Chapter Text
When Izuku reluctantly signs up for the dating app his friends are pushing at him, he is not expecting to actually find a match. He doesn’t think anyone who would use a dating app would be interested in the same things he is, and he certainly doesn’t think any of them will actually be attractive. As it turns out, he’s dead wrong.
When he sees Katsuki Bakugou’s profile, he’s skeptical at first. No one can possibly be that good looking and be into all of his favorite hobbies. There’s just no way! The odds of that happening are astronomical. Thinking there has to be some kind of catch, he sends a DM and waits.
Katsuki answers relatively quickly and to Izuku’s surprise, he doesn’t seem like a creep or anything. They actually have a pleasant conversation about the latest superhero movie. The more they talk, the more Izuku likes the guy, and eventually Katsuki asks him out on a date. He tells Izuku where to meet him and says to dress casually.
‘There’s just one thing,’ Katuski writes. ‘I like to save money, and people sometimes find it a little odd that I don’t like to be fancy and wasteful. Hopefully this won’t cause a problem when we meet up.’
Izuku cannot imagine why it would cause a problem. Saving money is smart and there’s nothing wrong with being practical and forgoing some luxuries. It seems like good common sense. He can’t wait to actually meet Katsuki and find out more about him.
~~~
When Izuku arrives at the address provided, there is nothing there but a shady looking fast food restaurant. Thinking he must be mistaken, he takes out his phone and checks the address. That’s odd. It’s correct, and Katsuki says this is his favorite restaurant. He glances around and warily steps through the door. Immediately he spots Katsuki sitting at one of the tables. His eyes light up when he sees Izuku and he gets up to greet him.
“Glad to see I didn’t scare you off,” he says.
“Don’t be silly!” Izuku replies. “I can’t wait to eat, I’m starving! I’m curious, though- why is this place your favorite restaurant?”
“Oh, that’s easy!” Katuski says, motioning for Izuku to follow him. They give free refills on sodas, and they let you have all the condiments you want!”
Assuming Katsuki is joking, Izuku begins to laugh. That’s when he sees the scruffy old backpack Katsuki is holding. Katsuki digs around in the backpack and produces two cups that have definitely seen better days. Stained and chipped, they look like they came from a yard sale. He hands one to Izuku.
“The soda machine is this way,” he says.
Izuku stares at the cup in his hand. He kind of wants to scrub his hands with disinfectant after touching it and can’t imagine drinking from it.
“I’m sure they have cups here,” he says. “I’ll just ask for a new one.”
“No, don’t!” Katsuki seems genuinely panicked. He pulls Izuku aside and mutters under his breath, “If you get a new one, they’ll charge you for it! If you bring your own cup, it’s free!”
“Okay…”
Izuku allows Katuski to fill the cup for him, then tries to figure out how to pour it out while he’s not looking. The employees are watching them in confusion, probably wondering why they’re not ordering anything.
Katsuki sighs after taking a long drink from his cup. “That really hits the spot!” he says. “Now let’s go get some free condiments.”
Izuku watches as Katsuki grabs handfuls of ketchup packets and starts tossing them into his backpack. He grabs a handful of straws for good measure, then nods to Izuku.
“Go ahead,” he says. “Take what you want!”
“I-I’m good,” Izuku says.
He feels awkward and he’s not entirely sure what is going on. Are they ever going to eat? Katsuki empties out one of the napkin holders, then heads for the door, motioning for Izuku to follow him. Once they’re outside he holds up the napkins proudly.
“Toilet paper,” he says by way of explanation, then stuffs the napkins into his backpack. “I haven’t bought toilet paper in five years. Why should I when so many places have it for free?”
“Th-that’s smart, I guess,” Izuku says, trying to ignore his stomach grumbling. “I thought we were getting dinner, though?”
“We are! That’s the best part!”
Katsuki grins as he takes Izuku’s hand and leads him behind the building. Izuku’s heart sinks as he realizes they’re heading for the dumpster. Katsuki wouldn’t really… would he? As it turns out he absolutely would, and does. He passes Izuku his cup of soda and backpack- which Izuku struggles to hold along with his own soda that he doesn’t even want- before opening the lid on the dumpster and peering inside. He pulls out a plastic bag and rips it open.
“These are fresh, and they’re even still warm,” he says, pulling several items out of the trash bag.
Izuku recognizes them as burgers, untouched and still fully wrapped, but nonetheless still from the trash. He tries to hide his disgust.
“They can only keep them under the heat lamp for a certain amount of time, then they have to throw them out,” Katsuki explains. “There’s nothing wrong with them, though! It’s so wasteful! Why should I pay an expensive price for a meal when I can wait for the shift change and get the same damn meal for free?”
“I guess…” Izuku mutters uncertainly. “I can pay if you want! Let’s go back inside, I’ll buy our dinner.”
“No, money isn’t the issue!” Katuski assures him. “I can afford to pay. I just don’t think we should if we don’t have to. This food is just going to be thrown away otherwise.”
“But it’s already been thrown away,” Izuku points out. “You just pulled it out of the trash!”
“I know, but it’s not like it’s all nasty or anything!” Katsuki says defensively. “I wouldn’t do that.”
Izuku looks at him for a long moment, feeling extremely uncomfortable. He doesn’t want to be mean but he is really not okay with any of this and feels he has finally reached his limit. Kooky behavior or little eccentricities are one thing, but doing things that are unsanitary is something else entirely. He decides that as much as he likes Katsuki, he’s out.
He moves to give Katuski back his things, but his hands are full and one of the soda cups slips from his hands, falling to the pavement and breaking to pieces. Katsuki looks up sharply and Izuku isn’t sure if his expression is sad or angry.
“I’m sorry!” Izuku says quickly, setting the backpack and the other soda cup down on the ground. “Here, let me see, maybe I can fix it!”
“It’s no big deal,” Katsuki says, brushing it off even though it clearly is a big deal. “Come on, let’s go! I know where there’s a park with a great view, we can eat our burgers there!”
The mention of the trash burgers makes Izuku’s stomach turn and reminds him that when the cup fell he’d been about to leave.
“Um.. actually… I can’t.”
He looks at the ground and rubs the back of his neck nervously.
“This is too weird for you, isn’t it?” Katuski says, looking disappointed but not surprised. “I’m sorry. You just seemed so cool in DMs, I guess I just assumed you’d understand. That’s on me.”
Katsuki looks like he’s about to cry and Izuku’s heart aches for him. Katsuki really does seem to be a nice guy, and they have so much in common. Izuku feels bad, but he can’t overlook the trash burgers, so he shrugs his shoulders and kicks a rock on the ground.
“I’m gonna go now,” he says. “Goodbye, thank you for the date!”
He turns and walks toward the front of the building, where he left his car. He can feel Katsuki’s eyes boring into him as he leaves and he feels like the most heartless person in the world. He keeps going, though, and doesn’t look back, because right now he feels desperate to go home and take a shower.