Chapter Text
The open bar at the hero gala was often a site of debauchery where even the stiffest members of the hero commission could be found getting drunk on cheap liquor. Izuku tried to avoid it all night because it was his first time being invited since he was honored as a teenage war hero. But then he found himself alone at his table after his friends wandered off to catch up with coworkers or flirt with heroes they had crushes on.
A large part of Izuku felt out of place. He had hidden his hero case under the table in case of an emergency, but he was acutely aware of being the only quirkless person in the room— a room he was only let into once he had been given this hero suit.
"I can sense your cynicism from across the room," a voice said tiredly from next to him. Shinsou was one of the few people from his class who he saw every day. He had taken over for Aizawa after he retired, just like Izuku had taken over for Vlad King. It was nice that Shinsou was an underground hero and didn't thrive in these flashy events like his other friends. Even Shouto was smiling softly in the corner with Sero as they talked to Inasa.
"I'm just so happy to be invited!" Izuku gushed sarcastically, "Last time I was here as a child soldier so let's forget about that and celebrate the first quirkless hero!" Shinsou gave Izuku a round of applause and he took a bow.
"Izuku, dearest, would you be so kind as to grab us the strongest drinks the bartender can make? We'll need them to get through the awards," Shinsou slumped back down in his seat, seemingly exhausted. So Izuku finally made it to the open bar and relayed Shinsou's message to the bartender who snorted. Izuku scrolled on his phone, hoping no one would bother him.
"Dynamight, you're amazing!" A familiar voice gushed, and Izuku could just picture the stars in his eyes as he spoke.
"Shit. Is that so?" An even more familiar voice drawled amusedly. "Tell me more," Katsuki said in a flirtatious tone that Izuku had never heard before. He had never felt jealousy like this before, so potently and physically in his body. He wanted to reach out and grab Katsuki, so he clenched his fists in his lap instead.
"The way you utilize your quirk is amazing! Yes, you have a strong quirk, but the control you have over it and the way you apply it in battle is what makes it amazing. You make it amazing," The hero talking to Katsuki was his ex-student, whom Izuku held in high esteem. But the lines he was feeding Katsuki were taken word for word from Izuku's lesson on quirk usage and control. Unfortunately, by the way Katsuki was leaning in and tilting his head, Izuku's words had worked when they came from someone else.
Of course it didn't matter that Izuku yearned for what his student had been given so freely. Izuku had been controlling his heart from the moment he pulled himself together during the War. He didn't deserve to love Katsuki because he was the reason Katsuki died. If he hadn't been late, if he hadn't been in love with Katsuki, if Shigaraki hadn't decided to kill Katsuki because he was Izuku's most important person, then he wouldn't be drowning in immeasurable guilt for the past decade.
"Those are some pretty words," Katsuki murmured quietly as he leaned in further. Izuku quickly glanced over to see Katsuki's flushed cheeks and intense gaze. He hated that he wanted those eyes on him. A tear slipped down his cheek as the bartender handed him his drinks.
He slipped back into his seat and handed Shinsou his drink as he began to sip nervously at his drink. His hands were clammy as he watched his ex-student lean closer to Katsuki.
"Looks like Bakugou's into the new hotshot. How cliché," Shinsou said with mild disgust. "You can do better, like I've always said." Shinsou was too kind to look at him with pity.
He was wrong though. No one was better than Katsuki.
As he drank more, he thought about the first part of what Shinsou said. It made complete sense. Katsuki wanted the hero who had potential, not the washed-up quirkless hero-wannabe who needed support gear to barely keep up. He hated thinking about his student that way, because he truly was brilliant and kind. Izuku had just grown bitter with all the longing he tried to keep locked up in his heart.
He needed another drink, and at this point, he didn't care that his ex-student and his roommate were clearly flirting at the bar. Katsuki never flirted. But if Izuku didn't deserve him, then obviously he would eventually find someone who did.
"Back so soon Hero Deku?" The bartender's eyes twinkled with mirth.
"S-sensei? What the f— oh god! What are you doing here?" His ex-student spun around to face him.
"I was invited," Izuku said bluntly, ordering a drink and sitting at the far edge of the bar. He avoided eye contact with the other two men as he waited, but suddenly found himself with a teary ex-student hugging him.
"I've missed you so much, Sensei! Everyone's always telling me I'm going to be this great hero, but I don't feel great at all. I miss when you'd give me advice, Sensei. You'd always know exactly what to do or say to make us all feel okay," the poor boy was weeping now and Izuku patted him on the back to calm him down like he used to do.
Despite his jealousy at the moment, he had a soft spot for this student, who most reminded him of himself. He had a big heart, was extremely brave to the point of lacking self-preservation, and was quick to cry. After everything Izuku had been through, he had sworn to protect his students and raise heroes who took apart the old system.
"This is about Okinawa, right?" The younger man in his arms nodded with a pout, "You shouldn't have been leading that battle. It was not your fight. And I know you tried your best, so don't put any of that on your conscience. It was the hero commission's fault for not allocating heroes and resources properly. Forget about being the greatest hero and try being the hero you want to be. Even if it's just finding a friend to share the burden," When Izuku glanced up, he saw Katsuki's eyes on them with a soft look on his face.
It killed Izuku inside that those eyes must be looking at the other hero.
"Thank you, Sensei. I know you don't like when we say this, but you'll always be the greatest hero and greatest Sensei to all of us!" With a watery smile, he bid them both goodbye, leaving Izuku alone with Katsuki.
"Flirting with my students, Kacchan?" Izuku said coyly. Katsuki dropped the glass he was holding and liquid sloshed onto the bartop. He whipped around to face Izuku with pink dusting his cheeks.
"Damn you! How long have you been here?" Katsuki asked defensively.
"Long enough to know that Kacchan can flirt," Izuku teased, watching the pretty blush deepen on his friend's face.
"Oh fuck off! Are you adding that to your notebook when we get home, you little shit?" Kacchan teased back. "I wasn't flirting with that kid, dumbass. I can recognize your words anywhere. Okay?" Katsuki gave Izuku a knowing look. "You might want to tone down how much you talk about me in your classes. You're raising a generation of Dynamight fanboys who walk and talk exactly like the number one Dynamight fanboy himself," Katsuki said slyly.
"He did exactly quote one of my lessons to you," Izuku mumbled. Katsuki snorted.
"Wow, he was right huh? You really are the greatest Sensei," Katsuki muttered under his breath. Izuku's breath hitched. Katsuki had praised him about his hero work before, but he never spoke so highly about his teaching. He didn't realize how much he needed to hear it, especially from Katsuki. He had gotten the impression over the years that Katsuki felt that Izuku settled for teaching, instead of seeing how much Izuku valued teaching.
"Thanks Kacchan!" Izuku said shyly, and Katsuki quickly looked down at his drink.
"You're really making a difference, and I'm sorry it took me so long to acknowledge that," Katsuki said with an apologetic look on his face.
"I know how hard you took me losing One For All, and for a while it felt like my world was ending. But, I found a new dream in teaching, and now you've given my old dream back too," Izuku gave Katsuki a bright smile.
"You deserve to have as many dreams as you want, nerd," Katsuki said warmly.