Chapter Text
Katsuki and Izuku have been on really good terms lately. Surprisingly good.
The pair was halfway through their third year at UA high, and ever since the fight at Ground Beta, their relationship steadily improved.
It took Katsuki finally apologizing at the end of their second year for them to break through the final wall between them, and they had been close friends ever since.
It still shocks Izuku how Katsuki managed to mature as quickly as he did. Izuku figured it meant that the boy must have really wanted to change, or else he would have stayed the same bully he was before.
When Katsuki had his mind set on something, he was determined to fully see it through, or be the best at it (depending on whatever “it” was).
So, Izuku reasoned, Kacchan apologized to him simply because he decided that he needed to.
And Katsuki put a hell of an effort into their friendship because he decided that it was what he wanted to pursue.
He still thinks about the first time Kacchan invited him into his room to study.
Or, in Kacchan’s words: “Come to my room and I’ll help you with your homework. Fuck knows you need it, idiot.”
“Really? Are you sure?”
“Would I be offering if I fucking wasn’t? I don’t do shit I don’t wanna do, nerd.”
He still got all gooey at the memory. It used to be terrifying to ask Kacchan if he wanted to hang out with him, but now he barges into the blonde’s room without even asking. He loves how easily they get along now, like they’d finally become fluent in each other's languages.
He must’ve been sitting there with some dopey expression on his face, because it caused Ochako to smack him on the back of the head.
“He’s daydreaming about Katsuki again—You’re daydreaming about Katsuki again, aren’t you,” Uraraka said to Iida and then Izuku.
Iida nodded solemnly.
“Ah—Ochako!”
Izuku turned red and scrambled to shut his friend up, “How many times have I asked you not to say things like that in public, especially when he’s right there?”
He pointed to Katsuki sitting across the classroom on Kirishima’s desk. He was engaged in a conversation with his friends (or more accurately, he was giving them the occasional grunt and nod to show that he was somewhat paying attention).
Ochako just huffed a breath, “Relax, he can’t hear me. Not that it would be bad if he did to be honest, you both could really use a hint,”
He gave her an unimpressed look, “Like I said before, multiple times, he doesn’t like me like that.”
“You can’t know that unless you confess!”
Iida intejected, “I have to agree with Uraraka. You can’t base your truth off of an assumption. You haven’t even asked the boy how he feels.”
“You guys say that as if it would be easy to, but you know Kacchan. If I told him how I feel it would ruin everything we’ve managed to build together.”
“Or you would just take your relationship to the next level!” She winked at him and Izuku just sighed miserably.
“If I let myself think that way it’s only gonna hurt more when I find out for sure that he doesn’t feel the same,”
Ochako huffed, resting her hands on her hips. She looked like she was thinking through something, and then it clicked.
“I’ve got it! Tenya, don’t freak out. I have a plan, and this is totally gonna work.” She grinned.
“Oh no.” Izuku said in a rush, panicked, “I don’t know what you’re thinking, but don’t you dare,”
The brunette laughed to herself before making a move.
\|v|/
As much as he loved Deku’s company, Katsuki didn’t think he’d ever feel comfortable around the boy’s friend group.
Sure they were third years now and had all been through shit together, and he could have one on one conversations with them sometimes, but something about being around Deku and Deku’s friends at the same time made Katsuki sort of uncomfortable.
Everyone knew that the two of them were childhood friends and had a bond that no one else could replicate, but for some reason, Deku’s friends looked at Katsuki the way parents looked at a troublemaker hanging around their child.
Well, shit… when he put it that way, it actually made sense.
No wonder they were wary about letting Katsuki get so close to their darling Izuku. Everybody saw the way he treated the guy in their first year. And they may or may not be aware of the intense bullying that came before UA.
It sort of felt like they were all just waiting for him to mess up and break Deku’s heart again.
He knew—hell, everyone knew—how important their bond was to Izuku. And how much Izuku cared about Katsuki’s opinion for whatever reason.
He realized he only had one more shot at this, and he wasn’t going to mess it up this time. It took him a while, but he realized now how valuable Izuku was as a friend. How anyone would be lucky to have him in their life at all, let alone get to be as close to him as Katsuki was.
So, unlike everyone in this goddamn building seemed to think, Katsuki was not going to screw it up this time.
Which is why he would love to know what the fuck Deku and his nerd friends were whispering about this time, and why it almost seemed as if they were talking in hushed voices because of Katsuki.
He thought about barging in on their conversation, but he really didn’t want to come across as nosy. It’s not like he cared that much anyway. Deku could have secrets if he wanted to.
Or he can just ask Deku what they were talking about later.
Actually, yeah… he’ll do that. The nerd would probably tell him anyway.
He was just about to start minding his own business when a movement of brown hair caught his eye.
One second, Izuku was talking to Glasses and Round Face about something that seemed kind of important, and the next second, Round Face was leaning right in the nerd's space.
Really close to him.
He couldn’t rip his eyes away as he watched the girl, Deku’s supposed friend, place her hand on the boys neck and lean in to whisper something in his ear like the two of them were in a fucking shoujo manga.
He watched as her lips just barely brushed the side of his jaw.
He watched as the nerd’s face turned red in an instant.
Oh hell no.
All of the color drained from his skin.
Katsuki had seen enough. He turned away, trying to stay calm, and quietly left the room. His friends were too caught up in their conversation to really notice anyway.
He had time before class to cool off. He’d be okay. They all usually showed up to class early to talk and get last minute studying done anyway.
Once he finally got into the hall, he let a couple sparks loose from his palms that he had been holding back. He’d been gripping his fists so tightly his knuckles had turned white.
What the hell even was that?
Katsuki was aware that his feelings for the nerd were way past platonic, and had definitely been part of the reason he had picked on the kid so much when they were younger.
He was also aware that the nerd was probably straight and was definitely not interested in Katsuki past being his best pal.
But what he was not aware of was whatever the hell was going on between his favorite nerd and fucking Uraraka.
Yeah, he knew the chick was a good person and a good friend to Deku, and she’d never actually done anything to wrong him, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t allowed to feel a little bit of personal resentment towards her.
It was so obvious that the two of them had a thing for each other back in their first year. That whole ordeal was even part of what helped Katsuki realize his own feelings for Deku.
But the two of them never actually dated as far as everyone knew. People would tease them about being together, and they always denied it and said that they were just really good friends.
As far as Katsuki knew, those two never actually dated.
But now, Katsuki was starting to rethink that.
Maybe they’ve been together this whole time and thought it’d be better to hide it for some reason? But if that was the case, why the fuck didn’t he at least tell Bakugou?
He could confidently say that Izuku and him had become close; so close, in fact, that he thought there were no more secrets between them.
Katsuki had told him everything. There were things he told Deku about himself that nobody else on the planet knew.
He had cried in front of Deku. The only other people who have ever seen Bakugou cry are his parents. (And All Might, but that was one time.)
And in turn, Izuku had shared the secret of One For All with him. That wasn’t just some small piece of information, either. Izuku couldn’t even tell his own mother about that, yet he couldn’t keep it from Katsuki.
All that being said, they were close, damn it.
So why wouldn’t he tell him if he and round face had been secretly dating?
No, it couldn’t have been that. That just didn’t make sense. They didn’t hide shit, especially not petty shit like that, from each other.
Maybe they really had just been oblivious the whole time and didn’t realize that they both liked each other?
That would definitely sting if it were the case, but he would rather just know for sure.
He and Deku never talked about romance or dumb crushes, so he really couldn't blame Deku if he had a crush on her this whole time and just never mentioned it.
But if they were gonna be kissing and shit around him from now on, Katsuki needed to prepare himself.
\|v|/
Katsuki had finished all of his classes and had a window of time before he had to get dinner.
While the other students had been running drills in Aizawa's class and he’d been waiting in line, Katsuki took some time to think up a plan.
First, he’d invite the nerd to study like usual.
They’d probably not study and end up doing their own separate things in the same room as usual.
Deku would probably watch a compilation of the Top 10 Pro Hero Moments Caught On Camera while Katsuki would try to subtly read a shoujo manga. (He didn't care if that shit was girly, he loved those fucking things).
And then, Katsuki would strike up a conversation. Hopefully he could casually turn the topic around to what happened in their first class earlier that day, but he didn't really care if it was weird for him to ask or not. He just needed to know.
As expected, he was able to get the nerd to join him in his room that night, and the two of them did what they pretty much always did.
Katsuki had manga in his hands, but he wasn’t reading it. Right now he was waiting for the video Deku was watching to end so that he could start the conversation.
He was also trying to build up the courage to ask and prepare himself if the answer he got was what he feared.
Once he heard the familiar “Thank you guys so much for watching, don’t forget to subscribe to my channel, smash that like button, and leave a comment down below,” he sat up a little straighter in his chair.
Before he could even open his mouth, Izuku started watching something else.
“Wait, Hold on. Deku,” Katsuki let out in a rush before he lost his nerve.
“Ah, sorry! What’s up, Kacchan? Should we actually study? We probably should. I knew you were gonna say something any minute now,” he let out a small laugh.
Katsuki was given an out, but he was too determined to back out now.
“Actually, I have a question…”
Well. There goes trying for casual.
“Oh, okay… what is it?”
Katsuki didn’t blame Deku for being a little wary, he knew he was acting weird as hell right now. He just wasn’t used to this shit at all.
“…Saw you earlier today with your friends and I noticed round cheeks—“
“—you know she hates when you call her that, Kacchan,”
He rolled his eyes dramatically.
“Anyway, I noticed round cheeks was all over you in broad daylight. Was fuckin’ gross, by the way. Since when are you two a thing again?”
He hoped the question came out normal, but he had to admit that this was not at all their usual territory.
Izuku didn’t respond, so Katsuki looked up.
He had feared that Deku would catch on and ask him a bunch of invasive questions, but the look on the green-haired boy’s face was not accusatory.
He was blushing like he had been caught.
Well, fuck. Fuck this.
“So It's true?” Katsuki said and immediately regretted it.
Why the FUCK did you just fucking say that. You’re acting like you're his goddamn husband accusing him of cheating or some bullshit. fuck fuck fuck.
Katsuki was incredibly thankful that Deku didn’t even seem to notice.
If anything, the words seemed to start Deku’s motor functions back up, and he began scrambling to explain himself.
“Oh, No! No no no no no, not at all. Why would you think that? I mean, actually it’s not surprising that you thought that. Ochako was acting really really weird today,” Deku glared at the floor for some reason, “but no. To answer your question, no, we are not together. We never dated,”
Katsuki couldn’t help the next question that slipped out.
“Why?”
Izuku looked at him with wide eyes.
“Why do you care?”
The question came out as if Deku was just genuinely confused and wanted to know the answer, but Katsuki still felt like he was being tested.
He furrowed his brows and bit back, “I don’t care. I don’t give a shit to be honest. Excuse me for trying to keep a fucking conversation going,”
He looked back down at his book, implying that he was done with the conversation.
“Kacchan, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say that. Please forget I asked?” He pleaded.
Goddamn Deku. Fuck him for being so earnest.
He looked up to show Deku he was listening, but stayed quiet.
Izuku smiled.
“We never dated because I never actually had feelings for her like that.”
The blonde’s eyebrows raised and he regarded the other boy with disbelief.
“You sure about that? Cause I definitely remember a time when one word from her made you shit bricks.”
Izuku giggled, “Yes, Kacchan, I’m sure. If I’d liked her like that back then, I’m pretty sure I would’ve accepted her confession,”
“She confessed to you?”
“Yeah. I’d never had a girl tell me she liked me before that. I freaked out, but instead of feeling happy and eager to accept like I thought I would, I was just flattered. That was all. I realized that I didn’t actually have feelings for her, or have the desire to be any more than friends with her. So I calmed myself down, told her how I felt, and begged her to keep being my friend. And she said she would, of course, and here we are. She told me later on that it didn’t take her long to realize that the two of us worked better as friends anyway, and after hearing me talk so much about you—A. UA. About UA, and you know, heroes and stuff… After that she was definitely over it. Which is kind of embarrassing because I mean, everybody knows I talk about heroes a lot, and it can definitely be labeled as excessive, but I—“
“Nerd.”
Izuku looked up. It looked like the nerd was freaking out about something and had slipped into nervous rambling.
Katsuki had no clue what he had to be freaked out about. He didn’t say anything out of the ordinary. Maybe he was embarrassed about how much he had just shared with Katsuki, but it’s not like he didn’t already know he rambled.
Katsuki was very accustomed to this, and while he used to think it was annoying, he somehow found it endearing now.
Yeah, that was embarassing as fuck, but he guesses that's what a gross amount of pining for someone can do to a person.
Katsuki sighed.
“I don’t know what you’re so freaked out about, idiot. I’m used to you running your mouth, so just calm down. And.. I get it now. Didn’t mean to uh, assume anything about you. My bad,” He finished lamely.
He wasn’t gonna apologize for asking, but since it got Izuku this worked up for whatever reason, he did feel a little bit guilty.
Deku huffed a huge sigh of relief. At what, Katsuki didn’t fucking know.
“Oh! Oh, good. Great. Thank you, Kacchan, you always know what to say,” He smiled at him for a second, and then abruptly stood up, “Alright, I’m gonna go now, but this was really fun! Thanks again for letting me hang out. See you, bye!”
He rushed out the door and was gone before Katsuki could even open his mouth.
He stared at his door for a moment, dumbfounded.
But at least now he had his answer.
Thank fuck it wasn’t what he thought it was.
He still didn’t get an answer on what the hell that scene round cheeks made earlier was, but he figured it didn’t really matter at this point as long as Izuku didn’t like her.
Hopefully she’s not coming on to him again after everything Deku just told him, but considering how close the two were, Katsuki highly doubted that that was the case.
He didn’t know Uraraka super well, but he trusted her character, and he knew she was a good, kind person.
But like he said, as long as Izuku didn’t like her, he couldn’t give less of a fuck what was going on that morning.
Yeah, as long as Izuku stayed single for this next half of the school year, Katsuki would be okay. He knew Deku would go off and fall in love at some point, and the lucky bastard would be crazy to not love him back, but he didn’t want that to happen right in front of his face.
He looked back down at his manga trying to distract himself, but he couldn’t get the image of round face pressed up against Deku like that out of his head.
He knew it was pointless to worry about that after what they had just talked about, but he couldn’t help it, that incident really got him thinking about the reality of the situation he was in.
The fact that any person, at any given moment, could sweep Izuku Midoriya off of his feet.
He was so fucked. He didn’t know why it had taken something like this to show him how deep the hole of shit was that he was in.
He had to either do something about it, or move on from him before it drove him fucking crazy.
And that first option was out of the question.