was when she had her brilliant idea.
She would search through the various content creators on her favorite platform for insights and summaries on the stupid book, Pride Juice or something… she couldn’t be sure. She hadn’t been paying attention. It was amazing how a hero so loud and obnoxious as Present Mic could drive a girl to boredom with his choice in books. Why did they have to read this lame-o crap to speak English properly anyway?
It was ridiculous.
When the bell finally tolled the sound of her release she gathered up her things in her cute zebra print backpack and huffed. Good grades in academics didn’t really reflect on whether or not you’d be a good hero per se, but agencies looked at it, nonetheless. So, if she wanted an attractive offer after graduation in two weeks then she would have to at least apply some kind of minimal effort. She didn’t have to ace the stupid discussion tomorrow. She just needed to be able to participate. Therefore, she would learn enough tonight to be able to fool Present Mic into thinking she had done the reading.
Bet.
*
Mina was crying, sniveling into her miso soup like it had personally offended her somehow. She bawled harder when a piece of tofu refused to stay put on her spoon and wailed upwards toward the heavens as if to beg the gods themselves to take mercy upon her.
“Mina, sweetheart,” Kirishima asked softly, disturbed by his girlfriend’s theatrics at seven in the morning and thoroughly confused.
No nails on her slender hands were broken, her eyeliner was, as she would say- ‘on point’. Her trendy block heel sneakers were a sparkling white, and the bubble gum curls meticulously coifed. So why, why was she crying?
“What’s wrong baby?” he cooed. “Tell me. Maybe I can help?”
“Bakugou is Mr. Darcey!” She wailed. The scrupulous black eyeliner now trailing down the high cheekbones in watery midnight ribbons.
Her boyfriend could only scratch his head.
This was because he did not read the assignment either, having elected instead to stay up late playing Smash Bros with Denki. So he genuinely had no clue who the hell Mr. Darcy was, or why he and Bakugou were the same.
“Um, okay,” he began but Mina slapped a manicured hand over his mouth and in a pained whisper retorted.
“You don’t get it! Bakugou is unfriendly, rich, good looking and acts like he hates everyone. Izuku is poor, and smart and has ‘fine eyes’.”
“He does?” a scared, terse male voice whispered back, causing Mina to nod furiously.
“Yes,” she affirmed, “And Bakugou is in love with him but can’t admit it. When he does our poor Izuku will reject him because he’s too proud and then come to realize he misses him!”
“I feel like that’s already happened,” Kirishima murmured causing Mina’s glowing golden eyes to perk up immediately.
“It has?” she questioned.
“Well, not exactly that way I guess but yeah. They had a big fight first year, that’s why they’re so cool with one another now.”
“They are?” she asked, her voice pleading and full of the naïve hope that true love conquers all.
“Yeah totally!” Kirishima said. Filled with confidence his normal jolly air once again infiltrated the sultry thick voice as he squeezed his girlfriend’s shoulder and planted a tender kiss to her tearstained cheek. “They’re bros!”
“Waahhhhhh!” Mina cried, her shoulders now shaking.
She had been up for a solid twenty-four hours now. Watching videos, reading cliff notes, then watching a movie (that was so beautiful- goddamn you Joe Wright) before finally succumbing to the temptation to actually read the book. Granted she skipped over the boring parts. Who cares about Lydia anyway?
“Bros but not hoes? They deserve to be hoes Eiji. HOES!”
She sometimes believed her boyfriend’s brain really was made of rocks. How could he not understand what was happening? What had been happening under their noses this whole time? A real life romance novel unfolding, wicked in its delivery, poignant in its intensity, all encompassing as it filled the air around the two oblivious males it spoke of.
It was true love.
Granted, there were other couples who were truly in love on campus. She and Eiji of course, Denki and Jirou but this? Ah! This was the love stories that became legends! The wonder duo on and off the field. A deep set and rooted affection that bloomed through adversity to become bigger and better over time. It was the epitome of romance.
“Hoes?” Kirishima asked softly, the confusion evident in his crimson eyes as they darted over to where their two classmates sat swapping notes from the previous day’s assignments.
“Yes Eiji hoes. Gah! Boys are so stupid!” She then angrily got up and abandoned the miso soup. Snatching up her small pink purse and stalking to the bathroom to wipe her eyes and reapply her eyeliner.
Her sneakers made a satisfying slap against the tile as she stalked forwards, wholly possessed; a woman on a mission. She pushed open the door with both hands, relishing in the hard ‘crash’ it made against the wall, the onomatopoeia to her internal breaking. She stared at her haggard reflection and sighed. She fumbled to open her bag and pulled out the small black pen, carefully crafting a crisp, clean wing on each eye. The monotonous task allowing her brain to cruise about on autopilot.
It had taken Lady Catharine forbidding Lizzie to be with Mr. Darcy to catapult Lizzie into her feelings. Sure, they had been present before but allowing the heroine to defend her ability to choose love for herself regardless of station or circumstance surely helped! Maybe that was all those two ridiculous boys needed.
So Mina formed a plan to be the catalyst to their confession.
*
“Bakugo I absolutely fobid you from sparring with Midoriya today!” She declared in the middle of training, one long purple nail pointed accusingly at the blonde’s ample chest. “You’re an asshole who doesn’t appreciate him. His time is better spent with Todoroki as a partner.”
She threw emphasis on the last word, hoping it’s innuendo would sink in and settle like a stone in Blasty’s balls.
“Nerd can practice with whoever he wants,” Bakugou shrugged, feigning a look of nonchalance though Mina didn’t miss the malevolence hidden in the fiery irises before he looked sideways at the floor.
“Good!” She said, clapping her hands together and clasping them in front of her. “Todoroki, be a sweetheart and show Midoriya a good time, would ya?”
“What are you doing?” Kirishima chittered softly through his teeth, a nervous grin plastered on his face.
“What has to be done,” she muttered back.
“I suppose I can,” Todoroki said in his droll voice, either unconcerned or unaware that Mina was poking the beast that was Bakugou Katsuki.
“Good. He deserves a nice partner. Someone who will be kind to him and treat him right.” She huffed crossing her arms triumphantly across her chest with a smirk.
“Do you want me to die? I thought you loved me!” Kirishima whisper yelled but Mina saw the hurt that crossed over Bakugou’s face.
Damn. Maybe she went too far.
“Stop it Mina!” Midoriya yelled, the normally kind eyes incensed and burning. A radioactive green that promised devastation. “Don’t ever say something like that. Kacchan and I get along just fine.”
“Fine isn’t good enough,” she retorted.
“Miii-naaa,” Kirishima whined but his crybaby pleas fell on deaf ears.
“You deserve the best…”
“Kacchan is the best!” Midoriya yelled back.
The whole class was silent.
Cementoss was silent.
The damn universe was silent.
Excpet for Bakugou Katsuki, who scoffed and smirked triumphantly.
“You heard him Pinky,” He said, his normal bravado once again clearly evident on his sharp, pointed features as he gestured for Midoriya to follow him.
“Sure did,” she whispered as her heart swelled with joy.
Mission complete. That was as good as a confession.
~*~*~*~*~
Todoroki Shouto
Shouto was known for his conspiracy theories, or more so, he was known for his ability at being so far off the mark that it was comical. So, it should come as no surprise that when he made mention of the obvious attraction and burgeoning relationship between one Midoriya Izuku and Bakugou Katsuki that his sister laughed long and full into the phone until she couldn’t breathe.
“Oh Sho,” Fuyumi breathed between giggles, “You do say the weirdest things. Those two can’t get on long enough to share a meal, let alone share a bed!”
It wasn’t Fuyumi’s fault that she thought he was crazy, because to any outsider it would seem asinine to believe such a far-fetched fairytale.
But that’s what it was and Shouto knew it.
Bakugo and Midoriya were living a fairytale, a romance only believed by small children snuggled under blankets at bedtime. From childhood friends to enemies. To estranged then begrudging respect.
It would soon blossom into the greatest love story in their class and Shouto was fascinated while watching it. He frequently invited the two for training at his father’s agency, somewhat fawning over the easy banter and chemistry between the two. Taking notes on how they talked without words, moved without cognition. Two polar opposites pulled and pushed apart yet somehow still tethered together with the irrevocably volatile red string of fate.
It gave him hope for himself and Inasa. Their relationship was much the same way after all. At least to a small degree. The two men found themselves now with a tenuous friendship, teetering on the edge of estranged and begrudging respect. Shouto needed to know how to cross the line from rival to lover and since his observations were yielding no prominent results, he decided to simply…ask.
He quickly finished up his call with his sister, finalizing their dinner plans for that weekend before jogging up to where the explosive hero stood stretching out his muscles from the day’s training.
“How did you make Midoriya fall in love with you?”
“Hah?!” The angry blonde screamed, a fine spray assaulting Shouto’s face as he closed his eyes against the onslaught of harsh adjectives that flew from Bakugou’s mouth. The vehement, violent denial reaching everywhere but the cinnabar gaze that leveled Shouto with a look that begged a single question:
Does he really?
It was then, on the hardwood of the gymnasium that Shouto realized that their love story was obvious to everyone but them.
“You really are clueless, aren’t you?” Shouto murmured softly with a smirk. “Well, I suppose this is the one thing I’m better at then you.”
“You take that back you half-and-half piece of shit!” Bakugou fumed, but Shouto only grinned.
Instead of taking the bait and rising to the challenge presented by Bakugou’s proud countenance and venomous sneer he instead called out to his friend who sat drinking water with his back against the cold concrete wall.
“Midoriya, I have two tickets to the new All Might art exhibition in Kyoto this weekend .”
The small but stout viridian haired boy rose to the bait like a greyhound chasing a hare.
“Oh, um, you do?” he asked softly, his eyes twinkling with want.
Bingo.
“Yes, but I’m afraid my father has asked me to work here at the agency. I thought perhaps you and Bakugou could take the tickets instead. Katsuki has already accepted and is looking forward to it. He’ll pick you up at the dorms at 9am Saturday so don’t be late, okay?”
“Oh!” Izuku cried, immediately standing up, fists clenched in front of him as he vibrated in excitement. “I won’t! Thank you Sho. Thank you Kacchan!”
Still mumbling more words than any human brain could ever decipher Izuku ran quickly over to the taller two boys and threw his arms around them. Both bristled in discomfort before Sho relaxed and hugged his friend in return. He leaned deep into it, waiting for the shock to wear off Bakugou’s face before mouthing the words:
You’re welcome.
~*~*~*~*~
The amount of people at the art opening was stupid. The noise was obnoxious. The air sticky and humid from too many bodies shoved into too small a space but somehow, Bakugou Katsuki found himself tolerating all the noise and inconvenience.
How could he not? When he had showed up outside the dormitory at 8:45am that morning Deku was already waiting for him. And well, the nerd looked, kind of, nice. He was in a deep plum sweater with a v-neck, dark form fitting jeans and loafers. Yes, real shoes and not the hideous red monstrosities that he normally wore. His curls were tamed, and there appeared to be light traces of make-up on his face though his freckles still shone through in the early morning light. He had half expected Deku to show up in his favorite All Might merch but was pleased to see the nerd had elected to dress up instead. Afterall, it was in some hoity-toity museum to celebrate the new artwork by Nakimura Shoji. A painter who was famous for exclusively painting heroes, villains and famous battles.
As Bakugo took a moment to appreciate the way the sunlight kissed Deku’s freckles he was suddenly overwhelmed by a single thought.
This is a date.
Holy. Fuck.
He had thought the icy-hot bastard’s final words had been a jab at making Katsuki do something unwanted. You know, a way of striking it to him but it appears the idiot had in fact meant something else entirely.
You’re welcome.
Well, shit.
Did he look okay? Did he smell okay? Did his breath sink? Should he hold his hand? His brain was suddenly completely overwhelmed with the idea that he was on his first real date, with his first and only crush.
Luckily, the natural buoyancy the two had achieved over the past two years took over and they fell into easy conversation on their walk to the train station. Deku mumbling a million miles a minute about the craziest things while Katsuki interjected with the occasional grunt or opinion. They sat close enough to touch on the train, the conversation stilling as the two exchanged nervous glances, both beet red from embarrassment. Luckily however with the chill March weather they could simply pretend it was from the cold that still lingered in the air.
They would be graduating in two weeks and going to their new agency. Deku had known since his first year that he would follow LeMillion to Sir Nighteye’s old agency and after lots of pleading and painstaking research had coerced Katsuki into joining him as part of a duo. Their contracts were already signed, so in a way, they had already decided to spend their future days together. To depend on one another in life and death, to spend each day in one another’s company. So, what was one more layer?
Their last two weeks would be studying and finals, so realistically this was their last weekend free to do anything fun. Their final weekend in the dorms would be spent partying with all the Class A chuckleheads so there wouldn’t be a single second to be alone.
So maybe the prick Todoroki was right and Katsuki should thank him.
*
Kacchan was easily the most handsome man in any room when he wasn’t scowling. The title always seemed to go to Todoroki, the Class A prince, as the girls called him, but Kacchan outshined him by far in Izuku’s opinion. His skin was clear, his features sharp and pointed. The crimson eyes had a gaze sharp enough to kill a man, and if that didn’t get you his razor-sharp tongue would. Kacchan was intelligent and caring. Even if that care was often accompanied with curse words and screaming.
Then there was his body. Izuku had fantasized about gripping those shoulders tight and scratching angry red marks down his rival’s muscular back more times than he cared to admit. You would have to be crazy to not be attracted to the handsome hero, and Izuku Midoriya might be reckless, but he wasn’t crazy. Over the past few months he had finally made peace with the idea that he was falling in love with his oldest friend but despite the reconciliation between his conscious thought and his feelings, he had never once considered asking for more.
Until today.
Katsuki was in straight black jeans, a red sweater and leather jacket. Around his neck on a black leather cord was a piece of deep green malachite cut into a circle. Izuku had bought it on a whim at a street fair in Musutafu after the vendor told him it was good for emotional balance. Turns out, according to Mina anyway, that Malachite was also good for the zodiac sign Taurus which Katsuki was. Izuku hadn’t known that at the time of course, only thinking that it would be nice to see Kacchan in the color green and that he definitely needed some balance in his life when it came to his emotions. What the fates hadn’t told him however was how unbalanced his own emotions would become seeing Kacchan in a gift he had bought him every day. He didn’t wear it with his hero costume of course, but there was something incredibly erotic about a bare chested Kacchan dripping in sweat wearing Izuku’s necklace around his neck as he smirked down at him.
Not even two weeks later Katsuki had tossed Izuku his own necklace claiming they were ‘3ven now’. Whatever that meant. It was an orange stone called Carnelian. It had deep sweeps of burning red, shoots of white with some small speckles of black and it immediately made Izuku think of his rival’s eyes. He had looked the stone up of course, now that he knew they meant things, and was happy to see it supported creativity, confidence and the ability to lead. It also apparently aided and opened up your uh, sex…stuff.
Not that Izuku was looking to sleep with his best friend! All the time. Or wait, he did of course want to maybe someday have a relationship with the volatile man but… dear Kami did Kacchan give him a sex crystal?
And so with that knowledge Izuku had spent the next month in a spiral of carnal lust where every twitch of Katsuki’s muscles made his dick ache while his brain sang ‘Sex crystal! Sex crystal!”
It was Mina’s fault but now that he stood shoulder to shoulder with his debonair and crass hero partner, their hands softly brushing together as they walked into the exhibit while both proudly wore each other’s gifts around their necks? He couldn’t help but feel like part of a matched set in the best way. It felt like ownership or a declaration of sorts.
From the beginning of their day, with Katsuki’s long lithe form casually strolling up to him on the UA grounds, his hands deep in his pockets but shoulders uncharacteristically straight, dandelion hair highlighted platinum by the sun, and the ruby eyes razing Izuku’s soul to the slow, gentle conversation as they walked; It seemed to Izuku that each moment was building into something bigger then he could fathom. A crescendo that would lead to a long-awaited conclusion. Their train ride home would last just over four hours and it would be well after midnight when they arrived back to the dorms. Maybe just maybe, tonight was the night that changed everything.
There was simply no denying that the air between them was charged with something electric, tiny neutron bombs landing to burst between them like a private fireworks show that only they could see and he knew Kacchan could feel it too. It was evident in his tense muscles as he casually kept a steady hand upon Izuku’s back so they didn’t become separated. Evident in the small smiles he tried to hide behind his hand. So, Izuku touched his necklace for luck, took a deep calming breath then grabbed Kacchan’s hand.
To his utter delight the other boy didn’t pull away. Instead, the older merely groaned before lacing their fingers together and allowing himself to be dragged over towards the tiny hors d’oeuvres and punch.
~*~*~*~*~
Mina, Kaminari, Uraraka, Todoroki and Tokoyami sat in the common room passing around tubs of green tea ice cream and chatting in animated whispers with one another as they awaited the wonder duo’s return to campus. Tokoyami was unusually talkative as he discussed ghost stories and abandoned buildings with Mina and Denki while Uraraka and Todoroki laughed as they stuffed their cheeks with lychee flavored mochi. In two week they would be splitting up to various agencies across Japan and so these quiet moments, these normal moments, were like treasure. Their lives since UA had been anything but a typical adolescence and they were older than most 17- and 18-year old’s. Yet, in these soft, hushed and private moments between them, gossiping about their classmates love lives, filling themselves with sickly sweet goodness the extra years were washed away as they reveled in the fact they were, still in fact, just children in so many ways.
These were the memories they would cling to when reality jolted them awake in the dead of night. When anxiety and fear crept in, these precious points in time would remind them why life was so redolent and sweet. It would prompt them to remember that their very humanity was a treasure because of the friends they made along the way.
The five didn’t spend much time all together but nevertheless, the conversation came easily to them as they idly passed the time. When midnight approached they quickly turned off all the common room lights, creeping stealthily to dark windows to watch the boys’ return.
The air was still and quiet outside. You could tell from the light breeze that rattled the limbs of the budding spring trees that the air was blowing a warning. Time for children to be in bed, snuggled deep and praying for blessed dreams. It reminded them how fast life could turn violent and scary but they paid it no mind. Too deep was their need for satisfaction as they beheld the sleeping world below.
Watching…
and waiting.
When two dark figures walked slowly towards the dorm, there was no mistaking Midoriya and Bakugo. One’s head was framed white in the pale light of the moon as he bent forward into his jacket from the cold. The other could be seen gesturing animatedly with his hands as he talked, his breath rising in deep plumes before dispelling back into the twilight air.
Uraraka leaned on Todoroki’s shoulder, Dark Shadow raised his clawed hands to his mouth while Tokoyami hid behind the curtain. Mina’s face was drawn tight as she gripped Denki’s hand like a lifeline. This was the moment…
As the two stilled under the ghostly glow of a single lamppost their expressions were clearly visible. Affection, adoration…love. Never had they seen Bakugo look so soft. Never had Midoriya glowed so vibrantly. It was a perfect moment and if Mina took a picture, no one would ever tell.
It seemed for a moment, that the two would simply come indoors. The moment lost and gone as Midoriya once again began taking slow steps towards the dormitory. The group held their breath, they crossed their fingers and all their toes. Dark Shadow whined: Just kiss him already!
They shared his sentiment.
All good fairytales end with a kiss, and the group began to fear that they had read the story wrong.
Then, quick as lightening, a blur of movement had Bakugo grabbing a scarred arm and spinning the younger, smaller boy back into his orbit. Two calloused palms rising up to caress soft, freckled cheeks. Tip toes dancing dangerously as Midoriya rose up to meet the object of his affection. Two lips intertwined with none but the moon and stars to gaze upon them.
Along with five eager faces who cheered a little too loudly.
As Bakugo flipped them off before then sinking that same hand into lush forest curls the group quickly dispersed. Running for their dormitory rooms before Bakugo could put names with faces. The two outside simply stayed still however, for there were far more important matters at hand then the silly extras in the window. There was the wet slide of tongue against a bottom lip, a sweet sigh against frost bitten cheeks and a lifetime of memories left to make.
For it was never a matter of if…
only when.