#and when she does something silly he points to katsuki's phone and says 'oh she looks just lile you there!'

[willowser]

when all might gets older and is in the hospital, katsuki vists him multiple times a week and shows him pictures and videos of your daughter, and toshinori has on his little glasses and has to lean his head back a certain way to see katsuki's phone, and it doesn't matter if it's just a short video of her doing a cartwheel, he's smiling so big and saying "oh, my! look at her!"

[ofdetonation]

@resolutepath​  inquired :      👫 for kiri &/or jirou &/or childe      ╱      four  headcanons.

It was very bold of you to assume I wouldn’t do ALL of them.  I’ll go in order, and put the last two under a read more, just because this is gonna get pretty long!

EIJIROU  &  KATSUKI :

I .      I mentioned this in a starter, but in the twinverse, Keisuke and Kaito get together before Katsuki and Eijirou do and it makes Katsuki SO MAD that he didn’t have the guts to act on his feelings first  -  because I estimate that he probably didn’t confess his feelings until after the Shie Hassaikai arc, going on a full lecture in one of their rooms because that shit was pretty messed.  He should forgive himself a little for not confessing sooner.  Even in twinverse, it takes a little bit before Katsuki can accept and lean into his bisexuality, and the Bakusquad (as well as Keisuke) are the ones that really help him through that.  As a side note, Katsuki would have taken his liking of Eijirou to the grave in any normal circumstance  -  but in twinverse, he complains about it to Keisuke.  A LOT.  Like: “Fuck, I hate him so much.” “Thennn...  Maybe you should just tell him?” “Absolutely not.  I’m taking this shit to my grave, idiot, oh my fucking god I can’t believe you would suggest that to me.”  (And then he doesn’t take it to his grave because SOMEONE had to go and get himself involved in a huge yakuza bust.)

II .      Katsuki  -  despite not being a touchy person in general  -  is quite tactile, and everything he feels tends to translate into how he does things.  This works really well into their relationship because Katsuki’s not always good with his words, so having his actions speak for him benefits them, especially when they need a bit of stability for one reason or another.  For example, Katsuki will very quickly engage in his love languages of acts of service + physical touch when Eijirou’s struggling with his self-esteem or anything that might be weighing on him;  he’ll offer up his favourite hoodie (knowing damn well he’s not getting it back for a while), ask what Eijirou wants for food, touch up his roots if he needs it, plan out a night in for just the two of them and tell the rest of the Bakusquad to fuck off  -  hell, Katsuki will do pretty much anything, and if Eijirou feels bad, Katsuki makes it clear that he’s not doing it because he has to.  He’s offering.  He wants to.  Let him use his love languages to show he cares, dammit.

III .      Now that my Katsuki gets two cats when he’s out of home, I hope Eijirou knows that both of those cats absolutely adore him  -  and ESPECIALLY Moriko, his Bengal.  That cat will get attached and try to follow Eijirou out of Katsuki’s apartment.  She’s probably even succeeded bolting through the open door once, only to saunter on back when Eijirou doesn’t follow along, because he’s very silly and doesn’t realise he has to follow her.  (And honestly, if they haven’t moved in together at that point  -  which would surprise anyone if they haven’t  -  Katsuki uses Moriko as a half-assed excuse to convince Eijirou to move in with him.  Because if you can’t say no to your pretty gremlin boyfriend, you DEFINITELY can’t say no to his pretty gremlin cat.)

IV .      Eijirou becomes one of the very few people that bypasses Katsuki’s “do not disturb” status on his phone, which he keeps on...  Pretty much all the time.  He also picked a specific text tone and ringtone so he would know it was Eijirou.  (The text tone is like a little game tune from something they both like, and the ringtone is a song Katsuki just felt was the right fit for Eijirou.  You’d be looking at something like “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)” by Journey, just for that sweet intro.)  This also kind of means he’s more likely to wake up if Eijirou messages him at odd hours of the morning, but he’s not entirely opposed, because he’ll have a look and usually roll back over and go back to sleep  -  and it probably doesn’t happen every night, so he’s not that bothered by it.  It also means that even on the job, he knows when Eijirou’s trying to get in touch with him.  And if you think he’s not about to talk to Eijirou while he’s fighting a villain in the middle of his prefecture in their Pro Hero years, think again, because he’s out here talking about what to do for dinner while beating the shit out of some poor, confused villain.

KYOUKA  &  KATSUKI :

I .      I actually think that Katsuki’s passion for playing music kind of fizzled out by the time he entered U.A. because he conquered the drums, but joining the A-Band and spending more time with Kyouka means that he was looking at brand new challenges.  After all, it’s a whole other thing to play with other people!  And I think that Kyouka is the one who really sparks his desire to play music more often again  -  which is why Katsuki is quickest to turn to her when he feels up for jamming, and sometimes, he’ll even try and get her to teach him something new on a different instrument.  Drums are where it’s at, but learning guitar with Kyouka because “I gotta be good at any of the damned things in case someone’s gotta fill in” is a pretty good excuse for him to hang out with her for longer.

II .      If there’s something Kyouka wants but, for whatever reason, can’t seem to get her hands on, Katsuki makes a note of it and does his best to get it for her.  Oh, she wants this vinyl record from one of her favourite bands but vinyl’s expensive?  Katsuki will get it and give it to her personally.  Tickets to a concert that’s coming through town?  It might take a while to save, but hey, his parents are pretty generous, and he’ll get two tickets  -  because oh, you know, he was interested too, he just accidentally got a second and overheard she wanted to go, and he’s not about to waste the second ticket.

III .      I think especially after the Joint Training Arc, Katsuki likes to get Kyouka involved in his training  -  between their Quirks, it’s almost like a “seek and destroy” tactic they can employ, and Katsuki definitely wants to practice this more since he doesn’t usually have someone around to communicate locations of targets quietly.  Beyond that, he also wants to help her improve her close-quarters combat.  Of course he can step in when he’s there, but when he’s not, he wants to be absolutely certain she has the reflexes and capability to fend off even someone like himself, with a very powerful and up-close Quirk.  This is also very lowkey his love language of acts of service seeping through  -  the training is something that will ultimately make Kyouka’s job as a Hero easier down the track, even if it’s exceptionally hard at the moment, because Katsuki refuses to hold back.  He does, at least, remember some healthy snacks and drinks packed with electrolytes for when they finish training together.

IV .      Honestly, they probably have a collaborative playlist together on Spotify, just to share music to each other by adding the songs whenever they feel like it.  Katsuki usually adds alternative metal with a few outliers:  you’ll see songs like “Vandalize” by ONE OK ROCK and “Zombie” by The Cranberries, but also songs like “midsummer sunset” by Quruli and “Ghost” by Au/Ra and Alan Walker.  Katsuki always takes the time to listen to any of Kyouka’s additions among his.  And, more often than not, those recommendations and additions end up in his other playlists, which he refuses to tell the rest of the Bakusquad just how he found them.  (Because that means they’ll discover their joint playlist, and he’s not ready to deal with that.)

TARTAGLIA  &  KATSUKI :

I .      Considering they both have a lot of knowledge in weaponry but have that one weapon they aren’t as proficient at (bow for Childe, polearm for Katsuki), I feel like a good chunk of their sparring sessions end up being practice at the same time.  It wouldn’t be surprising if they had sword sparring sessions and that either!  Katsuki is always ready to challenge Childe’s battle knowledge, and if he can eventually get the upper hand on the Harbinger and get the bragging rights to beating him at something  -  even if it’s when Childe doesn’t use his Delusion in their spars  -  then he’ll go at it with everything he’s got.  Plus, it means he keeps his knowledge sharp while he’s away from home.  (And in a way, the disastrous constant vaporisation and consequent destruction of everything around them is a little reminder of home, too.)

II .      Katsuki is slowly keeping tabs on how many times Childe has gone out of his way to treat him to something.  There’s two reasons for it:  for one, he’s still acutely aware that while they share an intense rivalry and a brotherly bond at the same time, Childe is still a Harbinger, and Katsuki knows better than to be unaware of anything that could be potential leverage.  On the other hand, though, he’s just making sure he knows what he owes.  Katsuki doesn’t like being treated to things without exchanging something back.  Sometimes it’s Mora that he’s earned from his commissions, sometimes it’s battle knowledge that Childe might not know if he’s never been to certain regions, but beyond these, Katsuki is still trying to find other adequate ways to repay Childe’s kindness.  It’s a delicate balance in his mind  -  there is an intense distrust of Fatui and Harbingers especially, but strip that away, and he does harbour trust in Childe specifically.  He’s still trying to figure out where to put the line.

III .      If they’re both in the Serenitea Pot, I think Katsuki likes to find a quiet spot to sit with Childe and discuss...  Anything and everything.  Sure, he lives for the challenge and competition and battle, but the Serenitea Pot puts his mind at ease in a way that he doesn’t experience often outside of it, and it’s a great chance to have a conversation beyond their usual topics.  It kind of encourages Katsuki to open up more about who he really is past the adventurer from Natlan.  Because of that, being in the Serenitea Pot would be the moment where Katsuki talks more of home and family  -  and how he’s an only kid, so having Childe around is like having that annoying big brother he never actually had.

IV .      Katsuki never really learned to fish because of Natlan’s landscape, and he never got to visit Inazuma to see his extended family before they shut off their borders, so he’d ask Childe to teach him how.  He makes the excuse that fish are a perfect source of protein and minerals, and that isn’t entirely wrong  -  but really, it’s a very quiet reason to spend more time with the Harbinger.  Considering how long it can take to get a bite, I think Childe will be able to deduce that reason really quickly.

[alicemitch09writes]

lame

01.

it was supposed to be us against the world

It was just a normal Tuesday for you, the scorching sun was out, seeping whatever energy you had for today, class had just ended, and you were treading the thought of having to work later that day. But hey, girl’s gotta fend for herself, right?

Just as you arrived at the station, your phone buzzed in your pocket. Lazily taking it out, your (e/c) eyes scanned the text before shooting wide open, you instantly took off, never minding work, thoughts flying to one thing - Izuku.

For such a prestigious school, it sure had a lousy way of being indiscreet if it were located on top of a hill. Winded from the trip, barely feeling your legs, drenched completely in sweat from the trek, a hero awaited for you at the gate, giving you instructions on how to get to your location (he figured to give it straight to you, judging from your harried breathing and frazzled state alone).

Finding the clinic, you all but burst into the room, eyes easily finding curly green locks. "Izuku!"

Green eyes widened at the sight of you, taking the sight of you. "(Nickname)-!? H-How did you-"

"Are you alright?!"

Flinching at the pitch, tone, and of the overall worry painting your features, he all but gave you a sheepish look whilst rubbing the back of his head. That didn't help, but at least seeing him now in the bed was making your worries lessen.

“He’ll be fine, I’ve treated the worst of his injuries.” The small lady- hero, Recovery Girl, tells you from where she sat. “He just woke up and has made a full recovery now!”

Allowing yourself to sigh in relief, you collapsed by his bed, legs pressed against the cool tiled-floor, eyeing the green-haired boy with narrowed eyes.

"Really, Izuku, you better take better care of yourself."

A scarred hand reached out to pat your shoulder, seeping away the tiredness of practically storming all the way here. "I know, (Nickname). I'm sorry for worrying you..."

Once Recovery Girl assured you that she was to see your best friend fit, you allowed yourself to rest a while before making sure that his recovery was done. You would have loved to wait until he got better, so you can leave, but you had to report to work, even for just a bit then head home to change. Giving your best friend an apologetic look, Izuku nodded in understanding and you reluctantly complied to leave. But not without giving him a parting hug.

“Really, you have to stop giving me a heart attack,” you warned him, teasingly, earning a laugh from the green-haired boy. “I’ll be over for dinner later, okay?”

At that, his eyes brightened. “I’ll be sure to tell mom! She’ll surely be happy to have you over.”

“And I look forward to Auntie’s cooking!”

With one last wave at your best friend, a polite-grateful bow to the school nurse, you turned to the door.

Once out, however, you were face to face with the last person you wanted to see. You ignored him, bent on getting out of here. There was nothing to be said. Absolutely nothing. And it was better off that way.

“Ta-dah!”

“Uwah!!!” big green eyes – matching the shade of his wild curly locks, widened.

“What is it, what is it?” a small blond boy ran towards them excitedly, especially at the excitement at the tone of his two precious friends. “So, what is it?” he asked, head tilted in question at the object in hand.

Grinning toothily, the young girl placed it atop curly locks, flowers intertwined with each other, the green camouflaging with the boy’s locks, as though the flowers sprouted from his hair. “It’s a flower crown, silly!”

“Che, and I was excited for nothing,” the blond boy’s cheeks puffed. Carmine eyes glared at the object on his friend’s hair. “So girly…”

Miffed, the (h/c) girl’s tiny fists balled, stomping her foot. “W-Well duh, because I am a girl!”

“Yeah right!” teased the blond, scratching the underside of his nose, angering the girl as she began to growl.

“Hey, no fighting now…” the small green-haired boy called out to his friends. “…please?”

The two looked at him, then at each other before parting away, the girl’s arms crossed.

“W-Well, if Izuku says so! I’ll forgive you this time, Katsuki!”

Carmine eyes narrowed; cheeks puffed as they reddened to slowly match his eyes. “W-Whatever!”

At that, Izuku smiled, getting to his feet to grab the hands of his best friends. Smiles appearing on his other friend’s faces.

“Ah, by the way!” the (h/c) girl suddenly cried out, alarming the two boys. Heading towards the pile of flowers she was fiddling with earlier, she took something from the ground, keeping her hands behind her as she walked up to the blond boy. “N-Ne, Katsuki, g-give me your hand…”

“…what? No way!”

“Come on, just give me your hand!”

“No way, you might give me a bug!”

“No, I won’t!”

“Then you might just prank me!”

“Didn’t I say that I wouldn’t?”

“How would I know if you’re telling the truth!”

“If you just give me your hand!”

Stuck in between another argument, the green-haired boy could only laugh at their antics.

“K-Katsuki, please?”

She widened her eyes on purpose, pouting purposely to jut out her lower lip, it was all it took for the young blond to cave in. Also, she did say ‘please’.

Reluctantly, stretched out his hand watching as she happily reached for it, her hand now in his. His cheeks reddened, not that he’d say it out loud and chose to frown. “Alright, now close your eyes!” Not wanting to argue, he did as was asked, without putting up a fight. At first, he heard Izuku gasp and she quickly shushed him, almost excitedly, before he felt something slip into his ring finger. “Okay, now open!”

The first thing he saw were (eye color) orbs so big and bright – filled with excitement and joy before his eyes fell unto the object in his hand. The flowers were just as wild and vibrant as Izuku’s, except his was more but fit to wrap around his stubby fingers.

“Wow, (Nickname), it’s so pretty! You’re amazing!”

Chubby cheeks flushed at that, turning to him expectantly. “D-Do you like it?” came her quiet voice.

Silence.

Green and (hair color) heads turned to each other, sharing a look. The taller girl was about to ask again but stopped head tilting. Beside her, the green-haired boy’s mouth formed into an ‘o’, hands slapping against his freckled cheeks.

“K-Katsuki, are you turning-“

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” screamed the boy, messing his hair with his free hand before turning to the girl, a look of determination in his eyes as he pointed, using the hand with the ring flower. “W-W-When we get older, I-I’ll get you the biggest, shiniest, prettiest wedding ring, you hear me!?”

“Kacchan…”

“And Deku!” he turned to the green-haired boy, no longer irked by the flower crown. “You’re going to be my best man, got it?”

Realizing his outburst, the two friends burst into laughter, the blond’s face heating even more.

“Stop laughing at me! Deku! (Name)!”

“Auntie, you didn’t have to prepare so much!” you call out to Auntie Inko, eyes wide like saucers when you saw the meal served at the table.

Meal wasn’t even the word to put it, it was more like a feast! The Midoriya matriarch had prepared spaghetti, karaage, tempura shrimp, grilled eel, salad, and some side dishes. Basically, it was a lot of protein and carbs.

“Nonsense, (Name)-chan! It’s been a while since I last saw you,” she says kindly as you take a seat. “also, this is to celebrate Izuku’s good performance at school, so he can now rest easy for summer break.”

“Thank you so much, mom!” Izuku flusters, especially when she says it so easily in front of their guest as if you’re not used to it.

“Oh, Izuku, still that flustered momma’s boy, huh?”

“(N-Nickame)!”

Laughing, the three of you begin to dig in, exchanging stories about school, your part-time job, some funny customer Auntie Inko had to deal with earlier at the office (she was a government employee), your grandfather, and his dojo. It was always so comforting having dinners with the Midoriyas, always so warm.

Volunteering to help with the dishes, the two youngsters continued to catch up, talking about just about anything. It was always easy to talk with Izuku, always refreshing to be in his presence and hear his thoughts about things.

“Eh? So, you’re classmates with the son of Endeavour?”

“Yes! And his quirk is amazing! He’s half-cold and half-hot.”

“How does that even work?”

“Well, he’s in a constant state of homeostasis to balance out both quirks.”

“Must be hard to manage 24/7 then.”

“That’s true. But with enough practice, he may be able to stabilize both quirks to be able to do more, especially because it can be a double-whammy to villains who might not expect from someone capable of managing two quirks at the same time, there’s also the fact that he can be able to maneuver better should he master his other side…”

The kitchen slowly filled with his ramblings as the last of the dishes were taken care of, which you didn’t seem to mind. It always fun to hear him ramble, knowing that there was a big brain beneath his curly green locks. He was like a walking encyclopedia.

When the clock struck 9, you had announced that you were off, lest you worry your dear grandfather. Izuku volunteered to walk you home.

“Ah, please wait a minute, (Name)-chan!” Aunt Inko shouted when the two of you were at the front entrance, rushing towards you both with a few Tupperware in hand – leftovers from dinner.

“Oh my! Auntie Inko, thank you so much!”

She smiled at you, reaching up to caress your cheek. “Please drop by for dinner more often, (Name)-chan, okay?”

The hand was soft and warm against your cheek, calming your heart with love washing over you. Nodding, silently promising the older woman, you turned to Izuku, who opened the door for you.

“Good night, Auntie Inko!”

Once the two of you reached the neighborhood, you couldn’t help but stare off at the playground – still the same as before, but the paint’s probably new. You could almost picture out three kids running around, chasing each other merrily.

“Man, your mom really didn’t have to put up a feast.”

Laughing, Izuku scratched his cheek as he replied. “Well, she does like to go out whenever she can. Plus, it’s not always (Nickname) comes over for dinner. Also, I’ve been increasing my diet lately because of my quirk.”

Ah, his newly acquired quirk. “Come to think of it, you have been getting bulkier since the last I saw you.”

“Well, I have to compensate mass for all the power I’ve acquired.”

The matter of his quirk piqued your interest, especially because of how much it’s taking a toll on your friend. Instead of backing down, he readily worked his way to accommodate such power.

“True,” you nod, turning to him, realizing he’s grown several inches taller as well, you couldn’t help but giggle. “that and because you’re probably finally hitting puberty.”

“E-Eh!?”

“Dude, you used to be my height!” you tell him, gesturing with your hand your height. “Now, you’re…well, not really that huge, but the growth rate is a bit alarming, to say the least.”

Suddenly, he was sweating bullets, looking between relief and mild panic. “A-Ah…puberty…yes, m-must be th-that a-an-and i-i-it’s side-effects on t-th-the quirk- my quirk!” And there’s his stuttering. Still adorable.

Nudging him with your shoulder, you were quick to assure him. “There, there,” deciding to just sling your arm around his, you leaned on him comfortingly “you’ll always be cry baby Izuku to me!”

“(Nickname)!”

“Or was it wimpy Izuku?”

“(Nickname), please…”

Despite the name-calling, they were all in good fun. A comfortable silence filled in, nothing needed to be said as you two walked around the quiet streets of Musutafu.

For the first time since you were kids, you were apart because you went to different high schools, it hurt because you two were always together and you were each other’s shoulder to lean on. Technology had a great way of bridging you two together, keeping each other up to date on the other’s lives. But nothing beat direct communication with the ones you loved and you relished nothing more than these small moments with your best friend.

“By the way, (Nickname),” Izuku’s voice suddenly cut through the silence. “how is your grandfather? Couldn’t he have dropped by for dinner as well?”

At the mention of your grandfather, you couldn’t help your expression from souring. “Eh, let him be, he’s probably off watching reruns of those tournament matches to prepare. He wants to rough up the team to tough shape.” Despite his age, your grandfather had quite the build and was the martial arts coach at your high school (don’t ask which martial arts specifically, he knows them all).

“That’s true, he might want to challenge me at the front entrance door before dinner started.”

“And your mom would cry a planet at the devastation left between you two.”

It would be quiet the image, knowing how strong both your grandfather and Izuku was, and then Auntie Inko would be comically crying about in the background.

“Oh, and I’ll just watch because no way am I coming between you monsters, while comforting Auntie Inko.”

As the image progressed, the two of you giggled amongst yourselves, the two of you were nearing a lamppost, resting comfortably against his arm, when a presence before you made the two of you stop.

A blond teen came into view, halting at the sight of both of you. Dressed lazily in his home clothes, with a plastic bag filled with items he got from the convenience store.

Instantly, the laughter died out from you, lips set into a thin line.

“K-Kacchan…” stuttered the teen beside you, gulping at the tense air. “…g-good evening.”

Said teen could only blink, carmine eyes taking in the sight of both of you. Something glinted soon after.

Eyes narrowing, you gently tugged at Izuku’s sleeve, continuing your journey, dismissing the blond completely. The two of you walked past the blond, who slowly began to move when you did, starting a new conversation about Izuku’s homeroom teacher, anything to block off that one person who was forever dead to you.

(Blocks away, the blond stopped in his path, hands still balled into fists, glare fixed to the ground, while a gentle laugh coming from a gentle smile relayed in his head. They weren’t for him.

“Fuck.”)

Midoriya Izuku and Bakugo Katsuki were both your childhood friends.

They were both the first friends you made ever since moving into their town.

To be fair though, Bakugo was your first friend. He then introduced you to the green-haired boy a few days later.

Since then, the three of you grew close, were inseparable, and always played together. There was never a day when the three of you were not with the other, always ensuring to include the other whenever there was a new game to play, a new kid to befriend, or an adventure to go off to.

Bakugo had always been the leader of the three since he had such a strong personality and presence even at the age of 5. He was quick to protect the two of you and command whatever new stuff you were to do.

Izuku was his opposite, submissive, soft, and shy. Nonetheless, he had a very strong sense of justice, even when he seemed to cry a lot, and was recklessly impulsive.

And then there was you, the new girl – quiet, unassuming, tomboy. Sometimes, you liked to pretend to be the mom of the two boys, the big sister, the glue that kept you three together – but you and Katsuki knew that it was Izuku, really.

Regardless, you could always count on the two. Bakugo, especially.

He was the front liner to push you to do things you want to do, uncaring of the fact that you were a girl, because it was a minor detail to all the amazing things you could do – like catch a bug, run like the wind, play under the rain, climb trees, give bullies a beating when they were picking on Izuku, play video games, to name a few. (In addition, you were into martial arts, because it was in the family)

It was because you were so close to Bakugo that you picked up on cursing, much to the shock of dear Izuku’s innocent baby ears. You couldn’t help being a tomboy because of the fact that your best friends were guys and games the blond would instigate, you loved to challenge him in just about anything – especially at claiming to be Izuku’s bestest friend.

Still, whenever you fell or scraped your knee, it was Bakugo who’d lend a hand, angrily berate you on being reckless, before picking you from the ground or giving you a piggyback – Izuku would cry all the way, worried about your state and the possible scolding from your parents and grandfather.

You three were supposed to stick together, stay inseparable, always with each other.

That is until Bakugo discovered his quirk, followed by Izuku discovering that he was quirkless.

And ever since then, everything changed.

masterlist • two

[planetsano]

sugar rush!

prompt: a very studious s/o relying on a sugar rush to make it through the day after staying up all night to study for an exam.

pairing: bakugou katsuki x reader, kirishima eijirou x reader if you squint (he's so cute I couldn't help myself)

tag(s): college!au, aged up, domestic, fluff, candy, facetime, energy crashing, weed

warning(s): drug references, cursing

su·gar rush

Noun

A sugar rush is an experience of high energy after eating or drinking a considerable amount of sugar in a short period of time, often associated with hyperactive children.

Bakugou told you to go to bed when you facetimed him last night at 2 am. You woke him fully out of his sleep and asked to keep you company while you studied.

“What the fuck do you want?” Bakugou rubbed at his eyes trying to adjust to the sudden brightness from his phone. His eyes were extra sensitive waking up from his slumber. You were lucky because if it was anyone else he would have let the phone ring and went back to bed.

“Did I wake you? I'm sorry.” You puffed your cheeks out holding your phone closer to your face. The angle wasn't flattering, but Bakugou and you were past that point in your relationship. You were 100% positive he’s screenshotted and taken at least 1,000 ugly pictures of you. You have some of him but they always seem to magically disappear. You should really put a lock on your phone.

“Do you have any idea what time it is?” Bakugou was in full view now. Head propped against his pillows, hair messy, and muscles exposed from wearing a black tank top. His room was dark but his face was illuminated from the brightness of his phone. His looks never failed to make your tummy do flips. How did you land a hottie like this?

“Yeah.. I know it's late, but I want company! I feel like I'm gonna fall asleep but I have to study more.” You propped your phone against some books giving him a full view of your set up. Papers, notebooks, colorful pens and highlighters seemingly scattered randomly throughout your desk. You sat in your chair with one leg to your chest and the other planted on the ground making your chair spin from side to side. He thought you looked cute like this. Pajamas, messy hair, and glasses falling off the bridge of your nose.

“You need to sleep.” He sighed. You just rolled your eyes and picked up a textbook that was out of frame.

“I'll sleep when I'm dead.” You said nonchalantly as you opened the book and started flipping through the pages.

“I'm serious. You're going to have zero energy for tomorrow. Go to bed.” Bakugou chastised you and you sighed heavily.

“Ugh, fine. You're no fun anyway.”

Knowing you, he should have known you weren't going to listen to him last night. He thought that maybe he should've blown up your door to see if you were okay. It became the morning routine for the both of you when you first started dating. He’d knock on your door to walk you to class and you’d greet him with a sweet smile and a kiss. Everyday it was somewhere different. One day it's his lips, then the next it could be on the cheek, and his personal favorite is when you stand on your tippy toes to try to kiss his forehead. But that didn't happen today because you didn't answer.

So it was safe to say that Bakugou was a little peeved when he got to class without you by his side. He entered the classroom to see some extras idly chatting with their peers and some doing homework at the last minute. Denki and Mina were chatting towards the back of the classroom. Mina noticed the angry blond and waved him over. Bakugou walked up and greeted them both with a low hum.

“Where's (Name)?” Mina asked, tilting her head to the side. It was odd seeing Bakugou by himself.

“Don't know.” Bakugou answered bluntly.

“Aw, don't tell me you've gone and made her mad.” Mina teased. Bakugou rolled his eyes and mumbled a low “shut up.”

“Now that I think of it, where's Kirishima? I didn't see him this morning either.” Denki added.

The three continued to chat but Bakugou wasn't paying attention at all. All their talking was background noise at this point being washed out by his thoughts. He was becoming more and more anxious as the minutes went by. Class was starting soon and most of everyone had already come into the lecture room.

Were you okay?

Are you sick?

Did you need help?

Were just a couple thoughts running through his mind so you could only imagine the relief and annoyance he felt when he saw you bop into the classroom with Kirishima. He had to do a double take because not only was weird hair giving you a piggyback ride, you were pouring three pixy stix in your mouth.

Bakugou watched you hop off Kirishima’s back and happily greet your friends (which was practically the entire classroom) like an energized puppy. You went to Izuku and happily squeezed his cheeks together between your dainty hands. He didn't mind, he thought your high energy was amazing.

“Good morning, Midoriya!” You smiled at him.

“G-ood mornin-g, (Name)!” His voice was somewhat muffled as he spoke but nonetheless he had a smile on his face.

“You’re so squishy just like a mochi!.” You continued to squeeze his chubby cheeks together as the three watched on.

“(Name) is being kind of..” Denki trailed off.

Hyper was the word he was looking for. You were hyper and practically bouncing off the walls like one of those tiny rainbow balls kids got out of the candy machine for 50 cents.

“Annoying? Yeah.” Bakugou said in his usual harsh tone and started to walk over to you. He was sure to give Kirishima a death glare as he walked past him to get to Mina and Denki.

“What'd I do?” A confused Kirishima asked Denki and Mina. He knew he was going to get an earful from his friend later.

All three of them watched the irritated blond tap your shoulder. You looked excited to see him and waved Izuku goodbye while Bakugou took you to another quiet corner of the lecture hall.

“What's with you?” Bakugou asked, looking down at you.

“Whaddya mean?” You looked down at your fingers and started twiddling them together under his stare.

“You're boppin’ around like you just did 80 lines of coke.” He said.

“Am not!” You looked up at him with furrowed brows, crossed your arms then stomped your foot childishly. You weren't scaring him if that's what you thought. He also noticed that your tongue was stained blue.

“You are.” He squeezed your nose gently. “What's got you so wired?”

“I didn't sleep at all last night so Kiri brought me some candy and a slushie this morning.” You answered.

“Candy?”

“Yeah!”

“Ever heard of coffee?”

“I don't like coffee.”

“You're going to crash, you know that right?” Bakugou asked.

“It's okay ‘cause you're going to catch me, right, handsome?” You kissed his cheek and on cue the bell rang.

Throughout the entire exam Bakugou couldn't help but to keep glancing at you in your seat. Your foot was tapping rapidly against the floor as you focused on your test. Every now and again he would see you sneak some form of candy into your mouth. Your eyes never left your test when your hand slid into your bag pulling out a gummy worm. It was such a contracting sight, being incredibly focused on the exam in front of you all while chewing on something as silly as a gummy worm. Eventually class ended and exams were turned in. You were pretty confident.

By the time lunch came around, you were completely drained. In the middle of your third class your energy plummeted and all you wanted to do was sleep. You could barely keep your head lifted without slipping into sleep. You were so happy lunch came around in hopes some food would pull you through the rest of the day.

When you walked into the cafe Mina spotted you and waved you over to the table. Everyone greeted you and soon you sat next to Bakugou who had saved a seat for you.

“Hey guys.” You smiled putting your bag on the table in front of you.

“So, (Name)! We were all thinking we should hang out tonight.” Mina smiled at you with an eager smile.

“Oh, yeah? What’s the plan?” You yawned and rested your head on Bakugou’s shoulder and wrapped your arms around his bicep.

“Game night!” Kiri exclaimed.

“And a hot box.” Denki added and high-fived Kiri.

The table continued to converse about the later plans and that's when Bakugou leaned over to whisper to you.

“You gonna eat?” He asked.

“No, ‘m not hungry..” You said quietly feeling your eyes start to droop. Soon enough you were

“So how does that sound (Name)? (Na-) Oh, she's asleep.” Mina laughed at the sight. You were fully asleep, still holding onto Bakugou’s arm like it was your pillow.

“I told her to go to sleep last night but she's fucking hardheaded.” Bakugou shook his head looking at you as you were fast asleep.

“Man! I thought the candy was working!” Kirishima frowned that his plan didn't work.

“I mean, it was for a little bit.” Denki said.

“I'm gonna take her back to the dorms so she can rest.” Bakugou said and gently shook you awake.

“Wah- Was I asleep?” You asked dazedly.

“Get up dummy, I'm taking you to your room.” He said.

He spent the rest of the afternoon with you, napping the afternoon away.

[daisies-write]

Hi Ari! Emm I hope you are doing well.

I have a hedgehog so what about clas 1-A with a friend that has that type o of pet in the dorm or just Todoroki, Bakugo and kirishima react to a S/O with a hedgehog if it is easier .

Make sure to eat,sleep and drink water! Take care!

🤡anon.

Reactions to S/O with a pet hedgehog

Todoroki Shoto x reader; Bakugou Katsuki x reader; Kirishima Eijiro x reader

First of all, how could you tell me you have a cute pet and not send pictures >:0 

And second of all, yes, I’m doing good, thanks for asking :D

Anyways, here’s your fic, I hope you enjoy it! 

Requested by: 🤡 anon

TW: none

Writer: Ari

Word count: 668

Todoroki Shoto

Todoroki hasn’t seen you all day

Until you suddenly burst into his room

And dragged him all the way to yours 

“Where are we going-” “Shush you need to see this” 

As he stands in front of the door, perplexed,  you very excitedly keep repeating “So? So?” while bouncing up and down next to him

“Your room looks very nice?” “...- Not the room silly, what’s in it!”

He looks around looking for something unusual, before his eyes zeroed in on the cage sitting on your desk.

“Isn’t she the cutest thing?!” you exclaim

Cue Todoroki beginning to lecture you on impulsively getting a pet 

To which you reply that you’ve always wanted one, and have done the necessary research, but your mom didn’t let you get one, so you kinda took advantage of the fact you are now living in a dorm but that’s besides the point.

You guys spend the rest of the afternoon bonding with your new, adorable hedgehog

Once you let out your hedgehog of her cage, and placed her on the floor, she sniffed a bit, before suddenly zooming around, trying to explore every corner of your room

“I’m naming her Sonic-”

You were blessed with the sight of your little hedgehog sniffing Todoroki’s hand, who had a small smile on his face (Needless to say, you took a picture)

“You’re a dad now Shoto, how does it feel?” 

The look of confusion mixed with worry on his face made you burst out laughing-

Bakugou Katsuki

He first met your pet when you guys decided to have a study session in your room

You had talked to him about your pet before your class moved into the dorms on your walk home

 “Oh, by the way, you got a twin brother” and showed him a picture on your phone

His “twin brother” was apparently this grumpy-looking hedgehog

(It truly is a good thing you can run fast-)

But this was their first “official” meeting 

Unsurprisingly, the guy just glanced in your pet’s direction for a split second, before plopping down and getting to work

You were disheartened, to say the least

You were used to everyone fawning and gushing over your Cactus (it made you feel like a proud parent) 

You pestered him and subtly-not -so-subtly dropped hints while you did your homework

But gave up after finding out that neither worked, and decided to focus on your homework instead

After a while, you got hungry

So you leave the room to go grab snacks from the dorm’s kitchen

When you where done, you head back to your room 

The door was slightly open, so you noticed something before going in

Hiding your grin, you enter the room

Bakugou was right were you *cough cough* left him 

So you decide to say nothing for now, and start mindlessly munching on your snacks 

But when he was leaving, you tell him:

“You know, if you want to pet Cactus, you need to let him get used to you”

Kirishima Eijiro

When you were doing the room tours, you introduced everyone to your pet

“Everyone, I would like you to meet Butterball!”

Everyone thought she was adorable

But Kirishima got a soft spot for your pet and is now the second owner, you don’t get a say

He will think it is the manliest pet ever

The two will bond, like instantly

“But it took me a week to get Butterball to trust me-”

Will randomly get toys for your pet

Expect him to sometimes pop up to check on her 

(You gave him a spare key so that he didn’t have to keep standing in front of the door like a lost puppy)

Was so proud of her when she went through her first quilling and collected the little quills (he cried a little too-)

Once you found Kirishima calming Butterball down cause she was afraid of the thunderstorm

She was on his lap and he was just making sure she felt safe

You fell in love harder that day-

All in all, it’s really fun playing with those two, and you thought it was really sweet how close they are :’)

[citrinediamondeyes]

A Beautiful Mess: Chapter One (My Hero Academia)

Here is my chapter story I’ve been working on! Hope you enjoy! 

Summary: Izuku Midoriya finds himself in detention, of all places. There, he meets an interesting girl with a cute smile and a tough exterior. She offers to teach him how to fend for himself, and with her help, he starts to realize that maybe he isn't useless after all... [Quirkless AU]

Rating: M 

TW: Depression, Anxiety, Mentioned/Implied Self-Harm, Mentioned/Implied Childhood Abuse, Severe Bullying, Childhood Trauma, Scars 

Characters: Midoriya Izuku, Bakugo Katsuki, Uraraka Ochaco, Iida Tenya, Todoroki Shouto, Asui Tsuyu, Yagi Toshinori/All Might, etc. 

Pairings: Izuocha (slow burn)

Links:  https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13594271/1/A-Beautiful-Mess https://archiveofourown.org/works/24204889

"Just in time, Midoriya," Mr. Aizawa droned, looking up from his roll call list.

Izuku, his face beet red as everyone's eyes rested on him, plunked down in the seat closest to him. Imagine being late for detention. He was already enough of a failure as it was...

"Bakugo, Katsuki."

Izuku heard a growl from the back of the room, and shivers went up his spine.

"I'll take that as a 'here'. Midoriya, Izuku."

"Here," Izuku whispered.

"Uraraka, Ochaco."

"Here."

Oh. There was a girl sitting next to Izuku! Or, well, Izuku sat next to her. Izuku peeked out from under his curly green-black hair, and he only caught a glimpse of auburn hair before his attention was brought back to the front.

"Now, I don't really care what you do for an hour. Just don't leave the room and don't disturb me."

Izuku and the rest of the students looked on in curiosity as Mr. Aizawa brought out a sleep mask and tipped his chair back, planting his crossed ankles on the desk.

Izuku blinked for a solid five seconds, trying to make sense of what he was seeing, before giving up and grabbing his homework out of his bag. Might as well get started on this mountain of homework...

He tried to focus on his Calculus - he really did, but he could feel Kacchan's eyes on him from the back of the room. To calm down, he started doodling on the side of his assignment, stark black lines against his messy scrawl. He directed his thoughts to making the lines smooth and the strokes confident, even though he himself was not. Still though, his hands were trembling, and his pencil slipped in his sweaty grip. It rolled onto the floor next to the girl's foot, and he paused for a moment, fear making his mind irrational and paralyzed. The girl - whose name was Ochaco, Izuku remembered distantly - swooped down and picked up the pencil casually, leaning over to give it to him.

"Oooh, is that All Might?" she asked in a hushed voice. Izuku flinched before nodding as his left hand went to the back of his neck nervously. He glanced at Ochaco quickly, taking her in. Her caramel brown eyes were wide with interest and framed with dark lashes, and her thin lips were pulled into a small but genuine smile. She had rosy cheeks that didn't look like makeup, and her choppy bangs suggested a self-done job. She had a small silver hoop through the left side of her nose and metal piercings going up her right ear that glinted in the sunlight from the far windows. Her leather jacket was worn through at the elbows, cuffs, and collar, and her fishnet-and-combat-boot combo made Izuku mentally flush.

Oh no. She's cute. And kind of... intimidating?

His eyes trailed down to the hand that was still offering his pencil. Her hands were small and delicate-looking, with small silvery scars running across the top. Her fingertips were scarred pink.

Izuku gulped quietly and looked back at Ochaco's face, hoping she didn't notice him blatantly staring at her. She was looking at him, too, an unrecognizable look on her face, (Did she notice the scars on his arm? She had to have noticed his bruised eye...) but it didn't make Izuku feel threatened or self-conscious like it normally would have. Instead, he felt a strange kinship to this girl with the scarred hands. He slowly reached out and tugged his pencil out of her grip, giving her a small smile.

"T-thanks."

She blinked dazedly before smiling brightly, her eyes resting on his. Izuku's stomach swooped - that grin was directed at him?

"No problem. But yeah, that drawing is really good! So you're an artist?"

"Oh, I mean, I wouldn't say that," he chuckled nervously. He remembered that she recognized his drawing, though, and latched onto that. "Y-you know who All Might is?"

"Yeah, my friends and I play his video games! They're really fun - especially the one where he goes into space?" Her eyes lit up, and Izuku found himself smiling along with her, feeling more comfortable by the second.

"Yeah, that one has great graphics. I love his teammates' powers, too! Thirteen's Black Hole is so powerful!" Izuku exclaimed, tapping his eraser on the desk mindlessly.

"Oh my gosh, Thirteen is my favorite!" she declared, still keeping her voice low while pressing her hands to her chest passionately. "I just know she would beat even All Might in a fight."

"No way," Izuku snickered quietly. "That's why he is called All Might. He is 'all mighty'."

He had no idea where this bravery was coming from to tease this enigma of a girl, but seeing the competitive spark in her eyes was worth it.

"All he does is punch stuff and tackle things with brute force. Thirteen, while a more defensive hero, takes more strategy to play. Her intelligence would beat out his brawn any day. And besides, ya can't out-punch somethin' that is pullin' ya inwards!" Ochaco finished excitedly, her tongue sticking out.

Oh gods, did an accent come out during that last bit? So cute.

Izuku's face took on a look of determination - sure, this girl might be attractive, but he had to defend his favorite hero All Might!

"See, now that's where you're wrong. All Might doesn't just 'punch stuff', he can use his moves to cause the air to move around him. This can be done in precise kicks or powerful punches. When playing him, you have to use his power in different percentages to make sure not to harm any bystanders and cause the least amount of damage to the environment. He is always calculating. Also, if you noticed, every time he goes into battle, he says his catchphrase, 'I am here!' He recognizes how important it is to be a symbol of hope for the people. I recognize this is a game and not reality, but this was done on purpose. All Might knows what he is doing. I think - "

Ochaco cut him off with laughter, and Izuku froze, feeling shame wash over him. Ah, he did it again. He got weird and did a mutter-storm.  She probably thought he was a total loser. He felt his head droop, and he whispered out, "S-sorry."

Her giggles abruptly stopped, and he felt her eyes on him for a second before she leaned closer over the aisle and spoke in a low, soothing voice. "Hey, no, I'm the one who's sorry. I was just laughing because you really know your stuff, and you were talking so fast, and it just really surprised me!" She smiled sadly and looked like she was about to touch his arm but instead fiddled with her long side bangs. "It wasn't my intention to make you feel bad for liking something."

She was apologizing to him, the massive screw-up?

Embarrassingly, Izuku felt his eyes swell with tears, and he turned away, wiping them back quickly. He swiveled back to face her and gave her a wobbly smile. "T-thanks," he said gratefully, his voice quiet.

She smiled again, this time a soft one, before turning back to his math homework. "Hah, isn't this for Mr. Ecto's class?"

"Y-yeah. Probably will need to redo it now."

"I always have the worst time in that class," she grumbled, her lips going into a slight pout, and Izuku felt his cheeks getting pink.

"What's wrong? Maybe I could... help?" Izuku asked, wincing at the end. He didn't want to sound presumptuous, but math was his best subject...

She lit up again. "Really? That'd be great. I'd been going to Momo for help, but she's been nagging me lately. Something about her not wanting to condone me 'breaking rules'. She's a good pal, but it's been annoying to say the least," Ochaco blew some hair out of her face while giving Izuku a silly smile.

"B-breaking rules?" Izuku asked curiously, before realizing that might've been rude and going red.

"Yeah. I mean, how'd ya think I ended up here?" Ochaco giggled, pulling out her math homework and laying it out on her desk. She scooted her desk closer to him and pointed with her own mechanical pencil at a few circled problems.

"These are the ones that are just killing me."

"Okay, let's see what we can do," Izuku cracked his knuckles, feeling more in his element, and leaned over to start reading the problems.

The hour passed by quickly, with Izuku and Ochaco muttering and quietly discussing Calculus. As Mr. Aizawa's phone alarm went off, the two were packing away their books and discussing the current All Might and Nighteye comics.

"To be honest, I think Nighteye is going to confess his love for All Might," Ochaco confided, making Izuku choke on a laugh.

"E-EHH?"

Before Ochaco could respond, Mr. Aizawa stood up and threaded a hand through his long, dark hair, yawning. "Alright kids, good job at keeping it down and civil. Some of you, I'll see tomorrow, like usual." He looked pointedly at Ochaco, and she smirked, waving her scarred fingers.

Geez, what did she do to get so much detention?

Izuku was so focused on this exchange that he didn't notice someone coming up behind him until it was too late.

"You're in my way, nerd," Katsuki growled, his eyes flashing dangerously.

"Ah, sorry, Kacchan," Izuku whimpered, losing all confidence and shrinking into himself as he practically scuttled out of the way of the blonde boy. He felt Ochaco's gaze on him and felt ashamed, but, well, it was better for her to see him for who he truly was before he got too attached, anyways.

"Why not just go around him?"

Izuku's eyes widened, and he glanced at Ochaco in horror.

"You got something to say?" Katsuki turned his attention to the girl, who was staring at him like he was something she stepped in with her boot.

"You heard me. There are plenty of other ways to get to the door. You actually had to go out of your way to go up the aisle to pass by his desk," Ochaco explained, all previous warmth in her voice gone.

Katsuki's left eye twitched for a second, before he rushed over to her and stood in her space, looming over her. She met his gaze fearlessly.

"I'd be careful what I'd say, Round Face."

"Oh no, I'm so scared of a stereotypical guy with anger issues," Ochaco droned, her brown gaze almost looking bored. As Katsuki seethed, she scoffed. "See, you aren't going to do anything." She looked at Izuku, her eyes softening slightly. "Let's go."

Startled that she wanted to go anywhere with him and eager to get out of the tension, he hurriedly grabbed his backpack and scrambled to get out the door.

"Wait, just a minute, Deku," Katsuki grabbed at Izuku's shoulder, his grip making Izuku wince.

"You might be able to hide behind Uraraka right now, but just know there's nothing you can do to stop me from kicking your ass the next time you are alone," Katsuki threatened, his voice low and truly angry.

"Alright, that's enough. Geez, kids these days are so dramatic," Mr. Aizawa said tiredly, pinching the area between his eyes. "Just go home, all of you, and for god's sake just leave each other alone."

Izuku wanted to scream out that it wasn't just dramatics, but pure fear kept his mouth shut as he robotically walked to the door. Katsuki grinned and ran a finger across his throat before walking in the opposite direction down the hallway. Ochaco grabbed his arm and tugged him down the hallway, releasing him after a moment. They walked in silence for a few seconds, reaching the outdoors before she cleared her throat.

"So, uh... that guy has some issues," she noted, kicking a pebble in the walkway.

Izuku could only shrug, his ears burning. At her questioning look, he looked away before explaining, "Kacchan is... complicated."

"Hah, that's a word for it..." she muttered. They let silence fill the space between them again.

"So, your name is Deku?"

"E-eh? N-no." Izuku looked at his feet, surprised he could feel even more shame than he was already feeling. "Deku is what Kacchan calls me to make fun of me. 'Defenseless Izuku.'"

"Oh," Ochaco said, and she almost sounded disappointed. "It just sounded like a nice name for you. Kind of like 'I can do it!', ya know?"

"O-oh." His face flushed pink. "D-Deku it is!"

"I can do it", huh?

"D'ya think he was really serious about beating ya up?" Ochaco's voice was light, but her face was serious.

Izuku laughed bitterly. "How do you think I got this?" He gestured at the shiner surrounding his left eye. "That's why I was in detention, after all."

Ochaco nodded grimly, saying nothing. Izuku wondered vaguely how long she was going to walk with him.

"Tell ya what. Let's make a deal. You help me with my math, and I'll teach ya how to fight!" Ochaco's hands where balled into fists, and her eyes were bright.

At this, Izuku looked up at her in shock. "EH?"

"Yeah! Come on. Notice how Katsuki didn't want to mess with me? It's because he knows I can hold my own. I'll teach you how to defend yourself, although it might not be street legal," she teased, "and you can teach me the difference between differentials and integrals!"

Izuku stared at her wordlessly. This tiny girl, who admittedly dressed like a punk rocker but was as bubbly and friendly as the day was long, knew how to fight - and in ways that weren't street legal???

She nudged him playfully with her black bookbag. The various pins on it jingled and clicked against each other. "So, whaddya say?"

He stopped walking to actually ponder her proposition. When he was honest with himself, he recognized that he couldn't live like this anymore. Dodging Katsuki day in and day out, being scared of even breathing the wrong way, lying to his mother and friends about being okay, hiding his scars underneath sweltering hoodies - it was exhausting. He didn't even know who he was anymore, besides a timid artist with a slight All Might video game obsession.

He wanted more. He now realized he might have that opportunity, or a chance at one, thanks to Ochaco's offer.

He looked up and met her slightly nervous gaze with a determined grin. "Let's do it."

[littlestgahena1301]

Fountain of youth. Part 1

Although he was scorned by many, everyone could admit that Bakugou Katsuki is at the very least, attractive. Air quotes because he actually is very handsome. With strong and firm muscular built that graced Greek’s heroes and soft, supple-looking skin, youthful features of their goddesses, he is the amalgamation of both strength and beauty in one handsome packet.

Tinted lips in pale rouge, long corn silk eyelashes and dazzling, bright and passionate set of red eyes. Izuku had never paid much attention to anyone’s appearance before, but with the dawn of his love for Kaachan, he can’t help but be a little bit of a sap when it comes to the hot blonde.

Katsuki shared his attractive traits with one other Bakugou named Mitsuki. Still looking youthful despite her climbing age that not even the scowls that she had on could give her wrinkles. Due to their shared quirk, glycerine, the two had always look at least half a decade younger. For Mitsuki, it worked in her favor, while Katsuki, he loathes it.

“Stop staring at me and then spacing out like that, nerd!” Katsuki smacked his head with the exercise book that they are working on. Inko peeked in from the kitchen.

“Katsuki, dear, what’s wrong?”

At the concerned tone, Katsuki spoke more softly. “Nothing auntie, Izuku just keep spacing out it’s annoying…”

Inko was still a tad worried but continued on her work prepping for dinner. Katsuki unfolded the book in his hand, the edge curls a little bit. He noticed Izuku’s still in his daze, staring right into his face.

“Geez, what bug crawled up your rear and made a nest in your brain? We still got half a chapter to go through…”

Izuku broke his stare to lean on to his right hand and glanced back. “Kaachan, have you ever thought that your quirk might be used in some way?”

Not a topic that he was looking forward to, ever. “Why does that even matter?”

“I was just thinking about it.” He dropped his eyes to Katsuki’s hand. “Have you tried to secrete a lot of them at once?”

Katsuki mimicked Izuku’s stance. “Like what, running around and see how much sweaty I get?”

“Kinda…” Izuku agreed.

Katsuki sucked in through his teeth. “Ain’t doing much for me and ain’t gonna do much for anyone.”

Izuku pondered. “Maybe because you haven’t tried to touch anyone while you’re sweaty?”

“Heck, of course! I won’t do that, I’m gross and clammy!”. His voice hitched a bit, but Izuku paid no mind to it. Still looking thoughtfully at his friend’s general direction.

“I just wondered if your glycerine is actually medical grade.” Izuku swiped his index at a stray drop of sweat sitting on top of Katsuki’s closer hand. “I wonder if this would give anyone anti-aging effects.”

Katsuki gives him an incredulous look. “So what, you want to test that out before we finish this book?”

“Well, we’ve been at it for an hour and a half. I say we deserve a short break.” Izuku rubbed his arm and index together, testing the consistency. Kind of watery like how a normal sweat, but definitely feels a lot more slippery.

He heard a tsk from Katsuki. “Yeah, whatever, not like your dumb ass can concentrate on this anymore.” He stacked their books and pushed it aside. “Let’s get this out of your system so that we can finally work.”

Izuku moved to the side to face Katsuki, and the other promptly did the same. “So, any idea about how you want to do this?”

“Hmm, maybe we should try to get you to sweat first? I want to see how much you can sweat at a time.”

“You want me to run around the neighbourhood and then drain my t-shirt in a cup for you?”

“No, that’s too much work. Sides, it will take too long and definitely not sanitary.”

“Figures.”

Izuku hummed in response. “How about I warm up your hand instead and see if we could use it that way?”

Katsuki made a look, a faint blush crept onto his cheeks. Not that Izuku noticed. “You want us to hold hands?”

Izuku stammered. Equally embarrassed at the idea. “No, not exactly! I was just thinking to warm up the surrounding air around your palm to make you sweat more naturally…”

Katsuki lowered his gaze. “Yeah, that makes sense…”

Izuku motioned Katsuki to keep his hands suspended in air, then he began working with his quirk. He raised the temperature a few degrees and wait until a significant amount of sweat beads upon Katsuki’s skin. He deemed it satisfactory.

“I think that’s enough.”

“Well, now what?”

Izuku hummed. He didn’t think this far. “I think…. you could like…swipe it on my face or something?”.

Katsuki grimaced. “Like I’m wiping away some snot from your face? Gross.”

Izuku was flustered. “Well not like that, just…” Izuku pulled Katsuki’s hand by the wrist and had the knuckles pressed to his cheeks. “Like this….and you can help me rub it in.”

Katsuki swallowed. His hands, however, start rubbing it into Izuku’s face in the same manner Inko would when both of the boys where covered in mud in their younger years.

Izuku’s face didn’t change much from back then. Eyes still round and bright, like the kid who still runs around holding All Might figures while chasing after him. Cheeks always filled with baby fat and freckled skin still taut. Katsuki noticed it is just a little bit dry.

He tsked once more and began to rub it in more seriously. “You gotta take care of yourself once in a while. Your skin is dry as fuck, maybe as dry as Hand job’s is.”

“Well, I’m not one to care about this beauty regimen thingy.”

“You should care! It’s not about girly stuff or whatever, it’s about self-respect and taking care of yourself, dammit.”

“I don’t think of it as girly…” Izuku looked at him with fiery determination in between the working palms. “I don’t think of any part of you as girly. It is just that I was never into it.”

Katsuki bit back whatever he was planning to say. “Yeah well, you should now….”

As Katsuki pulled away, Izuku’s face is glistening from the substance. Katsuki was suddenly hit by a thought. “What if you’re actually allergic to this stuff?”

Izuku gave him a look that tells him he just thought of it. But that expression quickly fades as it comes. “I don’t think that’s possible. You touched my face before, and nothing happens…”

Katsuki breathed out a relief. He did not wish to leave his friend’s face marred because of something so silly. His fingers clenched around nothing. “Well, if you say so. Notice anything different?”

Izuku grabs on to a hand mirror that was just near his study table. He studied his own face, poking at the glistening skin. “Wow, this is actually pretty thick, although not like lotions I’ve used.”

“Yeah, it is supposed to be sweat, right?”

Izuku gave one last look at the mirror. “You know, maybe it’s going to take some time to show effects. I’ll update with you tomorrow morning.”

Izuku rushed out of the house without a proper breakfast. Since Kaachan wasn't there to kick him off the bed in the morning, nor was he around to stop Izuku from staying up for too long, he was running late. Kaachan would definitely be at his own house, packing his necessities, maybe fixing himself breakfast. Only 1-A had extra training today. Izuku had no way of telling what the blonde was doing since neither he nor the blond texted each other last night. They usually do but apparently not in the previous 8 hours.

He jumped onto the train, barely making it before the door shut behind him. There's not a lot of people going to work this time around, and he was lucky enough to get a seat. He plopped down to the one on his right, taking out his handkerchief and wiping away stray sweats beading on his forehead. He heard giggles coming from the seat in front of him, both belonging to a group of high school aged-looking girls. He gave a weak smile towards their direction. "Oh. hello…"

The two girls didn't hello-ed back, Instead, the two look at him in bewilderment and then look away, smiles on their face and breaking out a few quieter set of giggles. Izuku had wondered if he had done anything so silly that it made two strangers, giggled in amusement. Izuku was in one of the girl's peripherals, and he had noticed her looking at him with a blushed face. Oh, was she now shy and embarrassed that Izuku had heard them before?

The bolder of the two turned to him. "Hey, are you that kid that came in third from the Sports Festival?".

A fan.

"Ahahaha…yes, that was me!" He flustered.

"We were wondering if you could sign our notebook real quick?"

"Sure…"

This is new. Izuku never thought that he would immediately get recognized right after the Sports Festival, nor does he ever think that anyone would openly ask for his autograph. He gave them a quick scribble of his given name. He didn’t have time to think of any proper hero names.

While he was busy doing just that, one of the girls took out her phone that Izuku didn't see. She raised it up high for a group selfie. "Hey, look up!"

"Huh?" Only then he noticed what she was holding.

Snap!

The girl looked at the photo for inspection. Izuku realized how unprepared he was that he looked startled in the picture taken. That was a bad take.

"Sorry, I didn't realize we are taking a group picture, may we do it again?"

They took another one, this time it looked slightly better. The awkward air around Izuku didn't change much despite his best effort to make himself look somewhat more friendly. The beauty filter in the app makes his skin looks glowing, though. He couldn't even fathom how dark his circles would be if it were not on.

"Thank you~" The girl cheered, seemingly pleased with the result.

The two parted ways with him as they arrived at their station. Izuku had one more stop before his. Being so gleeful from this encounter, he almost missed it.

Izuku arrived at the training area, which is at a public stadium in their city. He waved to the others, panting hard as his lungs screams for some air.

“Guys! Sorry that I’m late! I hope I didn’t miss anything.”

His friends just gawked at him. Mina pointed her index at him, aghast. “Oh my god, his skin is literally GLOWING!!!”

@abbystaffyisgeek I really hope you like this one. It's kinda bad but I'm trying to get back into writing too~

[sushisama]

Longing for Clarity, Chapter Seventeen

Pairing. Bakugou Katsuki/Midoriya Izuku (main, pre-established), eventual one-sided DekuBowl, other pairings hinted at Part. Seventeen/Twenty-Three Rating. Story has overall NSFW tones and mentions, but the sex scenes will be left as side stories. Synopsis.  Slice of life AU.  Check chapter one notes for details.  Katsuki is in his senior year, and though he’s dealing his own questionable mental condition, he can’t help the excitement of the upcoming graduation.  But his boyfriend, Izuku, has been acting strange, being almost a little too intimate.  They come to find out that Izuku is going through the fermin, a predicament certain Quirk holders go through.  Now Katsuki is being forced into considering relinquishing the secrecy of their relationship, if only to keep all he wandering eyes from Izuku. Notes.   Katsuki and Izuku get ready for the festival and their coming out. Second Note.   I’m still work on this, and I still have every intent on finish it. Thank you for those sticking around.  I appreciate it and hope you continue to enjoy!

For those of you interested, there is early access to chapters and access to NSFW side stories available to patrons on my Patreon.  Chapter sixteen is already up!  Please consider supporting me!  Thank you!  <3  

Hope you enjoy!

Chapter Index

Katsuki tapped his foot impatiently.  The disinterest on his face was clear as he kept his arms crossed and his eyes anywhere but at the task at hand.  He was standing in the middle of the locker room, glaring at the floor, his lips in a deep grimace.

"You have some of the worst clothes, Katsuki-kun," Ashido's voice came from further down the row.  She was sifting through a pile of clothes Katsuki had brought down for her to go through.

"Not really something on my mind," Katsuki snipped out.

Ashido came back to him, a few things in her hands.  "I just don't understand," she commented as she dropped them on the bench next to him.  "How can you live without being presentable?"

"Deku likes it," Katsuki muttered.

"Oh, honey, of course he does."  She held up one of his button-down shirts and inspected it. "You could be wearing a rice sack, and he'll still think you're cute.  That's how that works."  She hummed and picked up a different shirt.

"He'll still notice the difference, though."

Katsuki scoffed.  "It's not like it matters."

Ashido looked over at him, brow raised.  "Haven't you ever dressed up for him before?"

Katsuki hesitated with his answer.  He didn't really dress up ever unless he was forced into it.  He much preferred being comfortable over anything fashionable. And he never felt any need to be anything other than that around him: comfortable.

Izuku had never asked for anything more.  Sometimes he dressed up a little bit for a date, but it was nothing extreme, just as well-fitting shirt and tighter fashion pants.  He always looked wonderful in those outfits, and even Katsuki had to admit he enjoyed it.

But Izuku never brought it up, and on the days he was more presentable, he never side-eyed Katsuki for not doing the same.  Now that Ashido brought it up, though, was it something he secretly wanted from him?  He just wasn't into that kind of thing, and he figured Izuku understood that.  But maybe he should try it.  What would his reaction be later in the night, when they went to the festival?  He guessed he would base it off that, and try in the future to make more of an effort.

Should he have been already, though?

"Our first date," Katsuki said.

Ashido turned to him fully, holding a pair of pants.  Her eyes were full of intrigue, and she clearly wanted him to continue.

Katsuki rolled his eyes but decided to indulge her.  "My mother made me," he said.  "She wouldn't let me go on that first date with being presentable."

"Your mother knew about it?" Ashido asked.  "She knew you were--?"

"She knew I was before I did, according to her," Katsuki said. "She's actually... she's always been supportive about it, never treated it like a phase or anything."

He knew someone already whose family wasn't as understanding, and knew too well what it was doing to him.  He was grateful to his parents who never questioned who he was, but just loved him the way he was in almost every facet.

"And when I told her it was with Deku, she was ecstatic."

Ashido chuckled.  "She's always approved, huh?"

Katsuki nodded.  "She's like him since we were kids, always saying he'd be a good influence on me."

She gave him a knowing smirk before turning her focus back to the clothes.  "She sounds wise."

He huffed. "Yeah, yeah."

"So, she made you dress up?  Where was the date?"

"It wasn't like formal or anything," Katsuki said.  "It was just a little café for coffee and cake."  He toed at the ground, ignoring the flush on his face.  He had never told anyone these things; it was something left just between him and Izuku.

But there was a point to friends knowing, right?  So, you could share these things?  Not all memories should be private, he could Imagine Izuku saying. Wasn't it a good thing that happened? Shouldn't others know how far they'd come, how they were happy despite the hurdles they faced?

Katsuki twitched. It was still strange to share things he considered so private. But the smile and the soft expression on Ashido's face eased the tension some: she wanted to hear it so she could show her support.  That's what real friends did, just as Kirishima and Izuku did.

He scratched the back of his neck.  There was still so much about friendship that felt foreign to him.

"Aww, so cute," Ashido cooed.

Katsuki scoffed.  "More like awkward."

She hummed and shrugged.  "But still good, right?"

He blinked. It had been good, despite the awkwardness of it all.  They hadn't talked much at first, not sure what the topics of a first date contained. It didn't change until Izuku started to nervously talk about the plastic decoration on his pastry, and something about it led Katsuki into a rather silly but still entertaining conversation about food presentation.  From there, they eased more into a natural conversation that led to louder voices and laughing.

That stupid piece of plastic could possibly be thanked for things going so well after. How stupid was that?

"I'm going to go ask Eijirou-kun," Ashido's voice invaded his reverie.

He looked up at her, brow raised.  "Ask him for what?"

Ashido clicked her tongue but smirked.  "You weren't paying attention, were you?"  She tsk'ed at him.  "And I thought I was distracted by that scent on you."

Katsuki glared a little.  When Izuku had come to him the night before, questioning only why he was so upset, he had smelled it on him.  Izuku had been in need, but he was too gone in the conversation with his mother to give him any proper attention.

They had stayed up, talking more about Katsuki's mental stability and his mother hiding hers from him.  Eventually they moved to Izuku's room to take the kimono and hunt it up.  They discussed a little more before falling asleep, and at no time before were they intimate, despite the aroma in the air. They fooled around at some part during the night, but nothing too intense.  Katsuki was far from a mood to enable such things, and Izuku wasn't going to push it.

The smell was still in his room, so long after Izuku had last been there.  It had been so strong the night before, Katsuki wondered how he controlled himself during his breakdown.  He was grateful for it, though: he needed him so desperately, needed the ground he was before he flew too far away.

"I'm going to go see what Eijirou-kun had," Ashido said.  "You two are about the same size, right?"

"I guess."  Katsuki wasn't completely sure.  They looked to be, but he thought Kirishima might have a little more to his chest, but that was about it.  Otherwise, they had grown at the same rate and were the same height.

"Stay here," she said.  She was already at the door and taking a step out.  "I'll be just a few moments!"

Katsuki watched her as she left.  The moment she was gone, he let out a long breath.  He ran his hands over his face a few times as a groan left him.

He didn't want to do this.  It wasn't the dress up or the fuss over makeup that he was bothered with: it just wasn't his thing.  He had been with Kirishima and Kaminari too much to not be used to wasting time to being presentable.  He had let Kaminari put makeup on him more than once, after all.  The attention it would bring him didn't exactly bother him. He was used to eyes on him in public, had craved it on better days.

But when people looked at him, they were at a hero.  That wasn't the goal they were going for this time.  He wasn't a hero that night, he was Midoriya Izuku's boyfriend. They were deliberately calling attention to that.  All eyes would fall on him, and everyone would know.

Katsuki felt sick.

It didn't help that he was still down from the night before.  He was still thinking of the night before, of the conversation with his mother, of the words that spilled out to Izuku.  Ever fear, every worry, every concern came falling out, after he had spent so long trying to keep it in.  It wasn't just the fear of the future, but the vulnerability that fear brought that had kept him holding it in.

But it was foolish of course.  There was a part of him that always knew he could tell Izuku.  He knew.  Like so many things, though, he couldn't bring himself to believe it.  But when Izuku held him, let him cry, let him pour out every last thought burrowing into him, he didn't judge.  He would never judge him.

Izuku would just be glad to know him.

Being seen as Midoriya Izuku's boyfriend was the least he could do in return for everything he brought to his life.  Izuku wanted everyone to know.  Izuku held no shame in showing him off, held pride in the idea of holding hands in public. The least, the very least Katsuki could do was give him that.

Katsuki tapped his foot again.  How long was she going to take?  He wanted to get this over with, get on with it, before he started talking himself out of it.

He pulled out his phone to help keep himself distracted.  He found a message waiting for him, and he couldn't help but smile at the name of the sender.

How's the torture going?

Katsuki smirked.  Long. I apparently have terrible fashion sense.

The answer wasn't immediate, but still came.  You do.

You're not much better.

That's why I let Uraraka and Yaoyorozu take me shopping once in a while.

Katsuki laughed at that.  He could always tell the difference between the clothes Izuku already had and the ones he bought with the girls.  Both looked good on him, just in different ways.  The loose, nondescript comfortable clothes were meant for more casual things or more in-depth activities; where the fashion clothes looked perfect on him without losing any of his masculinity.  They showed how taunt his body had become over the years, hinting at the muscles beneath the stylised fabrics.

He was silently grateful for the way they picked his clothes.  Katsuki was the one who got to reap the most benefits from it.

I'd hate to see what wardrobe Kirishima or Kaminari would give me.

Maybe let Hagakure and Ashido dress you?

I don't know if that would be worse or better.

"Ba~ck," Ashido called from the entrance of the locker room.  She had a few things in her arms and was inspecting them as she walked back to him.  "Only so much, though: he has so many colours in his wardrobe, and I just don't think that's you."

Katsuki was silently grateful for the consideration.  He wasn't looking forward to any bright colours.

Getting back to the torment, he quickly typed.  See you in my room and go from there?

Perfect. Have fun getting dolled up.  Love you.

Katsuki put his phone away as Ashido stepped up to him.  She held up shirts to his chest, but he wasn't really paying attention to what they looked like.  She hummed and considered and finally snapped her fingers.  She parted from him as she started to rummage between the two groups of clothes.  Finally, she handed him a set.  He took it as it was thrusted into his arms, and for the first time, he looked over some of the garments.

"These are leggings," he said, his tone even.

Ashido nodded.  "They go under the jeans."

Katsuki furrowed his brow.  "These aren't—"

"They're mine," she interrupted.  "They'll be short probably, but they shouldn't be too tight."

"What's the point?"

Ashido raised a brow.  "The colour?"

Katsuki looked over the garment again.  The crease in his brow softened as the understanding fell over him. "...right."

Ashido smiled wide.  "Well? Go on!"  She shooed him toward the stall area.  "Let's see what it looks like!"

Katsuki rolled his eyes.  "Stay out here."

"You're no fun," she said with a laugh.

::*~~*::

"The pink looks so good on you!"

"You think?  Not too much?"

Uraraka and Hagakure spoke to each other in excited tones, going over their outfits for the festival.  Iida had joined them thankfully; giving Izuku someone to talk to while the girls did their own thing.  He didn't seem that bothered by any of it, and just smiled and made small comments when asked.

Izuku didn't particularly care either.  It wasn't the first time Uraraka had dragged him along or made him sit for makeovers. She liked doing it, and he wasn't one to say no, especially to something so harmless.  When it came to the makeup, she was subtle with what she did, giving him more neutral colours that just matched what he was wearing.  She took pictures, but only shared them with Izuku.

And then he would share them with Katsuki.  He would smile at them, but Izuku was never sure how he really felt about it.

Uraraka spent time with Hagakure first, putting some light, sparkling eye shadow on her that matched a warm honey highlighter.  She finished with a soft lip gloss and the look came together to give her an almost ethereal look.  She was ghostlike, transparent in everything but her kimono and the makeup.  But all of it was warm colours, matching her personality.  She was a spirt of good fortune, Izuku thought.

Uraraka had come with her makeup already done.  She was covered in shades of pink and blue, all of it light and shimmering. It matched her kimono and the furs she had set aside for the festival.  It was clear that some of the blue was for Iida, matching his kimono, and he had come pink in his.  It was rather cute, when Izuku let himself think about it.  Maybe a little silly, but he could see the appeal of maybe occasionally being so obvious.

After all, hadn't it been part of his decision for the kimono he would wear?

Iida had agreed to a little himself, getting just a touch at the corner of his eyelids.  He sat perfectly still and moved as if he anticipated her actions.  It wasn't a surprise, though: he'd probably been roped into it even more than Izuku had.

When it finally came to Izuku, it was getting late and closer to when they were supposed to leave.  And he wasn't even in his kimono yet, not wanting to go around the dormitory in it. Uraraka had made it clear she only wanted to do a little to him, but was insistent that they do it.  He thought it odd, but he wasn't going to speak against it.

She started with his hair, doing as best she could with the unruly locks.  There was some attempt to get it flattened, but she settled for getting the most of it into a small ponytail at the top of his head.  She accented it with a comb accessory that was almost glass looking and vibrant red. She clipped it in just behind his hair, and he could feel the shorts rows of beads against his skull.

"Isn't this a little too..."  Izuku met Iida's eyes, and he could tell he was thinking the same.

"I like it," Hagakure said.  "Doesn't it match the kimono you borrowed?"

"Not the only thing that matches," Uraraka murmured.

Izuku looked at her, brow raised.  "What do you mean?"

She gave him a wide smile as she held up a colour pallet.  "This will only be a moment, I promise."

Izuku held her eyes for only a moment more before closing his eyes.  He twitched at the feel of the brush against his eyelid but instantly stilled himself.  He always had trouble sitting still during these makeovers.  The bristles felt weird, almost like they would fall off in the cosmetics and cling to his lids.

It was even worse when it came to the eyeliner.  He was always worried that the pencil would go in his eyes, especially when he was told to open them and look up.  Uraraka was always careful, but he couldn't stop the hesitation that came.

How did she do this every day?

"you can relax, I'm done with your eyes."

Izuku let out a long breath.  He opened his eyes slowly and looked over at Uraraka.  He gave her a small smile.  "Thanks," he said.  He started to stand up, but he was surprised to find a hand pushing him back into the seat.

"Umm, Uraraka, I still need to get—"

"One last thing."  She was smiling as she pulled out a small compact and a flat, fanned out brush. There was something almost mischievous about the look on her face.  Mischievous? No, maybe not that... just... knowing? It was more than a little off-putting.

"Just need two seconds."

Izuku gave a reluctant hum, but he kept still.  She was honest about how fast it would be done: she took two swipes over each of his cheeks, only separated by passing the brush through the compact. She settled back, looking over him, inspecting him, before she nodded.

"Wonderful."

Izuku turned when he heard a sound of uncertainty from Iida.  He looked almost unsure, but hee said nothing.

Uraraka clicked the compact closed as she took steps away from him.  While she was putting all of her makeup away, Hagakure leaned in to look over the final result.  Though she didn't have it caked on, there was enough of the cosmetics on her face for Izuku to see the worry in her brow.

"Does it look bad?" he asked softly.

She shook her head.  "I don't think so, just an odd choice."

"It's meant to match," Uraraka spoke up.

Izuku raised a brow.  "Match what?"

Iida's brow knit in some concern.  "Should you be so--?"

Uraraka waved him off.  She grinned at Izuku.  "We'll let you finish getting ready," she said.  "You think you'll be long?"

Izuku was still uncertain but forced a smile.  "Go on ahead if you want," he insisted.  "It'll take me a moment to get my kimono on, and I'd hate to have you wait on me."

"Do you need any help?" Iida asked.

Izuku shook his head.  "I'll be fine."

Uraraka picked up her makeup case.  "Don't be too, too long," she said.  "It should be a fun night.  I'd hate for you to miss out on anything."  There was something in her voice... she knew something but wasn't saying it...

Izuku stood up and nodded at both of them.  "I'll be quick, I promise."

Uraraka smiled and gave him a peck on the cheek.  She waved at him and Hagakure.  "We'll see you soon, then."

Iida waved as well before turning and heading off with his girlfriend. Hagakure chirped a parting and Izuku just gave a wave as they left.  He sighed and turned to her.

"It's not that bad, right?"

The earrings swayed as she shook her head.  "It looks good," she said.  "Subtle, fits you... it's just..."

"What?"

Hagakure paused.  "I'm just going to..."  She leaned forward and took hold of his chin.  She lifted her other arm, sliding down the billowy sleeve to reveal her long sleeved undershirt.  She wiped at his cheeks, applying pressure, but not enough to hurt.

"What are you doing?"  He didn't stop her but he was stiff as she moved.

It was all but a moment before she was pulling away, having scrubbed his cheeks. She held up her sleeve to show off the cosmetics she was wiping off.  He had to stare for a moment to get exactly what he was supposed to be looking at. The colour looked close to something, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"I don't--?"

Hagakure waved the white-blue shimmer in his face.  "To match."

It was another second before it clicked into place.  The colour was just like—

"Was this supposed to match Todoroki's...?"

She nodded.

"...why...?"

"Ochako mentioned... I think she's going to try and get you two alone tonight."

Izuku frowned.  Uraraka knew better.  She was one of the only people that knew about his brief relationship with Shouto. She knew that it had ended and mostly why, though he left anything about Katsuki out of it, when he came later into the situation.  She had always made her opinion known that she thought Shouto was good for him and maybe even get back together.  But he wasn't, though he hadn't been honest about why.

That wasn't only because of Katsuki's request of silence.  He hadn't been exactly upfront about reasons for the breakup. He had given some excuse about not having time for the relationship, that right then wasn't for the best.  He didn't know how to explain that Shouto that didn't... click with him.  And it wasn't from a lack of trying.  He really had hoped that they could work out, but...

On paper, Shouto would seem perfect.  A little aloof and in need of not only getting in touch with his feelings, but learning how to express them.  It wasn't like he wasn't into that sort of personality.

Clearly.

But there was something about their time together just felt lacking.  No matter the amount of time together, they never got as close as he imagined they would.  For the months they were together, they had done little more than hold hands.  They had never even kissed.

Katsuki had kissed him to show him how he felt, which led to their current relationship. The difference stood to him, for sure.

"Well, she won't get the chance," he said.  "I'm going with Katchan, and no matter how he behaves, I plan on being very honest."

The glint of gloss moved up into a smile.  "You two will be so cute tonight," she said.  "And no room for questions, right?"

Izuku smiled and nodded.  "No questions."

They spent only a few more moments making conversations of where to meet when they got to the festival before parting ways.  Izuku went back to the men's side of the dorms to finish getting ready.

It didn't take him too long to get the pieces together and dressed.  He was putting the haori on his shoulders as he made his way down the hall to Katsuki's room.  He had a large smile on his face a jump in his step.

He was ready and he was excited.  He finally got to show off his boyfriend.  He got to tell his friends who had been with and for anyone else to get the hint that he was truly off limits.

He just hoped Katsuki would be just as excited.

Izuku knocked on the door.  "Katchan?" he called.  "You ready?"

"Door's open!" was the answer from the other side of the door.

Izuku came in, closing and locking the door behind him.  His eyes fell on Katsuki and he couldn't help but raise a brow. "What are you doing?"

Katsuki came from underneath the bed, a decent sized box in his hands. "Needed to find something," he muttered as he set the box on the bed.

Izuku came further into the room, taking in Katsuki's backside, still bent over some. The jeans he was wearing were tight in all the right ways, and he could tell his shape through his top.  He bit his thumb as he thought about the muscles underneath.  He was strong, and he could certainly do something with that strength...

"Deku."

"Hmm?"

Katsuki was looking at him, still on the floor.  His brow was raised, but he was smirking.  Izuku flushed a little.  Of course, he knew where his mind was.

Izuku coughed.  "What's in the box?" he asked as he sat down on the bed.  He barely lifted the lid of the thick and decorated cardboard. He recognised it as something from Katsuki's room back in Shizuoka, under his nightstand.  It was just something that was there.  Katsuki had never called attention to it, so he had never thought to ask about it.

But Katsuki had brought it with him.  Didn't that make it important?

Katsuki crossed his arms on the mattress and put his chin on his forearms.  He looked at Izuku from his spot on the floor. "Just some things."

Izuku rolled his eyes.  "Things," he repeated.  He put the box in his lap and opened it.  Katsuki watched him but said nothing and didn't stop him.

The contents were odd at first glance.  Pieces of paper, random trinkets, and...

"Is this your cast?"

Katsuki grunted with a shrug.

Izuku looked over the plaster covered in various names and well wishes.  He smiled at the tiny hand drown into the palm.

It was strange to have such a strong memory to something that had cause so much pain to Katsuki.

He went through the rest of the box, noticing the ticket stuffs for each of the trains they had gone on for the Tour.  There was a folded piece of paper that he found was a test with a high grade marked on it.  But it wasn't Katsuki's name on it.

"Why do you have one of Kirishima's tests?"

"It was the first time he scored that well."

Izuku's gaze softened.  He knew Katsuki could be sentimental, but he had no idea it could be this much.  Even after a lifetime of knowing each other, he was still learning new things about him.  He hoped that it would be that way ongoing.

He leaned in to kiss his forehead.  "Were you just wanting to look through this...?"

Katsuki moved to sit on the bed next to Izuku.  He put his hand in the box and started to sort through it.  As he did, Izuku got a better look at his clothes. His dark red shirt was opened at the top, showing a black tank top underneath.  His black denim pants had purposeful rips in them, and green fabric showed underneath.

"I was looking for..."  He pulled his hand out, a chain in his fingers.  He held it up for only a moment before putting it around his neck. "...this."

Izuku eyed the little trinket, a smile playing on his lips.  He pulled on the chain lightly until the plastic piece was in his palms.  It was a vibrant blue circle that had a piece looping out on top.  He recognised it instantly, even if it had been two years since he'd seen it.

"You kept this?"

There was a flush on Katsuki's face.  "Shut up."

Izuku chuckled.  "It's cute," he said.  "It's adorable you kept it."

Katsuki punched him in the shoulder.  "I said shut up, nerd."

Izuku still laughed.  "Or what?" he teased.  "Show me how much more of a sap you are?"

Katsuki growled lightly.  He pushed on his shoulders, and the box fell from his lap as he found his back on the mattress.  The sound of the contents spilling didn't seem to deter him as he leaned over Izuku's body.

Izuku grinned up at him.  "This how you going to do it--?"

"Quiet," Katsuki said before moving in and pressing lips together.

::*~~*::

The sun was starting to set when they got to the festival.  It took up the park and spilled out into the streets around with food and game booths.  There were snow sculptures everywhere of various sizes and shapes.  Lights and music filled the whole area, giving it an almost ethereal presence.

Katsuki already hated it.

"Katchan, you don't have to hold on so tight."

Katsuki looked down at their entwined fingers.  "...I won't go through with it otherwise."

Izuku smiled and kissed his cheek.  "It'll be fine," he said.  "Everything will be fine."

Katsuki grunted.

"Once it's done, it's done."  Izuku gave his palm a squeeze.  "Then you'll never have to do it again."

Katsuki sighed.  He stopped in front of one of the larger sculptures depicting All Might.  He looked up at it, his fingers still tight around Izuku's hand.

"Then I just have to deal with what everyone is going to say."

Izuku rolled his eyes.  "You're exaggerating."  He leaned against his shoulder.  "The most people will be is surprised."

Katsuki said nothing, though it was clear he was still uncertain.

"Katchan."

"I'm still going through with it."

"You better."  Izuku wrapped his arm around Katsuki's lower back.  "Either this, or I'm just going to kiss you in front of everyone."

Katsuki scoffed.  "The fuck you will."

Izuku fixed with a stern gaze.  "Don't test me, Katchan."

Katsuki clicked his tongue but didn't refute his claim.  Izuku had already been so patient, beyond what should have ever been asked of him.  He could go in the middle of the crowd and shout about it, and he had no right to be upset about it.

No, this was the best way to go about it.  Izuku was right.

Katsuki put his arm around Izuku's shoulder and kissed the side of his head. "This way is fine," he said sincerely.  "...and if you want to kiss in front of everyone..."

Izuku nuzzled under his chin.  "I won't," he said.  "Unless you want to."  He smirked.

Katsuki nudged him.  "Don't push your luck."

Izuku chuckled.  He rested his head on Katsuki's shoulder, silent for a moment.

Katsuki pulled out his phone when he felt it vibrate.  There was a message from Kirishima, letting him know where they were amidst asking where they were.  He looked around, following the lights to where the majority of the food vendors were located.  He couldn't see them through the crowd, but from the directions given, he assumed that's where they were.

"Want a snack?"

Izuku considered that for a moment.  "Not really," he said.  "I wouldn't say no to a drink, though."

Katsuki let go of his shoulder, but kept a hand on his arm.  "I'm going to go check in with the guys real quick," he said. "I'll probably grab something to eat, too.  And drink."

Izuku gave him a look, brow raised.

"I won't be more than a few moments."  He kissed his cheek.  "And then we can go show off."

Izuku's expression softened.  "Just say you need a moment first, Katchan."

Katsuki ran a hand through his hair.  "...I need a moment."

Izuku smiled, his gaze gentle.  "Go ahead," he said.  "Besides, they all know what we're doing."  He smirked.  "They won't let you out of it so easily."

Katsuki scoffed.  "Whatever."  He was right. If he tried to back out, Kirishima and the others would force him into it.  Not to mention, Izuku's threat was still there.  "I'll be back."

Katsuki parted with a short kiss and headed off toward the food vendors.  He had to go through a crowd to get there.  It was just a bunch of people mulling around the centre of the park, admiring various sculptures.  He had to push his way past when he couldn't find other ways around.

Was this so worth it for something he could take pictures of?

As he got closer to his destination, there was a large group taking up a walk way. The people on it were all cheering and making a loud commotion.  They were excited about something they were all circled around.  The sound was familiar, like whenever All Might was in a crowd.

Katsuki groaned and rolled his eyes.  It must be some local celebrity.  How obnoxious.

He moved, trying to find another way around.  It too a moment, but he was able to get around the throng of people and get back on his way.  He glanced back at the crowd, having come to the spectacle they were all yammering about.

It was indeed local heroes: specifically Brute Wall and Nabang.  They were greeting the crowd, smiling and waving and talking pleasantly.  Well, Nabang and one of Brute Wall's sidekicks, Road Train, were talking happily.  Brute Wall stood close, her arms crossed over her chest.  She was responding to people, but it was clear she didn't really want to be there.

Katsuki couldn't help but empathise with her.  He had always wanted the fame that came with being a top hero, but he had found over his time at the UA that it wasn't exactly the way he'd expected. Talking in front of people bothered him when he knew they would talk back.  Crowds were too much sometimes, and he didn't know how to handle them when they were too close.  Not to mention his worse manias made him worse with people when he wasn't in control of the situation.

He understood why another Hero would hate going into public.  It was the whole reason Brute Wall's agency had seemed so appealing to him.  Even when she had first reached out to him in second year, he was already looking into it. But then his relationship with Izuku had gotten so deep...

He was making the right choice.  He could always find an agency: there was only one Izuku.

Katsuki turned, taking a step forward toward the vendors.  He stilled when he thought he heard his name being called. The voice was unfamiliar, though, and he started again, just ignoring it.

He only got a few steps before he was stopped again by a hand on his shoulder. He flipped around, ready to get into a confrontation.  He was surprised to find Brute Wall there with Road Train at her side.

"Bakugou Katsuki."

Katsuki finally turned to face them.  He nodded in greeting directed at both, but he kept his attention on Brute Wall.  She was an imposing figure, almost as tall as All Might and built similarly.  Her long, fiery red hair was tied in a long braid with several pins and baubles in it. She wore a masculine kimono in tones of purples and whites.

Road Train was short but had the same kind of build.  His black hair was short and spiked, and his dark eyes were almost tired looking.  He wasn't wearing a kimono, but still looked good in his button down and blazer.

"What is it?" he asked.  He tried to keep his tone even, not let any of his crassness come out, but it seemed unavoidable.

Brute Wall smirked.  "I wasn't expecting to see you tonight," she started.  It was an odd statement: why would she expect him at all?

"I got dragged along," Katsuki replied.  It was honest in most ways.

"Well, since I have you, we could hammer out some details, eh?"

Katsuki raised a brow.  "Details for what?"

"For coming to the agency."

Katsuki scoffed.  "What are you talking about?" he asked, brow furrowed.  "I told you, I can't join the JH.  I... I have to stay near Shizuoka."

"Then you shouldn't have said you were accepting the offer," Road Train chimed in.  His tone sounded upset, but Katsuki could hardly place why.

"I didn't," Katsuki said with a glare to Road Train.  "The last thing I sent was a declination."

Brute Wall frowned.  "The last I got from you was reconsidering."  She pulled out her phone and skimmed through it quickly before handing it to Katsuki.  "See? From yesterday morning."  The screen was a wall of text, starting with the subject about the offer and the send from Katsuki's email address.

Katsuki began to read over the characters.  It was indeed an acceptance of Brute Wall's very generous offer, but none of the words looked familiar to him.  He didn't remember writing this.  Where had it come from?

"I was planning on coming by the dormitories on Saturday when you were more likely to be free," she said.  "Nabang and I had a few from your year we picked out and were going to talk to. But since you're here..."

"I didn't send this," Katsuki said with a harsh tone.

Brute Wall took her phone back and glanced at the screen.  "This is your email address, isn't it?  This was sent from you, wasn't it?"

"It is, but I didn't send that email."

"If you didn't, then who did?"

"I don't know, but—"

"Why not just take it?" Road Train interrupted.  "The offer is very good, one of the better ones we've given out.  There's no reason not to reconsider!"

"Hatsukawa," Brute Wall addressed him.  "Calm yourself."

Road Train huffed.  "He's the one being ungrateful."

"I'm not being ungrateful," Katsuki snapped.  "I have my reasons."

Road Train didn't seem to care for the vague answer.  Brute Wall seemed disappointed more than anything.  But Katsuki didn't care.  His answer wasn't going to change.

"Is there nothing that can change your mind?"

Katsuki shook his head.  "No. Not anything that remotely comes to mind."

Brute Wall sighed.  "Fine, fine."

Road Train didn't look convinced, but he said nothing.

"If you change your mind, though, drop me a line."

Katsuki nodded, even if he was sure nothing would change.

"Enjoy your evening, Bakugou-san," she said with a wave. "I wish you the best in your career."

Katsuki just grunted in acknowledgement.  Road Train opened his mouth to say something, but Katsuki had already turned, heading back toward his original destination.

::*~~*::

Izuku wandered around the festival, enjoying the sights and sounds of the lively decorations and shows.  He admired the different sculptures, inspecting the more detailed ones, appreciating the artistry that went into it.  He had seen plenty of pictures from the years before, but there was something more when seeing them up close.

Along his wandering, he came to thoughts about the prefecture itself.  He had been paying close attention to the area all week, something he always did, but especially in the past couple of days. Since Kaminari had slipped up and told him of the offer Katsuki had gotten, he had reconsidered his own offer from Nabang.  Between his fermin and during downtime at work he had looked more into the surrounding area.

He would have to bring it up to Katsuki, which Nabang would be its own trial. Katsuki clearly didn't want him to know about it, so there was the initial anger there.  Izuku also wanted to discuss it without bringing up the offer from Yuchoen.  He didn't want Katsuki's decision to be based on him anymore than he knew his current on to stay in Shizuoka had been.  And though Izuku was just as guilty of making a similar selfish decision, he had to take a step back here.  The JH was perfect for Katsuki, and Izuku didn't want their relationship to get in the way of his career.  They could withstand some distance, if it came to it.  He just needed to see if Katsuki agreed.  Their relationship shouldn't be in the way of their careers, but work toward them.

Izuku also wasn't looking forward to Katsuki figuring out about the email he sent. Though he had Katsuki's best intentions in mind, he knew the meddling wouldn't initially be received well.  He didn't blame him there, but sometimes he wished he could skip over Katsuki's first response to things and get to what the real conversation was about.  He had thankfully gotten better about it over time, but over certain things that would be seen as too personal, Katsuki couldn't control himself at first.  He needed to have that first outburst before he could even think about the actual conversation happening.

It was easier to deal with on topics he knew it would come upon.  And there were times that anger was even justified, and Izuku didn't mind to let him have it.  He was entitled to it, after all.  It would just be easier to talk to him if they could get past it quickly and into what really needed to be discussed.

None of this discussion would start off simply, but they needed to have it.  He was sure it would end well, it would just take a bit to get to that part.  But it would be worth it.  That he was sure of.

Izuku walked back to the spot Katsuki had left him at, hoping he had returned.  He frowned when he looked around and couldn't find him in the crowd.  He figured he would be a while, maybe got caught up talking to his friends, but he was hoping he'd make it back soon.

Hopefully he wasn't losing his nerve.

Izuku sighed.  He shouldn't have let him go alone.  He could just go back to the dorms if he got too anxious, and Izuku would never even know. No, he wouldn't do that, he wouldn't leave without telling him.  At the most, he'd bring it up and maybe try to get out of it for just a moment, but then stop.  He would do it for Izuku, no matter what it meant for him.

Katsuki promised.  That meant he would do it.  No amount of overthinking on Izuku's part would convince him otherwise.

"Ah, Midoriya-san."

Izuku turned, facing who had called him.  He found himself in front of the head of the Yuchoen Agency, Nabang.  His eyes lit with surprise, never having expected to meet them in such a place.

"Nabang-san, good evening," he greeted with a bow.  "What a pleasure to run into you."

Nabang smiled and bowed back.  "I'd have to agree," they said.  "Have you been enjoying the festival?"

Izuku nodded.  "It's wonderful," he said.  "Such talent and love went into a lot these, you can tell."  His eyes went over few of the closest ones.  "It's quite a sight..."

Nabang looked over the same statues.  They folded their hands together in front of them and their moth-like wings fluttered a little, shaking off the falling snow.  "As long as I can remember, I've always enjoyed this time of year, just for this reason."  They turned to look at Izuku.

"We have a lot of things like this here," they went on.  "It's a wonderful place to live."

Izuku turned to them, a sincere smile on his lips.  He thought the conversation would lead this way, and he was glad for it. He actually wanted to discuss his options with them, see what could come of it.  He still hoped Katsuki would take Brute Wall's offer, but it didn't mean he couldn't hear them out in the meantime.

"I'm sure it is," he said.  "I'm, ah... been looking at the paces around here."

Their eyes lit up a little at the information.  "So you're interested?"

Izuku nodded.  "I'm definitely considering it."

Nabang hummed and tilted their head.  "Only considering...?"

Izuku scratched the back of his head with a nervous chuckle.  "I, ah... am still waiting for an answer from somewhere else."  They didn't need to know about his current conflict in full, right?  "Not to mention, I've already been accepted to an agency in Shizuoka."

"Is it that much of a better offer than mine?"

Izuku had to pause at that.  It was just as good an offer as what Nabang had given him.  The benefits were a bit different, but the biggest difference was the change in location.  He had looked at so many offers, and one of the things that came out was that they weren't in Shizuoka or Tokyo, and there was something alluring about it.  Every offer he would look at the surrounding area and learn about it, gaining an interest in everything not only the job provided but also the city.

...should Katsuki really be part of the decision?

No, of course he should be.  It was a selfish thought.  They should talk about options, that was true.  Izuku shouldn't feel bad about the offers he got.  They should be able to have discussions about this.  Though it wasn't like there was some spoken embargo on the topic.  They just picked their agencies, that not a real discussion just assumed, and that was it.

It was a conversation they should have.  Especially now.

"It's a good offer," Izuku admitted.  "And... I'm considering it actually."

Nabang's smile brightened.  "Is there anything you have questions on?  Something to tip the scale?"

Izuku shook his head and gave a wave, but his expression was still soft. "I... I just need to go over a few things," he said.  "See if some things would... work, if I accept."

Nabang had something like understanding in their faceted eyes.  They nodded and tucked their arms into the fur of their kimono. "Some things have to be arranged, I see."  They hummed, their gaze moved to nothing as if something was passing by them.

"Please let me know," they said.  "And if you have any... concerns, just email me.  We may be able to work something out."

Izuku nodded.  "I'll be in contact," he assured.  "Either way, I'll let you know."

"I appreciate it."  They looked around and back toward a crowd some metres off that had gathered. "I need to get back to Tsuyomi. She doesn't do well in these kinds of things."

Izuku only give a short laugh at the information.  "Yeah, I know someone like that."

Nabang chuckled.  They gave him a light bow, saying, "Enjoy your evening, Midoriya.  I hope to hear from you soon."

Izuku bowed.  "You, too, Nabang-san.  I'll reach out to you soon."

Nabang smiled and made their leave, heading to the crowd.  As they left, people spotted them and started to cheer.  They went into the crowd with an almost sereneness Izuku wasn't expecting.  What it must be like to be so famous and loved.  He had seen many heroes over the years greet their fans so happily, and there was something about it be always envied.

He was excited for his turn for it.

Izuku turned to the path of another set of sculptures.  It was a bit away from where Katsuki had left him but closer to the food vendors.  It should still be on his way back, so they wouldn't miss each other.  If nothing else, they both had their phones.  He had made sure of it before they left.

With a hum, Izuku started off to look at more of the carved snow.

::*~~*::

Katsuki despised the smug look on his friends' faces. He walked past Kirishima and Kaminari with a groan and an eye roll, wanting to postpone their negging. He was sure it was inevitable, but it would be easier to deal with if he had something to eat.

"You're late, Bakugou," Kirishima called after, hot on his footsteps.

Kaminari audibly sniffed the air.  "And I bet I know what kept him..."

"Shut it," Katsuki growled.  They just laughed in response.

Katsuki continued down the aisle of vendors until he came to one with something he wanted. He shushed the two of them as he made his order, telling the cook to put it all in one container.  He stepped aside to wait and glared back at his friends. They had started talking amongst themselves, their attention firmly on each other.

Kaminari was close to him, his arm wrapped around Kirishima's bicep. It wasn't uncommon for him to be so affectionate with any of his friends, but it was always different with the red-head.

Kirishima was an idiot.

"Where's everyone else?"

Kirishima looked around before back at Katsuki.  "A lot of them are over at the pond skating.  I think Hagakure and Ashido are somewhere close by.  They were playing some games at the midway."

"Where's Midoriya?" Kaminari asked.  "Weren't you two going--?"

"We are," Katsuki interrupted.  He ran a hand through his hair.  "We are, I swear."  He was speaking more to himself than them.

"You okay, man?" Kirishima asked.

Katsuki shrugged.  "Whatever."  He turned when he heard his order being called out.  He took the large paper basket of fried foods with a word of gratitude and came back to the others.

"Aww, he's getting something for his date," Kaminari said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, yeah."  He headed off to a beverage vendor he had seen on his way down the aisle.  He got in line, muttering, "Might as well make this whole thing worth something."

"The sculptures are nice," Kirishima said.  They were still close to him, Kaminari still on his arm.

They looked... good together like that.  He almost thought he should mention it, but he didn't want to deal with Kaminari's disappointment when Kirishima inevitably said something stupid.

"Katsuki-kun!"

Katsuki just barely lifted his tray of food above his head as he was bombarded with the weight of layers of clothes running into him.  Hagakure gave him an odd, one armed hug before pulling away.  In her other hand was her phone, an image moving on the screen and a voice coming from the device.  Only a few steps behind as Ashido, grinning as she took his free arm in a similar fashion as Kaminari and Kirishima.

"We were wondering where you were," Hagakure said.  Even with the little he could see of her, he could tell she was ecstatic about something.  The light makeup on her face revealed her large smile and wide eyes.

"Who's that?  Is it Bakugou?"

Katsuki raised a brow and looked at her hand at her mobile.  She held it up as though she were taking a selfie.  She got Katsuki in the camera's view, and from there, he could see clearly who was on the screen.

"Hey," Ojirou said with a wave.

Katsuki gave a hesitant wave back.  "...hi."

Hagakure brought the phone back down and started some conversation with him, getting into it quickly and walking off.  He watched her before turning a glance to Ashido.

"So, I guess--?"

Ashido smiled and nodded.  "Yeah, everything's... it's better."

The other two looked confused at the conversation, but didn't press anything.

"You never answered my question," Kaminari quipped.

"Which one?" Katsuki was getting to the front of the line.  He picked up one of the yakitori sticks, hard as it was with Ashido still on his arm, and took a bite of it.

"Where's Midoriya?"

"Yeah, where is Izuku-kun?" Ashido asked before stealing a bite off his yakitori.  "Shou'd'n he be wit' you, sh'n' off?"

Katsuki pulled his food away, only to have Kirishima take a bite of it.  He growled and snapped it away from him.

"He wanted to look at some of the sculptures," he said.  "I was just going to get this, and then we'll... you know."

"Come out?" Kaminari offered.

"Katsuki-kun's already out," Ashido corrected.  "Who would think he's straight?"

"Thank you," Katsuki said sarcastically.

The conversation paused as Katsuki got to the front of the line and made his order. He only got on drink, something large that was more what Izuku would like but he could also stand.  Behind him, he heard the three talk, but ignored it as they made his drink.  When it was handed to him, he thanked them and led the group away.

"Should we go get him?" Kirishima offered.

"No, I... give me just a second, I'll get him."  He looked at his hands and frowned.  He couldn’t get to his food like this...

"You're stretching it out," Kaminari accused.

"Shut up."

"You already wasted time getting here," Kirishima added.

"And messed up your makeup!"  Ashido was looking over his face with some scrutiny.

"I bet he sweated it off."

"Ha, I bet!" Kaminari agreed.  "That's what kept you, after all, wasn't it?"

"I will kill all of you," Katsuki growled.

Kirishima took the basket of food from his hand and stuck one of the takoyaki in his mouth.  "Brought it on you's'lf."

Katsuki glared at him and reached for it.  Kirishima held it away, and Kaminari took something from it.  He growled but stilled for the moment.

They came to an eating area where a few of their classmates sat, talking together in a group.  Kirishima and Kaminari headed to them, all smiled and greetings.  Katsuki didn't look too thrilled about coming to the others, but he couldn't get out of Ashido's grip without making a scene of it.

Uraraka was talking to Todoroki and Iida when they came up to them.  She was quick to turn and greet them, even giving a somewhat genuine one to Katsuki.  The other two also acknowledged them, but Todoroki seemed to barely pay attention. He was looking over them, as if he was looking for something.

"You guys get tired of skating?" Ashido asked.

Iida answered, "It was getting a little too crowded."

"And someone was getting anxious," Uraraka said low, glancing at Todoroki.

Katsuki raised a brow as he turned away, something like a blush on his cheeks.

"Do you know where Izuku is, Bakugou?" Uraraka asked him. "Kirishima mentioned he was coming with you."

"He already did," Kaminari said under his breath, getting a snicker from Kirishima and Ashido.

Katsuki shot them a look.  The others looked confused.  He cleared his throat and said, "He wanted to see the sculptures in the northern part of the park."

Uraraka smiled wide.  "Oh, good.  I was worried he decided not to come or something silly like that."

"No, he was just waiting on Bakugou's slow ass," Kirishima said.

"Didn't want to come alone, right?" Ashido added.

Katsuki glared at them.  He noticed at some point during the short exchange, Todoroki slipped away.  Good riddance, he thought.

"Want some?" Kaminari offered the basket of food to Uraraka and Iida.

They both said a word of gratitude and took some of the fried foods.

"Are you fucking serious?"

"Running out of excuses, Bakugou," Kirishima teased.

"Excused for what?" Iida asked, his eyes moving between them all.

"Nothing," Katsuki growled.  He finally got his arm from Ashido and snatched his food back from Kaminari.

"Might as well, right?" Kaminari mentioned.  He took one last stick of yakitori before leaving Kirishima's side to sit down on the table Uraraka and Iida sat at.  "No point in keeping it secret anymore."

"...not without Deku," Katsuki said quietly, not looking at any of them.

"What are you guys talking about?"

Katsuki shot a glance at them, staring daggers and willing their silence.  So much of this had been beyond his control. The only person he had told was Hagakure, and that was because he felt almost guilty that point he hadn't.  This whole night was about control over how they came out.  Izuku had even given him this moment away to get ready.  It was in his control.

He just wanted to keep it that way.

"Hey, everyone!" Hagakure chirped to the group as she approached them.  She was putting her phone into her purse, giving her undivided attention to them all.  "What's going on?"

"Bakugou was about to tell us some secret," Uraraka said.  She scooted over an let her sit next to her on the bench.

"Oh? What secret?" she asked, though her tone gave her away.

"Oh, you know..."  Kirishima led on.

"Quit it," Katsuki snapped.  "At least let me get Deku first."

Iida raised a brow.  "What do you need him for?"

Katsuki snapped his jaw shut.  Thankfully, the others did the same, finally waiting on him to speak.

"Look, it's just... I need to grab him, okay?  Just..."  Katsuki shook his head.  He handed the basket back to Kirishima and turned to leave.

"Ah, Bakugou!  Wait a second!"

Katsuki turned, glaring at Uraraka.  "What is it?"

Uraraka hesitated.  She scratched at her cheek almost nervously.  "Um, well.. you just hold up a second."

Everyone was looking at her, their expressions questioning.

"Why?" Ashido asked.

"Well, see... he just needs some time..."

Katsuki blinked.  "Who needs time for what?"

"Are you talking about Todoroki?" Hagakure asked.

Katsuki's brow only knitted more.  "What about half and half?"

Uraraka looked taken aback by his tone.  "He needed to talk to Deku."

"Oh, no, not about--?"

Uraraka looked at her, surprised.  "How did you know?"

"Izuku-kun was worried about it..."

"Worried about what?" Kirishima spoke up.  He moved closer to Katsuki and put a hand on his shoulder.

"It's not that bad," Uraraka said.  "I think it'll go well."

"No, Ochako-chan, I don't think it—"

"What the fuck is going to go well?"

Uraraka gave him a stern look.  "It's not really your business."

"I'm pretty sure it is."

Kirishima squeezed his shoulder.  "Dude, you're getting a little—"

Katsuki shrugged him off.  He took a step away from the group.  "That fucking..."

"Maybe you should let Midoriya handle it," Kirishima suggested.

"Yes, you should," Uraraka interjected.  "Todoroki had been trying to get him along for a while and—"

"For what?"

"Oh, that was the wrong choice of words," Kaminari mentioned softly.

Uraraka's eyes were wide at the tone of his voice.  "He was just—"

"Go after him like a piece of meat?"

"Katsuki-kun, calm down," Ashido touched his arm, but he swatted it away.

He shot her a dirty look.  "Let someone else act like it's open fucking season on him?"

"Seriously, man, you know it's not—"

Katsuki broke away from his friends.  He said nothing other than growl as he turned from the group and disappeared back into the crowd, Kirishima calling after him.

::*~~*::

Izuku started his way toward the food vendors when time had started to crawl on too long.  He had planned to give Katsuki the moment he clearly needed, but that moment was long past due.  He was getting worried that he would pull back on his promise, and he just couldn't let that happen.

It was time everyone knew the truth.  That, and he just wanted a date with his boyfriend where they could finally act like boyfriends around more than just Katsuki's friends.

He was passing a Mount Lady sculpture when his phone chirped at him.  He pulled it out of his sleeve and swiped at the notification.

Where are you?

He raised a brow at the abrupt message.  Shouldn't he be asking that of Katsuki?  He was the one taking forever to get back to him.  Getting food shouldn't have taken so long and he posed his fingers over the screen, ready to tell him so and that he was on his way to him.

"Izuku?"

Izuku looked up, hovering over the barely started message to turn his gaze to Todoroki. He smiled at his friend, lowering his phone after a hastily written response where he was stalled.  (­The weeping willow next to the bridge, though his text only barely resembled that answer.)

"Shouto."  Izuku put his phone away and turned his focus completely on him.  He gave him a soft, friendly smile.  "Has the evening been good?"

Shouto returned the smile and nodded.  "It's been rather enjoyable.  Did you just get here?"

"Oh, no, I've been here for... an hour, I think?"

Shouto gave small 'oh.'  "Have you been--?"  He hesitated, as if he was considering his words.

Izuku tilted his head, but he didn't continue right away.  "I guess I got caught up looking at all the sculptures."

Should he mention Katsuki?  He almost felt he should, but they promised to come out together.  But they were supposed to by now... If it came out, he was sure Katsuki would be okay with it.

Shouto's smile spread a little.  "They are something."

Izuku relaxed a little, thankful he didn't press further.  "They are!"  His excitement was coming back as he looked about at all of them. "I mean, I saw pictures, but looking up close, there's such incredible detail."  He glanced back at Shouto.  "Isn't it awesome?"

Shouto nodded.  "It really is."  He put his arms in the sleeves of his kimono as a wind came by.

Izuku shivered and he wondered where Katsuki was.

"Do you know where everyone else is?" Izuku asked.  "I wanted to—"

"Izuku, I..."  Shouto stepped forward, closing the small distance between them.  "Give me a moment?  I wanted to talk to you about something."

Izuku took a step back.  He tried to keep a pleasant smile to his features, but he couldn't help but fret about where the conversation was going.

No, no, no, don't bring it up, please, please...  I don't want to do this...

"Shouto, I really don't think—"

He quieted when Shouto's hands were suddenly on his.  His cheeks were flushed, his left hand was too hot and his right hand was too cold.  His eyes were stuck on Izuku's and they were so serious.

No, no, no, stop, stop, stop.

"I know we haven't talked about it in a while," Shouto started.  "But it's almost graduation, and I just can't... I can't let us part ways without fully discussing it."

Izuku found himself frozen.  He was always able to get out of this topic since Shouto only hinted at wanting to talk about it and not actually saying anything.  But he was being so forward, leaving no room for him to wiggle out of the conversation without directly engaging in it.  He was caught off guard and Shouto was taking advantage of it.

"Izuku, I still... I know we tried, but it really wasn't for that long." Shouto scratched the back of his hands. "And I still, you know...  I still like you.  I get that before, before we were still getting to know each other, and there was so much going on in the first year..."

Just let him get it out, Izuku thought.  You've been avoiding it so long, it's time to just let him have it.  He's going on too much now to be cruel.

"...and we could make it work," Shouto went on.  Izuku hadn't paid attention for a moment, and he wasn't sure what he missed.

He just knew Shouto was leaning in more.

"I'm not going to be in Tokyo," Izuku said without thinking, as if it would deflect his words.

"But you're staying in Shizuoka, right?  That's not far.  It wouldn't be that hard to keep up."

Difficult if I go to Sapporo, with or without Katchan.

"This isn't... Shouto, really, this won't—"

Izuku's eyes widened as Shouto made the space between them to press his lips against his.  He squeaked against him, his mind spiralling.  This was the first time they had kissed, even during their small time together, and it was nothing he wanted anymore.

He had then, but things were far different now.

Izuku was surprised when he wasn't the first to pull away.  Shouto was just as quickly away as he was there.  He was about to say something, about to correct him, when Shouto was turned around.  Before he could say anything, even really think anything, there was a sound of flesh on flesh and Shouto was stumbling back to be caught by Izuku.

The kiss to the sound to Shouto in his arms all happened within a space of just a few seconds.  So focused on Shouto, it wasn't instant for Izuku to catch what was going on.

It was the sight of Katsuki pulling his arm back that it connected in his mind what had happened.

"Katchan!" Izuku exclaimed.  He helped Shouto straighten up and get his balance back.  "Are you okay?"  His attention was on Shouto again, looking over his face.  He could tell where Katsuki had hit by the red around his non scarred eye.

"Yes, I'm fine, just—"

"What the fuck were you doing, half and half!?"

Shouto shot him a glare.  He had removed himself completely from Izuku to face Katsuki.  He did not take any offensive action, but his body was tense, ready to defend if he was attacked again.

"I could ask the same of you," he quipped back.

Katsuki's face was red and he was glaring daggers at him.  "Stay away from him."

"I think he can make that decision for himself."

"Don't fucking start with me," Katsuki growled, taking a step forward. "I'm sick of you assholes trying to take advantage of—"

"Katchan, it's not like that."  Izuku had moved, stepping between the two.  He put a hand on Katsuki's chest and pushed him further from Shouto.  "He wouldn't... this has nothing to do with that."

This only seemed to aggravate him more.

"Then what is it like?"

"This is between Izuku and me," Shouto asserted.

Katsuki clicked his tongue.  "The fuck it—"

"Katchan is my boyfriend," Izuku said bluntly.  "So it does concern him."

Shouto looked shocked by the response.  Katsuki smirked at the reaction, but it was clear he was still enraged.

"I'm sorry, Shouto," Izuku said with sincerity.  "I... should have told you, I know, but..."  He glanced to Katsuki.

"How...?  But when?"

"Does it fucking matter?"

"Katchan," Izuku chided him.  "Shouto, please... we'll talk about this later, okay? I promise, I'll explain everything."

"Izuku..."  Something sullen came over Shouto's expression.  "Can't we just--?"

"Later."  Izuku took Katsuki's hand.  "I promise, later."  Izuku started to drag him away.  "We need to talk."

Katsuki's eyes didn't leave Shouto's face until they were well and away from him. Izuku pulled him through the crowds until they found a secluded spot off the main path and among a few trees.

"Deku, let—"

"What the hell were you thinking!?"  Izuku turned to him, his hand falling from his as he pinned him with a livid expression.

Katsuki was initially taken aback by his reaction.  He then got his bearings back so he could say, "What are you talking about?  He was fucking kissing you!"

"One kiss, one, that I didn't even have time to react to!"  Izuku crossed his arms over his chest. "It's not like I wanted it or anything."

"He sure thought you did," Katsuki retorted.  "You didn't really stop him from getting the idea he should."

"Oh, fuck you," Izuku said bitterly.  "I wasn't expecting him to.  And if I hadn't been hiding us, he would have already known!  It wouldn't have even come up!"

"Everyone else you could shrug off without saying anything, why is that bastard different?"

"No, I told all of them when they hit on me either about you or at least that I'm taken," Izuku was quick to correct.  "And Shouto was different.  Shouto wasn't hitting on me because— this has nothing to do with my fermin."

"Of course it does," Katsuki said.  "He's been after you for years, and the fermin just—"

"We dated before," Izuku interrupted.

Katsuki fell quiet and his eyes were hard on Izuku.  "What?"

"I mean... we went on dates is a better way to put it," Izuku said. "But we were... something like together for a few months during first year."  He quickly added, "Before you and I..."

"Why the fuck didn't you tell me?"

"You already don't like him, why add fuel to the fire?"

Izuku could almost hear Katsuki's jaw clench tight.

"I deserved to know."

"Did you?"  Izuku's brow furrowed.  "Just so you could have another thing to be overly involved in?"

"What are you--?"

"You thought this was just about the fermin, right?"  Izuku moved his hands to his sides, his fists balled. "So what were you going to do, swoop in and protect me?"

"Deku—"

"Even if that were true, I can take care of myself!"  Izuku's voice rose.  "It isn't that bad!  So what if people are attracted to me!?  They get what 'no' means!"

"Not everyone," Katsuki snapped.  "And not everyone can help themselves, especially around yours.  And if you listened to anyone, you would know that!"

"Oh, come on." Izuku rolled his eyes.  "You're just blowing what everyone has said out of proportion.  I doubt anyone has had the problems you're trying to put on them."

"Do you not remember the other night?  Where I chased you across town?"

Izuku huffed.  Katsuki had told him that he couldn't control it, couldn't help having to 'hunt' him down. But he let himself get that bad. He knew he could with Izuku; that they could be together without inhibition.

Izuku had seen no problem with it.  Why couldn't Katsuki let it go?

"That was no big deal.  It was fun."

Katsuki let out an angered sigh, and he threw up his hands.  "What do I have to say to get through that thick skull of yours!?"

"There is nothing to get other than you don't trust me!"

A silence fell between them, Katsuki's eyes wide and Izuku's brow furrowed.

"You... you don't really think that."  Katsuki took a step forward, reaching out for him.  "Deku, that... do you really think I don't trust you?"

Izuku stepped back, keeping out of reach.  "Isn't that what this is about?  You don't think I can help myself during the fermin.  You think I'm going to slip up."

"Listen, if you talk to—"

"Isn't that why you pre-emptively forgave me?"

"That..."  Katsuki almost seemed to shrink at the accusation.  "There's a reason for that."

"So you can think about and justify being so involved?"

"Deku, fuck, just let me—"

Izuku didn't care to hear it.  Not now. He was seething.  Katsuki meant well, he knew, but punching Shouto was not part of that, it was part of a possessiveness he wasn't entitled to. That wasn't what they agreed to when they said they belonged to each other.

"No, you listen to me, Bakugou."

Izuku ignored how he visibly flinched at the use of his surname.

"I'm not some fragile thing like I was in middle school."  His voice was harsh as he spoke.  "I don't need protection from anyone.  No fermin, no exes, and not from you.  I can defend myself.  If I don't want it, it won't happen.

"And if you can't understand that, meet me somewhere with it..."  Izuku shook his head.  He didn't think that but maybe he should start.

"Deku..."  There was something desperate in his tone.  He made another movement to him.

"Give... give me a moment."  Izuku stepped away.  He was pulling his phone from his sleeve.  "Please... we both should calm down.  We need..."  He took in a deep breath.

Katsuki kept his eyes on Izuku, his expression almost lost.

"A moment," he reasserted.  "We need a moment... Katchan."

Katsuki breathed a small sigh at the return of the nickname.

"...okay, Deku."

Izuku was thankful for his agreement.

"I... I'm going to go find Uraraka," Izuku said softly. "I..."  He shook his head.  "Later."

Katsuki said nothing, but Izuku could feel his eyes as he walked off, leaving him alone among the snowfall.

[junionigiri]

Ruby Red and Caramel Ch 3: Dark Chocolate Truffles

Chapter Summary: Late nights and late nights.

Relationship(s): Bakugou Katsuki/Yaoyorozu Momo; background Hagakure Tooru/Sato Rikido; background Kendo Itsuka/Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu

Rating: T

Warnings/Notes: after internally debating with myself where to cut the chapter because there’re so many words i cut it right in the middle of a scene ahhh wth. I hope this isn’t... too awkward T_T

as always, also available on AO3 (JuniRiceBall) and FFNet (Juni Onigiri)!

Momo makes it to Ward Five as planned, with a sharp gleam in her eye, a skip in her step, and a determined swing of her ponytail. Kendo Itsuka is already there with all the charts in front of her, ready to do rounds with her. She’s in the middle of an animated discussion over the phone though, so she patiently waits for her to finish.

“Mmhm. Mmhm.” She glosses over the charts in front of her as she intently listens to the other end of the conversation. “No… Tetsu, that’s... Don’t panic, okay? It’s just potassium, you just have to--” She catches Momo’s eye, gives her a lopsided grin. “No, Tetsu, the patient isn’t going to die from that, okay? Listen, so Yaoyorozu’s here, I have to discuss a ton of cases with her, so maybe ask Shiozaki for help if you’re not sure? No, she isn’t going to send you to hell. Not today. Hopefully.”

Momo stifles a giggle when she hears Tetsutetsu’s distressed voice clearly through Kendo’s phone: “Kendo you know she’ll kill me for this!!! Please I’m stupid and you’re smart and you’re the nicest one I know help me help me help--”

Kendo giggles. “Fine. I’ll help you, and you’ll buy me dinner, okay?” She bites her lower lip and has to pull the phone a couple of inches off her ear from Tetsutetsu’s overexcited yelling. “Okay. I’ll text you. Bye.”

The redhead finally hangs up the call and gives Momo an apologetic grin. “Yeah, sorry about that Yaoyorozu… you know how Tetsu gets sometimes.”

Momo nods in understanding. “You do know him best, Kendo-san.” The shine of her teal eyes, how her finger twirled ‘round her vermilion hair, and how she can’t stop smiling doesn’t escape her.

The other girl snorts and slaps her on the arm playfully. “Hey, what’s with that look? Are you… teasing me?”

“Oh, not at all!”

“Yes you are! This is so out of character for you, Ms. Prim-and-Proper. Since when have you acted like a charm school delinquent, huh?”

“I only calmly regarded how… radiant you seemed speaking with Tetsutetsu-san, that’s all!”

“Whatever, Yaoyorozu,” the redhead counters playfully. “Is this a takes-one-to-know-one kind of thing? You’re the one who’s ridiculously perky these past couple of weeks, you know.”

“... I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Momo begins, putting her nose up in the air haughtily. Isn’t it unfair how Kendo easily changes the subject of scrutiny from herself to Momo? They were talking about her obvious affection for Tetsutetsu, and now… “And we aren’t talking about me, we’re talking about--”

Kendo’s gaze is a little too investigatory, and she finds herself avoiding her gaze altogether. “We can tell, you know. Smiling all the time? Literally bouncing when you’re talking to anyone and everyone? Humming Mariah Carey’s Emotions, on loop?”

Momo sputters, “It’s a good song!”

“Yeah. Honenuki tells me that he and Todoroki have that song stuck in their heads for an entire week now ‘cause of you.”

Oh. So that explains the pained look on Honenuki-san’s face whenever Momo comes in. Has she really been humming that song all the time? But it’s a good song, a classic. Anyone can fight her on that.

“Whatever it is… you got it bad, girl.” Kendo ignores how Momo’s ponytail starts twitching tensely as the accusation comes forth. “Even Best Jeanist asked me if I knew why you’re acting strangely.”

Momo freezes and starts to fret. She thinks she did a good job of separating her silly, dreamy adolescent feelings from her work facade, but apparently she hasn’t, if their infamous training officer has noticed a change in her. “Dr. Hakamata noticed something? Oh, did he comment on how I lack confidence again? Or maybe he wants to give me more duties, because I’m not doing very well?”

The redhead gives her an odd look. “No, of course not Yaoyorozu! Actually, it’s the opposite. He likes how you’re suddenly so… bright and positive and decisive.”

Momo can’t keep her surprise hidden. She feels her ponytail twitch upward happily. Kendo notices and stifles a giggle.

“He actually asked me if anything good happened to you. Like, if you won the lottery or something. But I’m sure it isn’t the lottery, since I’m sure you have like a pile of inherited gold doubloons hidden somewhere in your room--”

She most certainly does not have gold doubloons in her room. She isn’t a pirate or a dragon with a hoarding complex. But Momo has invested in gold before. She chooses not to clarify that point for her.

“--whatever it is, he says you should keep it up. Aren’t you glad, Yaoyorozu? Best Jeanist practically gave you his blessing to keep seeing this mystery person of yours~”

Momo can’t keep her face from flushing when she sputters, “That’s not--Dr. Hakamata doesn’t know about--”

“About what? Or… whomst?” The neurologist gives her a little eyebrow-wiggle of her own. “You’re thinking of a specific face in your head now, aren’t you?”

“No-one! Really, Kendo-san!” She’s relieved that Kendo doesn’t have a mind-reading quirk, because the face of a certain blonde cafe owner that flashed out of nowhere in her traitorous mind would be misinterpreted as cold, hard evidence of her outrageous claims. “I think we should start discussing these cases, please? We have a long day ahead of us!”

“Mhm.” Kendo shrugs and says nothing more about the subject. The mischievous grin on the other doctor’s face doesn’t go away, though, and Momo knows that she isn’t off the hook. “So about Mr. S in room 504-A…”

Kendo starts to discuss the new referrals eloquently and seriously. With a laser-precision focus, Momo pushes all the silly love-struck soundtracks and explosives to the back of her mind.

 *

 Momo is correct. It ends up being a long day. And even though she doesn’t have night duty that day, the evening rush is over by the time she finishes everything and steps out of the hospital. As is her habit for the past couple of weeks, she looks both ways and crosses the street and quietly peeps through the windows of the NTG Cafe.

The lights are dimmed. The little wooden signage that hangs at the glass door reads Closed. Momo sees Kaminari at the far end of the cafe, rearranging the last of the tables and chairs and then disappearing at the back.

She sighs. Of course she didn’t make it. It’s eleven in the evening on a busy weeknight, and people should be going home to rest by this hour. They all have a full day ahead of them tomorrow.

Well--it’s not so bad. As a direct result of her being so ‘bright and positive and decisive,’ as Kendo-san eloquently put it, for the past few days she was able to finish work earlier and to make it minutes before the cafe closed. And because of that, she has been able to see Bakugou-san more frequently. So she’s only a little down when she decides that it’s all right that she isn’t seeing him tonight, for once, and decides to go home to her apartment.

As she turns around to leave though, the door chime sounds behind her. “Hey. Ponytail,” a familiar rumble calls out to her, sending a shiver down her spine.

She turns around, trademark ponytail swishing behind her. “I have a name, Bakugou-san.”

Despite her stern response, she can’t stop the smile breaking into her face.

Bakugou has that unbearable smirk on his pretty mouth when he looks at her up and down, as he usually does when they meet. He doesn’t have his apron on anymore, and Momo is treated to the sight of him, lean and mean in a tight-enough black collared shirt and jeans. His arms are crossed, showing off those strong arms of his, the sleeves of his shirt struggling to contain them, and she’s so sure that if she leapt into him right now he’d be able to…

Momo internally reprimands herself for still not being used to this sight after 2 weeks of exposure

“Whatever. You comin’ in?” His gruff voice interrupts her unladylike ogling. She snaps up to attention to look at him curiously.

“But it’s past closing time already…”

The blonde shrugs. “Never stopped you and your bottomless-pit-of-a-stomach before, Brainy.”

By this time she’s almost completely immune to his natural predilection for profanities, even those targeted towards her. She hopes she isn’t bouncing her way inside when she obliges.

Bakugou leads the way to their usual spot near the counter, orders her to sit down, and disappears out back. Kaminari, already clad in his casual clothes, ambles his way up to her with his backpack, evidently ready to go home. He greets her with a wiggle of two short blonde brows. “Hey, doc~ You’re here a little later than usual. How’s the hospital?”

“Oh, busy. But nothing that I can’t handle. Thank you for asking, Kaminari-san!”

“Aren’t you bright and bouncy, Yaomomo! Man, you have no idea how starved I am for a pretty face--it’s just me and Baku-boss the entire day, and I’m just about to lose hope in the human race…”

She giggles. It’s always hard to keep one’s composure around the jocular Kaminari-san, but she tries her best. “Oh, I can only imagine. And the cafe has been busy lately, right? But you seem to be doing a good job.”

“Thanks! You’re the only one who thinks that!” He makes a face, hears Bakugou coming out from the back again, and exaggerates the said face. “Did you hear what Dr. Yaomomo said, Baku-boss? She said I was doing a good job! You should give me a raise--”

“Didn’t hear a fuckin’ thing,” he grumbles as he places the tray on their table. “But, I should give you a fuckin’ deduction for what you did to the fuckin’ toilet, Pika-shit. Thanks for remindin’ me.”

“Whey. This is abuse,” he sighs dramatically amidst Momo’s giggles. And then, a look of concern on his face. “But hey, you’re going home soon, right, Baku-boss? I mean… you know we can’t keep Dr. Yaomomo for too long here…”

The odd, careful tone in his voice doesn’t go past Momo unnoticed. Bakugou doesn’t look up to meet his gaze. “Yeah it’s fine.”

“You sure?” Strangely insistent and gentle to the point of being parental, Kaminari leers comically close to his boss’s face and narrows his empty eyes. “We got a full day tomorrow, boss, and it’s way past your bedtime--”

“Fuckin’--what are you, my mom?! I said it’s fine!” He shoves the shorter blonde’s face away with one strong hand, making the latter yelp and discharge a few shocks from his head. “Now get the fuck outta here. I’ll take care of the rest.”

“Okay~ You two take care, I guess.” The concern in his face is completely gone, making Momo wonder if she was just imagining things. Kaminari salutes her with his usual silly grin and double thumbs-up. “Y’all have fun now! Good night!”

“Good night, Kaminari-san,” says Momo, with a gentle wave of the hand. When he disappears, she shifts her attention to Bakugou, who has already grumpily fallen into his seat across from her. “Is… this really okay, Bakugou-san? He seems worried for you…”

“Tch,” he begins, as grumpy as is the norm. “Don’t mind that dopey fucker, a’ight? I told you it’s fine.”

She stares at him quietly. There are circles dimming the undersides of his eyes, and a very subtle droop in his shoulders as he sets the plates in front of her. But his eyes are fully awake and alert, and when he reaches over to grab her hand and push the cutleries in her palm, as always, his hands are as strong and fiery hot as they’ve ever been.

“W… well… if you say so,” she relents. Maybe she’s looking too much into it. It is late, after all. Anyone would look tired by this time. She turns her attention to the food in front of her instead, and feels herself brightening up considerably. “Oh, Bakugou-san, it’s beautiful…”

Discs of vibrant, rainbow pasta are layered up with filling. From the light, stimulating fragrance emanating from it, Momo can only guess there’s fish, shellfish mousse, and vegetables blended and cooked perfectly within. The piece is plated artfully and tastefully on a wide plate. She feels all her senses activate her hunger centers, but also feels terrible at the prospect of cutting the dish open and ruining the aesthetic.

But the feeling doesn’t last long when she takes the first bite of the meal. “Oh my… Bakugou-san…!!!”

The cafe owner snorts at her first reaction, which is to moan a little too suggestively and stomp her feet in an undignified manner. “You like that, Ponytail?” he says teasingly.

She can’t believe how good it tastes. Before she can stop herself and regulate her excitement, the praises escapes her mouth. “All the layers are exquisite! The cacciucco, the shellfish mousse, and the broccoli work so well together! And unexpectedly, the pasta balances the flavours neatly! Everything is just elegantly done!”

There’s no way that he didn’t spend hours making the dish. Either that, or he’s an actual demon in the kitchen. It won’t take a lot to convince Momo of that anymore. “You know it,” Bakugou says easily, with a self-satisfied smirk. “When have I ever given you anything that ain’t cooked to fuckin’ perfection, Ponytail?”

Never is the only answer to that question. But Momo doesn’t tell him that, because she’s perpetually worried about how big his ego is getting and how unhelpful she is in that regard.

Which reminds her… She puts down her fork, making Bakugou raise an eyebrow that she even dared to stop in the middle--really, does this man think of her as nothing but as eating machine?--and delicately pats her mouth with a napkin. “It’s delicious, as always, Bakugou-san,” she begins, when he looks like he’s about to sit up and loudly demand an explanation from her. “But I’d like to pace myself, for one. Also, I want to show you how I appreciate the meals and company you’ve given me so far…”

The mild confusion in Bakugou doesn’t go away, and grows and grows when Momo shifts in her seat to rifle through her handbag and to push a slim box into the blonde’s hands.

“The fuck is this, Ponytail?”

His odd reaction catches her off-guard. “It’s a gift, Bakugou-san.”

“It ain’t my fuckin’ birthday or anything like that, Brainy.”

“I know it isn’t,” Momo tells him humorously. Although, come to think of it, she doesn’t know when his birthday is. She takes a mental note to somehow wheedle out that information from him later. “It’s simply something to show my appreciation for you. You’ve made me these marvelous things, and I don’t think I’ve done enough to do anything for you in return…”

His face remains skeptical as he opens the package. “Memento Truffles, huh?” he says flatly. The look in his eyes is unreadable. Momo doesn’t want to think that he’s unimpressed or insulted, but the way his eyebrow raises, she isn’t sure what to think.

“Do… you not like them?” she asks carefully. She hopes her ponytail isn’t deflating too much. She’s glad that she didn’t tell him about how she has had to beg her mother to contact one of her dearest friends in Belgium to purchase and have them delivered via priority mail within the past week.

Unaware of her inner turmoil, Bakugou pops one casually in his mouth. “Hm. They’re not bad, I guess,” he says thoughtfully mid-chew.

“Not bad…??” Momo begins, affronted beyond reason. “Jacques Memoir, one of the top ten chocolatiers in the world, handcrafted these! When you bite into them, you ought to feel as if you’re simultaneously remembering all the nice chocolates you've ever eaten! Dark chocolate that is neither too sweet nor too bitter, the insides of which are soft and whipped, but do not immediately melt… toppings of Hungarian paprika, violets, wild flennel that give an unexpected punch of flavor… the pleasing, classic aesthetic that ties them altogether… is merely not bad for you, Bakugou-san?”

He listens to her affronted monologue with a self-satisfied smirk. “Yeah. I could do it better.”  

The girl sputters indignantly. Bakugou almost chokes laughing at her mid-swallow. “Y-you think you can do better than one of the top ten chocolatiers in the world?!”

“Nah. I know so.” The self-satisfied smirk on his face tells Momo that he isn’t even joking and it just blows her mind how highly he thinks of himself. “What, you think I’m talkin’ shit?”

She scoffs. “You’re simply unbelievable, Bakugou-san.”

“Don’t I know it.” She only rolls her eyes at that, and he laughs again. Ugh, she should really hate it, but she can’t stop her stupid mouth from smiling when she hears it. “Anyways, this is too much for me, Ponytail. Come on. Eat.”

“Hm? Oh, but these are for you, and you only... I have to repay you somehow, for--”

He actually growls and widens his eyes like a wild animal at that remark. “I ain’t fuckin’ cookin’ you all these great meals so you could pay me for it. What do you think of me, haa? If I wanted to, I’d be chargin’ you a fortune from day one.”

Momo pauses and feels her heart squeeze. Did she just… insult him somehow? Was her gift too much, too soon? “That’s… not my intention at all,” she says quietly. “I’m sorry if the gift is too much, Bakugou-san. I’ll take note next time.”

He snorts and puts the truffles down between them. A silence envelops them, with Momo half-heartedly poking through the rest of the dish, and Bakugou staring right at her with searching ruby eyes.

“If you want to give me a gift that bad, Ponytail--”

She snaps her head a little too quickly to look at him.

A mischievous glint is in his eyes. They look challenging, somehow. “Make me something.”

She blinks. “Um… I can’t cook, Bakugou-san…”

He sneers at her. “You know, somehow I guessed that.” Momo pouts at him, but cannot contest the point any further. “But that’s not what I fucking meant.”

She tilts her head curiously at him. “So… make something? Oh, like a collage or a papier-mache? Oh, I’d love to, I have so many ideas--”

“No! You fuckin’ nerd!” Momo hates how easy it is to make him laugh at her expense. “I meant, make me something with your fuckin’ quirk! Geez, and I thought you were supposed to be a genius…”

“Oh,” she says with a little humph. Really, he should have started with that. She wouldn’t call herself a genius, but she isn’t usually this… daft. “Well, I suppose I can make you something… what would you like?”

“Fuckin’ anything. Sky’s the limit. Come on.”

“That’s the point, Bakugou-san. If you won’t be specific, it’ll be hard for me to think up of something you would like…”

“Fine,” he says gruffly. “Make me… something that’ll remind me of you when I look at it.”

How… how could you say that so nonchalantly, Bakugou-san? With that rumble in your voice, that roguish glint in your eyes, that devil-may-care smile? Momo feels herself blushing from her neck to her scalp, and dares not open her mouth lest another undignified sound escapes from it.

Also, there’s nothing specific about his request! What is she supposed to make? She straightens her mind, forms an image in her head, breaks down the components of the object and wills it to form over her chest.

The object materializes in between her breasts; for modesty’s sake she turns around, and to her relief she senses the explosive barista turning away of his own accord. When it’s fully formed, she takes it and places it gingerly on the desk.

Bakugou shifts his gaze to the object. A smile is on his face as he slurs out, “Now that’s more like it, Ponytail.”

Matryoshka dolls are one of the first things she’s learned to make as a child, and one of her favourite things to create. She remembers telling Bakugou about it, when they talked about quirks during one of their dinners in the past week. “This isn’t like one of the dolls I’m used to making though,” she explains as she watches him open the dolls with interest, one by one. “Instead of the usual babushka designs that I tend to make, the dolls are dressed in explosive-themed dresses. Because you’re the human incarnate of a bomb.”  

“I can see that,” he says, amused. The grenades look real in his hands, oddly, like they would explode into blossoms of light in his explosive grasp. “Looks like you were thinkin’ of me when you made it, huh Ponytail?”

She tries her best to say, “Yes,” without blushing further.

“Well… they’re the best grenade dolls made of fat I’ve ever seen, Dr. Ponytail. Good job.”

She stares him down in annoyance and playfully moves to snatch the dolls away from his grasp. With another obnoxious laugh, he keeps it away from her reach, stands up, and walks to the counter.

“There. Now everyone who walks in the cafe can stare at your fat and see how nice it fuckin’ looks,” he tells her with a victory smirk. “This belongs here now. No takebacks.”

Speechless, Momo can only nod weakly at him.

The night ends as it usually does, with Momo crossing the street to her home and Bakugou watching her until she reaches the lobby. She looks back at him and gives him a small wave of the hand.

Tonight is a little different, though, because for once, he waves back--no hesitations, no pretenses. He walks back to the cafe, lights shutting behind him, and Momo is absolutely stunned.

She can’t stop the smile forming on her lips, or stop the impulse to hug herself and roll around her bed like a teenaged girl when she makes it up to her condo unit.

 *

 Perhaps it was the next day during a short lull in her busy workday when Momo receives a phone call from an old friend.

“Hey, Dr. Momo! So you’re alive after all!”

Momo smiles down at the phone. “Satou-san! Oh, it has been a while, hasn’t it?”

“It is. You haven’t been visiting us for sometime now. I feel like you’ve been having an affair with a different cafe!” Chef Satou Rikido uses his best hurt voice, but it’s still playful and makes Momo giggle.

“Stop, please,” Momo says lightly. She keeps her mouth decidedly shut about his accusation of having an affair with a different cafe. “But you are right, Satou-san. I haven’t been visiting for some time now… I really should, shouldn’t I?”

Satou hums from the other end. “Well, I sure hope you do, doc. I actually called to ask if you were going to make it on Friday.”

Momo blinks once, and then rapidly when realization dawns on her. “Oh my… Friday is that night already?”

The chef makes an affirmative noise. “Yep! Satou’s Coffees and Cakes Farewell Party! All of our patrons and favorite customers are welcome! And you really are one of our favourites--you know, Hagakure’s sad that you haven’t been going, and she’s going to throw a tantrum if you don’t show up on Friday…”

“Oh! Of course I’ll be there, Satou-san!” She stares at the calendar on the office wall--good, she doesn’t have to stay the night then. “You can count on me! Please, tell Tooru-san and Koda-san to save some of the chiffon cake for me!”

“That’s great! I’m glad, Dr. Momo. We gotta see you before we leave for Paris, eh?”

“... We?” asks Momo curiously. As far as she knows, Satou is going to Paris by himself for further training as a patissier.

“That’s about it! I’ll see you Friday, then!”

Not knowing the meaning of the cryptic message, Momo shrugs and makes it through the work day, until the rest of the week passes by in its usual blur and it’s already Friday. She finished a little later than she’d like, but she needs to show up to Satou’s.

With a bottle of rose champagne, she enters the familiar, homey interiors of Satou’s Coffees and Cakes.

The bell hanging over the door announces her arrival. She sees the party already beginning at one of the reserved areas of the restaurant. About twenty people are already there, passing bottles and hors d’oeuvres around.

She makes her way inside--at the center of the room, a commotion is already going on, and seeing the character involved, she quickly understands why.

“Satou Rikido!!! The star patissier of the Musutafu Culinary Academy’s deplorable class A!” Monoma Neito, of Monoma’s Boulangerie et Patisserie, is dramatically wailing as he always does. He’s got a half-filled glass of wine in one hand, and a half-empty bottle of fine Cabernet Sauvignon in the other. His face is already flushed pink, likely from the alcohol. “Again! I prove my superiority to you!!! All that you’re going to learn in Paris, I already know like the back of my hand!”

A cacophony of drunken hoots and boos and sneers emanate from the crowd. Satou, however, only looks mildly amused at his declaration. “I know, Monoma. No-one’s as good as you when it comes to French cuisine.”

More boos. Momo recognizes Sero Hanta’s voice from the crowd, “No way! Team Satou all the way, baby!!! Monoma, your orange chiffon cake sucks!”

“Silence, you plebe!” Monoma makes a grandiose gesture--some of his wine spills in the process--and again points one finger at Satou. “Listen here, Satou! Our rivalry is only put on hold! Once you train abroad and come back, you’ll have no further excuses! I’ll be able to prove once and for all that Monoma’s makes better pastries! So you better come back, and--”

His tirade is cut short when Satou laughs and takes him in a surprise bear hug that takes all the air out of him. “Yeah, yeah. I’ll miss you too, buddy! It’ll be lonely baking without you yelling across the street!”

The crowd goes aaaaw!!!, and the suddenly speechless and blushing Monoma can only freeze and bristle like a confused cat before awkwardly returning the hug.

Momo covers her mouth at how cute the scene is. While it was stressful to watch the first time she saw it, she’s going to miss the noisy rivalry between Monoma and Satou. Her visits at Monoma’s will surely be quieter for the next few years…

A glass of sparkling wine is under her nose in the next moment. Blinking, she turns to see a floating pink-and-purple dress next to her, accompanied by a cute voice. “Dr. Yaomomo!!! You finally made it!”  

“Hagakure-san!” They hug each other warmly. Momo takes the glass from her. “I apologize for being late! It got really busy at work.”  

“We guessed as much! But I’m happy that one of the world’s best neurosurgeons made it to our little party!”

“No, not at all,” Momo begins weakly, but trails off when Satou spots them and comes up to them. “Oh, Satou-san, congratulations!”

“Thanks! Wow, you really made it, Dr. Momo!” He gives her a bear hug, which also knocks the wind out of her, and takes the bottle of champagne from her. “This sure is fancy, doc. This for us?”

“Of course! Apart from saying goodbye, we have plenty to celebrate… after all, you’re going to work with one of the top chefs of Paris! It’s a big deal!”

Satou laughs heartily. “I can think of other important things that deserves a fancy drink such as this.”

Momo blinks curiously at him and looks at Hagakure, who also appears confused, judging by how her sleeves are shrugging. But before she can ask what he means, Satou is already calling everyone’s attention by tapping his wine glass with one strong finger. “Everyone! May I have your attention please!”

The people in the room simultaneously turn quiet and turn to stare at them. As they give their attention to Satou, Momo takes the opportunity to scan the faces in the crowd. Sero Hanta, one of the nurses from Hosu Gen’s pediatrics ward, is standing next to Aoyama Yuuga from ICU. Some of Monoma’s staff, namely assistant pastry chefs Kinoko Komori and Tsuburaba Kosei, are both trying to steady their obviously inebriated boss. Their occasional part-timer, Rin Hiryuu is also there, quietly standing next to a frowning man with a camera. She’s able to recognize Tsunotori Pony, the prominent businesswoman from Texas who invested in both Satou’s and Monoma’s, looking on with mild interest.

Both Kirishimas are also there. She sees Mina pausing mid-chortle to listen to the announcement. And under Kirishima Eijirou’s arm is an obviously disgruntled and partially uncomfortable…

“... Bakugou-san?” she whispers out loud.

The explosive man is at the other end of the room, surely out of earshot, but looks up at her bewildered whisper. When red eyes meet black ones, his mood visibly shifts. That trademark devilish grin of his makes it to his mouth and catches her off guard.

Momo tries not to look to happy at this unexpected meeting, and busies herself by drinking her wine a little too quickly.

When the room has completely quieted down, Satou begins to speak. “First of all, thank you for coming to my humble little gathering… tonight, as you know, is the last time that I’ll have all of you here to eat my food as customers and friends!”

Momo hears the audience make a variety of sad sounds, especially Hagakure beside her, who starts sniffling. But she can’t concentrate, not when Bakugou is staring at her like that…

“... well, at least the last time until I get back in three or so years,” Satou adds with a laugh. “I’d like to thank you all for coming to celebrate with me. It truly has been a pleasure serving you all for the past five years--”

… and her, staring back at Bakugou like that. Perhaps. It’s his fault. Momo hasn’t ever seen him wear anything other than his work clothes. And to suddenly appear before her without warning, wearing a black button-down shirt, with the top two buttons undone and the sleeves rolled up, showing off his nice arm--and those dark jeans, different from the looser, mildly distressed ones he wears to work--

“--and I’ll never forget all of your support and… sheesh, I’m not really good at these speeches.” Satou cuts his speech short, to a comical effect, and raises his glass amidst chortles from the audience. “Cheers!”

“Cheers!” Momo almost misses the cue, and attempts to take a sip from her glass, only to find herself drinking empty air.

Bakugou notices. He looks like he’s about to burst from laughter. She gives him a stern look, but again tries her best not to smile too much.

Ah, but it’s a little hard. She might have drunk her wine a little too quickly after all. And on an empty stomach too. She’s light-headed and bubbly and teetering on the edge of embarrassing. She focuses away from his piercing gaze and back to the man of the hour.

“But that’s not all I want to celebrate.” Satou begins again. “I also want to celebrate my co-workers for being with me for the past five years--Hagakure-san! Koda-kun! Come up here, won’t ya?”

Hagakure stammers next to Momo. She’s able to catch the server’s meek ‘what’s going on?’ before the smaller woman bounces her way next to Satou. Koda, the quieter server, doesn’t look as confused when he walks up to the chef, but looks quite nervous all the same.

“So as many of you know, Koda-kun won’t be in the restaurant business for very long,” Satou says, patting the large man on the back. “He’s finally about to finish his Veterinary Medicine degree, like he’s always wanted to! Everyone, say Congratulations, Dr. Koda!”

“Congratulations, Dr. Koda!” everyone chants, to which the anxious animal doctor signs his thanks frantically.

“Now… as for Hagakure Tooru-san.” Satou turns to her with a playful smile. “You haven’t told any of us your plans after Satou’s closes down tomorrow, right?”

Hagakure falters. If Momo could see her face, she’s sure that she has a sad smile on her face then. “Th… that’s because I don’t have any plans at all, Satou-san--I mean, this is my first and only job, and I really like it very much, and--”

There’s a break in her voice, and Momo is sure that she’s trying her hardest not to cry. The audience makes a simultaneous sad aaaaw. Satou pats her on the back with a large hand and looks at her warmly. “Then… if it’s okay with you, Hagakure… I have a proposal for you.”

It happens very quickly--one moment she’s looking up at him, confused and speechless, and in the next moment she’s looking slightly downward when he falls on one knee in front of her, and everyone else.

“Uwa~~???!” She cries comically, as suddenly Koda brings a violin out of nowhere, playing a touching rendition of Love Me Like You Do. Someone flips a switch somewhere, and rose petals suddenly float from the ceiling, all around the invisible girl who’s mesmerized beyond words.

“Hagakure Tooru,” Satou attempts, as he holds up a little velvet box in his large hands, presenting it in front of the girl and her incomprehensible sobbing, “We’ve known each other for the past five years… you changed my life for the better… so if you would do me the honor of going to Paris with me, as man and--”

She screeches excitedly and practically throws herself at Satou. “Yes! I will, Satou-san! I will! Yes!!!”

“Let him ask the frickin’ question, Hagakure!” Someone yells from the audience, amidst all the clapping and cheering.

“Shut up! I’m getting married!!! And going to PARIS!!!” Hagakure retorts loudly, much to everyone’s laughter. She’s literally beaming, she’s so happy she’s covering the entire room in flashes of light, and the party has to continue cheering and drinking their wines with their eyes closed.

Momo feels tears stinging her eyes--she isn’t sure if it’s her overwhelming happiness for the happy couple, or if it’s all the light getting into her eyes. It doesn’t last very long, but the flashes are enough to make her dizzy. As her eyes are closed, she feels a familiar warm hand enclose around hers, and in the next moment she’s being dragged to somewhere else.

She opens her eyes when cold air hits the bare skin of her shoulders. The first thing she sees is the night sky and the bright full moon calmly glowing within the darkness. The stars that are visible against the city lights are few and far in between, but still they glow brightly and beautifully, unaware of the mess of life below them.

“Fuckin’ finally.” The rumble creeps up to her ear and crawls right into her thumping chest. “I got you where I want you.”

She smiles as quietly as her heart will allow her. “Good evening to you too, Bakugou-san.”

His blonde hair glows ethereally under the scant light of the sky. He’s close to her, close enough that she sees the shadow of his lashes on his cheeks. “Yeah. Good evening or whatever, Dr. Ponytail.”

“I didn’t know you were invited as well.” She takes two careful steps backward, increasing the distance between them. She doesn’t know why she wants to, why it suddenly feels so dangerous to have Bakugou close to her. “And I didn’t know that you were close to Kirishima-san, as well--”

“Yeah. Diabetes invited a lot of other cafe owners. You've seen that other blonde psycho," he says, pointing his thumb at the cacophony inside. "And Shitty-Hair’s a guy from my high school. Still fuckin’ clingy after all these years…”

No remorse at all for the terrible nicknames he’s given everyone. Momo gives him another stern look, and he leers right back at her. “Really, Bakugou-san. Is it so difficult for you to call people by their given names? You know, come to think of it… I’ve never heard you call me by my actual name since we met!”

“So?”

“So… do you just have terrible manners, or a terrible memory for names?”

“Definitely the first one,” Bakugou replies brashly. “My memory’s awesome, thank you very much.”

Momo humphs. “I highly doubt that. I’m willing to bet that you call people by those terrible nicknames based on appearances because remembering things is something you’re bad at. And you don’t want to admit it, because you hate being bad at something. I’m willing to wager that you can’t even remember what you had for breakfast.”

“French toast and OJ,” he answers easily. And then, with that dangerous grin on his face, continues. “Try again… Yaoyorozu Momo.”

Oh… no.

She feels herself freeze under his searing hot gaze. Her mouth moves, but all she’s able to manage is a meek bite of the lower lip.

“What? Why you lookin’ at me like that… Momo?”

“I beg your pardon?”

Ridiculous. Simply ridiculous. Just the mention of her own name in his voice, and already it does things to her insides that are hard to describe. She fights to keep her gaze steady, her mouth in a straight, unaffected line. She knows it isn’t working, because he’s smiling and sauntering closer and closer, and she isn’t moving away.

Please, Momo, get a hold of yourself--

“You heard me.” She’s flustered, and he knows she is, and he isn’t stopping. “You’re starin’ at me like…”  

That smile, that awful, awful, smile. Momo struggles for a witty remark. “Like what, Bakugou-san?” is all she’s able to manage, in a voice that’s too breathy for her own.

“Katsuki.”

She blinks.

“If you’re gonna whine about using names, I’m gonna call you Momo from now on,” he tells her--tells her, not asks, as a man like him is wont to do. “But you gotta call me Katsuki in return. Aight?”

“All right,” she says. She straightens herself, looks at him right in the eye. “Katsuki-san.”

He clicks his tongue. “Fuck no, what am I, your fuckin’ supervisor? Try again.”

She giggles. “I apologize. Then… Katsuki.”

He smiles. “That’s more like it.”

He’s standing close to her still--one more step forward, and he’d have her cornered against one of the tables out in the garden. He’d be so close, if he pushed her just a little bit, she’d fall over it. And he’d have to catch her in those arms, he’d have to lift her up and over the table, wedge himself between her legs, and then he’d be close enough to crush his lips against hers, and--

And whatever it is, Momo would let him, would let him get his hands all over her hair, her bare skin, her face--

No, Momo, have mercy on yourself oh my god! She takes another step around the table, distancing herself away from the man and his heady scent. Too much, Momo, too much. Calm down.

Surely he isn’t like that… She’s sure he’s different, this Bakugou Katsuki. They’re merely friends, one of them a little more inebriated than the other, perhaps. Their odd relationship is the reverse of many poor experiences with men she's had in the past, where she's treated as nothing more as an object of their desire.

And now here she is, thirsting for him in her mind, rather shamelessly and one-sidedly at that. She reprimands herself for her debauched thoughts, again, and clears her throat for some clarity.  

A quiet falls over them in the next moment. There’s a bottle of wine on the garden table next to them, with two glasses. A nice, benign set-up, between friends who like to talk and eat and drink together. She gestures for them to sit down, and he obliges.

“I suppose since there’s wine, it’s only logical for us to drink it,” she tells him as she moves to pour into two glasses. Before she is able to fill his, he stops her with one hand.

“I don’t drink. Don’t fuckin’ force me to,” he says sharply.

“Oh… I’m sorry, I didn’t realize.” So it really is just her with alcohol to blame for any form of candour. She puts the wine aside and leaves him with an empty glass.

“But if you want to drink, I ain’t stoppin’ ya from getting shitfaced,” he continues. He cradles his head against one hand and stares at her with interest. “Don’t make me carry you home though. I ain’t a princess carriage or anything.”

She sticks her nose up in the air. “I know my limits.”

“If you say so… Momo.”

[rex101111]

Eri does her own mumble storm.

The members of UA Heroics class 1-A are, all in all, a pretty unique bunch of kids.

Each of them with their own little twist of personality shinning through on a daily and mundane basis. From Tooru’s unshakable enthusiasm to Teny’s po-faced seriousness, their classes and time spent with each other was always filled with some sort of well known oddity or habit from one of them shaking things up to keep the day-to-day grind of school from becoming too much.

As time wore on, each of the kids learned and adapted to their fellow classmate’s mannerisms, to varying degrees, and from that familiarity came the one thing one can never avoid when spending a significant amount of time in the presence of others, in-jokes.

The most prevalent of these in-jokes, was the habit of one Midoriya Izuku to go into what most of his friends have dubbed, “The Mumble Storm.”

Whenever Deku’s thought process got to involved, and he began to spiral into what at times felt like an endless stream of contemplation, one of his classmates would inevitably have to drag him out it, before one of the teachers decides to do it themselves…and pair it with a detention for disrupting class.

At first this habit of his creeped out a good number of the class, but since time had worn away the shock, the only real reaction they seem to have for it now is shouting out, “Whose turn is it to snap him out of it?” 

And when Kaminari started hearing the beginnings of a particularly involved mumble storm while studying in the common room and not wanting to lose whatever little concentration he’s managed to obtain, he was about to say just that, when he stopped himself.

Since when was Midoriya’s voice that soft pitched?

Looking up from his study book he looked across the room at the couch in front of the TV, where he saw the usual trio of Eri and her “Mama and Papa” sitting when he came in an hour ago, and from his position near the kitchen corner he could see the green and brunette heads of the two “parents” looking back and forth between each other and the little white lump of hair sitting between them on the couch.

Curiosity peaked, he walked towards the couch, leaning over the back rest and what he saw awed him down to the very core of his soul.

Eri was hunching forward, pulling at her lower lip, one foot tapping insistently, and was muttering a seemingly endless stream of thoughts, the intensity of her thought process and the sheer thickness of her verbosity almost weighing down the air around her, almost making it seem like her rumination were floating in mid air above all their heads, spiraling out of her mind with no restraint.

To his eternal shock, Eri was having her very own “Mumble Storm.”

He had to tell everybody.

Izuku and Ochako were in a very odd predicament, one moment they were talking to Eri about what they had planned for the day, and the next they were drowning in the little girl’s mumbling.

“-there’s that new ramen stand a few blocks away that Uncle Kami kept talking about, but uncle Tenya said it’s full of bad stuff that would cause “cardicat arrest” so maybe-”

All they did was ask her where she wanted to go to lunch, and once she started deliberating on where to go they couldn’t stop her, her speech becoming more muddled and rapid as she went on.

“-Of course there’s that Chinese place that Big bro Sero keeps bringing take out from, but Big bro Shoji is allergic to most of it and Auntie Mina says it makes you fat so we can-”

Deku had the distinct impression that he’s viewing something very familiar, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

“-and the place Uncle Kaka always goes too is too spicy for everyone else, and the places Big bro Shouto and Big sis Momo take me are too expensive, and everyone gave Big Bro Mineta a weird look when he said he went to a “cat maid cafe” but that sounds really cute-

Ochako, on the other hand, knew exactly what the little girl was doing, and the resemblance to when Deku did it was utterly incredible, but right now, the initial shock of seeing Eri do it knocked all the knowledge she had acquired about stopping “mumble storms” out of her head, and all she could do was stare in awe and hold on for dear life alongside Deku as it ran its course.

Just when she was about to try and find a way to stop it, she felt the weight of the couch shift slightly starting at the head of the back rest, causing her and Izuku to lift there eyes to find the rest of the class watching.

Mina and Tooru had their phones out, obviously recording every lovely minute, the pink heroine looking about ready to burst with joy, eyes shining and grin stretching all the way across her face as she whispered in awe, “This is the most amazing thing I have ever seen.” 

The invisible girl was shaking, well, her cloths and phone were shaking, obviously indicating she and Mina were on the same page, though all she seemed able to say was, “Oh my God.”

“See?” Came Kaminari’s voice from further right, his own grin rivaling Mina’s, “She really is her Papa’s daughter!” He was just putting back his own phone in his pocket, seeing Mina has reconnaissance covered, “I am never letting this go.”

“Wasn’t one of you enough?” Sero rubbed his head, looking more annoyed then amazed, addressing Deku and the unresponsive Eri in equal measure, though a corner of his mouth was twitching up every so often, “Mumble duty was enough of a pain as it is…”

Deku shook his head, finally managing to get some focus back, though only just enough to stare at Sero in confusion, “Mumble duty? What are you talking about?”

“It’s how we decide who needs to bring you back to reality when you start another Mumble Storm,” Kirishima laughed, his eyes on Eri and his mouth pulled to the side in a smirk, “And it looks like it just doubled…”

Izuku gaped at his classmates, “You have a name for it?” He shook his head, “Never mind, just…how do you get me out of it? Eri-chan’s been going at this for a few minutes now!”

“Oh my God.”

Satou shrugged, “We each have our own way, though I don’t think most of those ways would work here…” He scratched his chin, “Maybe if a bake a quick little something for her and put it under her nose like smelling salts…”

Ochako was torn between laughing herself silly and feeling sorry for Izuku, the former feeling only just barely winning out when a snort escaped her.

Tokoyami side eyed him, “I am fairly certain that’s not how smelling salts work…besides,” He looked directly at Eri, the girl now muttering to herself about the pros and cons of Sushi versus Yakiniku, “I don’t think giving her more food to think about would be of much use here…”

“Oh my God.”

“I usually drop a bit of ice down the back of Midoriya’s shirt.” Todoroki pointed out, the boy in question giving him a flat look to convey as well as he could how he felt about that particular method, “…Though doing it to her seems a bit…cruel…”

Momo tapped her fingers on her forearm, forehead scrunched up, “We should have made precautions,” She shook her head with a frustrated sigh, “It was inevitable that this would happen…” Izuku opened him mouth to question why exactly it was inevitable, when Tooru spoke up one more time.

“Oh my God.”

Katsuki, who had been quietly glaring at them all until now, growled in anger, “Oh just zip it See-through!” He turned to the three on the couch with his signature toothy scowl, “Look, I’ll just flick her on the ear, that always works on Deku so no reason…it…shouldn’t…” He trailed off as he noticed Ochako and Izuku straight up glaring at him, and a minor twitch of his eye to his right reveled the rest of the class doing much the same,”…work on her.” He sighed, “Fine, but what are we supposed to do? Just wait until she’s-”

“Got it!” Eri suddenly exclaimed, snapping out of her mumbles in a single leap seemingly unaware that she was doing it at all as she turned to Izuku with a grin, “Papa! I want to-” Noticing the dip in the couch, she looked up to see the rest of the class looking at her, half with shock and half with unabashed grins, and waved at them, “Oh! Hey everyone!” They all waved back, Mina looked like she was holding back tears as she smiled, and went back to Izuku, “Papa, can we go to McDonald’s?”

Izuku, still reeling from this whole ordeal, could only smile and nod, “S-sure Eri-chan, go get dressed and we’ll get going.”

“Okay!” She got up from the couch and rushed out of the door, waving to the rest of the class as she went.

Mina sniffed, her lips wobbling and black eyes shimmering with tears, “That girl is a blessing.”

Aoyama patted her shoulder with a mild smile and a nod, “Of course she is, plus,” He turned towards Izuku and Ochako, who were just finished letting out sighs of relief when they heard him and saw him stare at them, “It seems that she’s finally put a long unanswered question to rest.”

Ochako raised an eyebrow at the flashy blond, suspicion gnawing at the small of her back, “What question?”

“A question regarding your mumbling habit mon ami,” He grinned, “And now we’ve got  the definitive answer, that its hereditary.”

Izuku stared at him blankly, “What?”

“Well, if it was infectious we’d all be doing it, but instead the only other one we’ve seen doing it is our precious petite licrone,” Something glinted in his eye, “And why wouldn’t she? Her Papa does it all the time!”

Izuku stared at him more, his eyes widening with comprehension before his face flushed a bit, he excused himself and got up from the couch to get ready for lunch, though as he past Aoyama the flashy student couldn’t help but notice how the corner of his mouth twitched up ever so slightly.

Mina laughed a little next to him, sniffing one last time before turning to him and saying, loud enough for both Izuku and the rest of the room to hear, “Lets hope she doesn’t inherent Ochako-chan’s competitiveness, that would be weird to see!”

The girl in question bolted up from the couch, hot on Izuku’s trail, only sparing her pink friend a brief withering glare before she left.

Shoji sighed, “One of these days you two are going to push them too far.”

Aoyama laughed, “Well of course, that goes with out saying.”

Mina giggled, “But they just make it too easy!”

(The class ended up inviting themselves to join the trio for McDonald's, even managing to drag Katsuki into the mess, the employees somehow managed to keep their heads cool as 21 kids piled up next to the cash register, though they were baffled that a bunch of teenagers didn’t even complain once as the little girl took her sweet time in deciding what to order.

Eri ended up insisting that she and Deku share a kids meal, which he relented to once she promised him they would share the toy All Might figure too.)  

[thehiddensemicolon]

Kacchako fanfic: New Prey Chapter 29

"Hmmm how about this one?" Uraraka said.

She pointed at a light pink apartment on the catalog.

"Over my dead body. I ain't gunna live in no bubble gum apartment." Bakugou argued.

"Booo you aren't any fun." Uraraka stuck out her tongue.

"And besides that apartment location is too far for me to commute to work." He said.

"Well not for me! It's only about two blocks away from my work :D" she giggled.

"Right So you want a fucking cotton candy colored apartment and you want to commute two blocks everyday. Must be fuckin great... if it was only you living there!" He pointed out.

"Oh don't be silly am sure... let's see." Uraraka was figuring out how long it would take him to commute.

"Um it's only an... hour-ish.... commute. Because of  the trains and how many transfers it would take ya... huh. They don't offer one way trains at this location...Okay maybe not the pink apartment then haha." She gave in.

The two of them are looking into moving into their first apartment together. Both trying to find a place that is easy to commute for both of them.

"Okay then... hmm." She turned the pages.

"This one!" She said.

He sighed.

"Again that's like fucking ... right in front of your work! What the hell Ochako! Are you only looking at places right by your work huh?" He said.

"Haha it's not my fault Endeavors office is a convenient location for shopping districts and housing areas!" She said.

He looked at the section she was looking at as well and grunted. He pointed at the section heading.

"It is your fault if you are only looking at 'apartments  by Endeavors office' section of this damn catalog!" He said.

"What I am not-" she said. She then noticed that the section she was looking at literally said 'apartments by Endeavors office'

"Huh.. would you look at that. That is strange that a apartment catalog would go that specific on the location." She said.

"Well a lot of people believe if they live by a hero agency they would be safe. I don't know why for some fucking reason. If I was an enemy I would attack the location of a hero." Bakugou said.

He turned the page and put the catalog in front of them both.

"Here try looking again, instead not on the fucking Endeavors office location shit." He said.

"Man so grumpy! You really are going to ruin your face when you get older. Don't worry I'll still look at your face when it happens." She said.

He stared at her and grunted. He decided that finding an apartment was their priority right now and decided to let her 'funny comment' slide.

She looked at an apartment and smiled.

"Okay okay this one!" She said.

"This better be a better apartment Ochako or I swear-" The catalog hit his face.

Before he started his little tantrum. Ochako showed him her pick.

"No no really this one is a serious pick look!" She said.

He grabbed the paper out of her hands and looked.

"Hm let's see. The color isn't pink, check. The place isn't located right in front of your fucking work, check. Actually the place is by both the speed one way trains, so it would take both of us around 10- 15 min to go to work, good. The place allows dogs, check. Utilities include the basic stuff we need, check. Amenties... looks ok. Price is decent. Wow I think we finally agree on something for once." He said.

"Uh Huh See I can be serious ...sometimes haha." She said.

"Yeah will we better contact the landlord, a place that is good for both of us is for sure going to be taken fast." He said. He took out his cell phone and dialed up the number.

Ochako began to think about all the stuff that has happened. She finally graduated UA, she starts working at Endeavors office next week, she is engaged to Katsuki, and they are getting their first apartment together. There was so much change that has been happening recently. But she is glad everything is fine.

"Hello? Earth to Ochako! Hey am talking to you!" Bakugou waved his hand in front of her face.

"Oh sorry I kinda doze off haha." She said.

"You alright?" He asked.

"Yes Yes am alright just being me." She scratched her head.

"Well okay then, now back to what I've been saying, the landlord is letting us tour the apartment and sign the papers Friday okay." He said.

"Sounds like a plan!" She kissed his cheek and went to the kitchen.

She saw a pile of dishes in the kitchen sink and decided to wash it. They were staying at Katsuki's parents house. She didn't want be lazy.

She turned the water on and Bakugou came from behind and grabbed her hand.

"Ahhh what are you doing?" She asked.

"What am I doing? What are you doing?" He asked.

"Am washing the dishes. Your parents are letting me stay here until we find our own place, the least I can do is help clean the dishes." She said.

"No i don't care about that, am asking why are you washing the dishes wearing your engagement ring. You are going to mess it up or probably lose it down the water pipes." He said.

"Oh yeah! Haha sorry. I guess am not used to having a ring on." She admitted. She took off the ring and gave it to Katsuki.

"Keep it safe for me!" She told him.

"Yeah yeah. I know." He went to the living room.

"Where are your parents anyways? I haven't seen them since graduation." She asked.

"Oh them? Those fuckers left town to go visit some family." He said.

"Do they know we are engaged?" She asked.

"No." He yawned.

"No? Should you tell them we are?" She questioned.

"Hell no! If I tell them right now. I fucking bet they would drag my other family down over here. And fuck that. Shouldn't you tell your family huh?" He said.

"I already did dummy." She laughed.

"Oh? Well that's good, I guess." He turned on the tv.

"Maybe I should text your mother, we have been texting buddies for a while now." She joked.

"Yeah yeah whatever. If you know what's best for you. You would wait until they came back with no family. It's called strategy." He said.

"Oh strategy? I guess who am I to question the mighty boom boys strategic plans." She laughed.

He coughed. "Boom boy? You better not call me that. If someone says any dumbass name and it hits the media. My career is doomed with a dumbass name forever." He said.

"Well when are you going to pick a name already? You start next week too you know!" She told him.

"Just you wait floaty. These things take time. " He said.

"Sure sure okay whatever you say.... hey did you tell any of your friends about our engagement?"

"No? Why would I?" He replied.

"Katsuki Bakugou! Just because we are not in high school anymore does not mean we can just forget about everybody. We made friendships there." She lectured.

"Oh yeah? Then why didn't you tell anyone huh? Don't tell me you did, because if you did. Those annoying ass girls would be up on our business 24/7."

"Ye-yeah will you see.... I just wanted to wait until we had a date in mind you know?" She stuttered.

"A date? I don't know you said that we should get used to our work schedules and careers first, didn't you? So we aren't in a hurry to get married right now." He said.

"Yeah your right! We need to get used to our new lives first. I mean am just glad we are engaged, it lets me know that we will get married one day." Her cheeks flushed.

He looked at her face and it was like staring at the sun. To bright for him to look at.

He blushed too and looked away.

"Yeah will if you do tell anybody, make sure they keep it on the down low. We are pros starting next week, if word comes out that we are engaged. Media will be up our asses. That is something I do not want!" He grunted.

"Yeah I guess. You are right. I wouldn't want that much attention." She walked behind him and started to massage his shoulders.

He kept quiet and leaned back closing his eyes.

Uraraka felt her phone vibrate and stopped massaging his shoulders.

"Hey! I was enjoying that. Just don't stop!" He complained.

"Sorry sweetie, my boss sent me an email right now. It did say read immediately." She reasoned.

"Fine, if it's a work related issue. I'll let it slide." He told her.

"Oh calm down you grump! When am finished I'll continue your massage." She said.

He blushed and grunted.

"Yeah well whatever. Look at the damn email." He said.

Uraraka opened up the email and started to read it.

"Oh I just have to meet the other new heroes in the office. I know one of them is Todoroki, but the other I don't know. He says that we will also show our quirks with the other newbies. Because for the first few months, since we are new, we will have to be partners in missions. Until he can see we can handle missions solo. Okay sounds like fun!" She said.

"Yeah yeah that's what they do to all the newbies. Since we aren't side kicks just fresh heroes, we have to be partnered up with another new hero. It's dumb as shit but whatever. It's only for a few months, as long as my partner doesn't slow me down." Bakugou said.

"Hey wait a minute... didn't All Mights agency only accepted two this year... you and ... Deku :D" she giggled.

"So I found out who your partner is! Now you guys get to be best friends forever. " She laughed

A vein popped out on his forehead.

"Shit! I completely forgot that nerd got accepted too.. dammit!" He said.

Uraraka kept laughing.

"Yeah yeah laugh it off!" He said.

"Haha well... your other partner would be a mystery right? Cause you also work for Aizawas secret office." She said.

"No. I was the only one accepted this year. I'll be working with their team as the only newbie." He said.

"Ohh Okay. Do you know your schedule for that one?" She asked.

"No, it's a call in job. But I do have that skill test shit in a month. The All might thing is Sunday." He said.

"Well I am pretty sure I won't be partnered with Todoroki, only because am sure his father acknowledges his quirk. But i don't know I could be wrong, I could be partnered with him or the other one." She said.

He just grunted.

"What? What's wrong. Someone jealous?" She teased.

"No. It's just two heroes being professional working together. Why should I be jealous?" He said.

" Awww Katsuki am only joking." She pinched his cheek

"Yeah whatever." He said.

"Still who do you think the other person is? It was only Todoroki and me that come from UA. Don't most new pros come from UA?" She said.

"Yeah most do. But some from other schools in different regions get in, but those percentages are low. So if they did come from another school. They must have a strong quirk." He said.

~~~ somewhere else~~~ "Did those emails get sent out like I told you to do." Endeavor told his secretary.

"Yes sir they were sent earlier today. Is there anything else?" The assistant asked.

"Yes call my son, tell him to get over here." He demanded.

"Yes sir.. r-right away." She stuttered.

She dialed his number. But was left on voicemail.

"Um sir... your son isn't answering his phone." She said.

"Alright you are dismissed." He said.

He slammed his fists on his desk.

"Dammit Shouto! You better not mess up my plan. What is the world are you doing that most important than getting to know your future wife. He is lucky am even letting him get to know his wife. He will not mess up this planned wedding I have planned out for him." He cursed.

~~~ meanwhile at an ice cream shop~~~ "Wow it's been awhile since we last met up! Since high school is over. Real world problems are stacking on my shoulders. But am glad we both have the time to meet up for ice cream." Momo smiled.

"Yeah of course. Sure it's been busy with work starting next week, but finding time for you shouldn't be a problem at all." Shouto calmly said as he was poking at his ice cream.

Momo blushed. She really likes Shouto and glad things are still good with each other.

"I wonder if I can make ice cream as good as this place. It's a same the ice cream is so over priced." He spoke to himself.

~~~ back at Bakugou's House~~~ "Hm if I didn't know any better. I say I am not the girl in this relationship." She said as she finished boxing up her stuff.

"The fuck do you mean?" He said.

"Look am already done packing. And you are taking forever packing your stuff like a girlllll." She joked.

"What. Stop lying. You cannot be finished already." He said.

"Yup look I have my one and only box right over here Hun!" She said.

"Really you only have one box? How? Don't you have more shit than that?" He questioned.

"Nope! I didn't really had much stuff to begin with. So it made my packing job much easier." She bragged.

"Well congrats you want a medal?" He joked.

"Yes I do actually!" She replied.

"Yeah well help me finish up my packing first will ya." He said.

"Hmm I guess I can... since am such a nice girlfriend." She said.

"You mean fiancée right?" He said.

She paused and comprehended his words.

"Uh yeah silly dumb me! Haha. I just have to get used to being called that. You know we have been dating for awhile and now I got a promotion to fiancée haha. Sure I'll help ya pack." She told him.

"You can start with my desk then. Only pack the necessary shit. " he instructed.

"Oh like this All might action figure?" She waved it around the air.

"Of course that comes to our new apartment." He said like it was common sense.

"Uhhh Okay." She said.

She found a picture of herself and him on top of his desk.

"Aww was this taken the day of the fair?" She asked.

"You got it printed and framed? Such a sweet heart." She joked.

"Yeah yeah whatever, pack that too." He said.

"You are such a softie aren't you." She rubbed his head.

He knew she liked to joke around. But these boxes aren't going to box themselves.

"Man so serious huh?" She said.

There was something about messing with Katsuki that made her want to mess with him again. Especially if he has his serious face on.

She thought of an idea and listened to her gut.

She put her fingers together and activated her quirk.

She jumped towards Katsuki's back and latched on.

That caught him off guard.

"H-hey What are you doing Ochako!" He stuttered. But maintained his position and continued to pack.

"Hey don't ignore me. You're no fun.." she started to kiss behind his neck.

"Ochako.." He said.

"Hey I never finished that massage! You want me to continue?" She asked. She didn't wait for a response, instead she started to rub his shoulders again.

"Yesssss? Do you want me to stop Love?" She asked and stopped rubbing his shoulders.

"No you can continue.. I mean you do owe me a massage." He reasoned.

"Haha I knew I could distract you! I win!" She smiled.

"Yeah yeah. You win, congratulations." He smirked.

"You know am trying to pack my stuff. We do move in to our place this week." He said.

"I mean... you have a point..." she got off his back.

"I'll go help ya finish." She teased.

He grabbed her shoulder and turned her to face him.

"Packing can fucking wait." He said.

[belovedyuuri]

God Save Yuuri Katsuki (2/?) (ao3)

“Wait, wait, wait,” Phichit says with his face still in his hands. He's just stopped laughing at Yuuri’s misery, cheeks red with exhilaration. ‘A friend’, he calls himself. “Tell me again.”

Yuuri doesn't even try to look for any warm feelings he's ever had towards the other man; there are none left. Phichit Chulanont is officially not his friend anymore. How long does it take to evict a roommate, again?

“Maybe you'd like to record it?” Yuuri asks dryly, busying himself with their dishes. “This way you can listen to it forever.”

Phichit makes a move like he wants to reach for his phone (Yuuri wonders if all roommates are so rude; maybe he should note on his next ad about an available (Phichit’s ex-) room that rudeness toward him is strongly prohibited) but stops in the last moment.

“I'm sorry, Yuuri.” He doesn't look too sorry. “You have to admit, though. If a babysitter for your kid tried to fight you out of your apartment with a toilet brush, you would be laughing too.”

“Toilet brush and an air freshener,” Yuuri mumbles, like it makes it any better.

Phichit bursts into a fit of giggles again and because Yuuri is such a good friend, he only swats him with the kitchen towel when the dishes are done.

“I hate you,” he mutters on his way to his room.

“No, you don't!”

For her part, Mila tries very hard to stifle her laughter when she sees him at the entrance to the LGBTQ+ meeting. Yuuri doesn't even need to ask; it takes one glance at her to guess that she already knows.

At least she doesn't mock him.

“How was your first day of work?” she asks innocently, biting her lower lip.

Ah. Teasing. What a lovely change.

Sara Crispino looks at him with curiosity in her eyes. “Oh?” She smiles. “You got a new job?”

Bless her pure heart, at least she knows nothing about his shame.

“He babysits the son of my cousin,” Mila answers for him.

“I babysat the son of her cousin.”

Both girls tilt their heads at him. It's scary how in tune with each other they are, they spend so much time together even outside of the club they started together in uni.

“Why the past tense?”

“You're not going back?”

“Was Yuri really that scary?”

Yuuri glares at Mila. Even though she hasn't told Sara anything about what happened, she is sure trying hard to make the girl ask all the right questions.

“I plead the fifth,” he mumbles and moves to go past them.

“We're not in the court,” Mila sing-songs and tries to block the way with her arm but Yuuri is faster and slides into the classroom anyway. “I won't let you go off so easy! I'll catch you later, Yuuri!”

He pretends not to hear.

“You thought somebody broke into the house?” Sara asks two hours later when all three of them are sitting in the café Phichit works at, eyes wide. Her right hand nearly covers her mouth. “You must have been so scared!”

Yuuri has never wanted to hug somebody more in his life. He gives Mila a pointed look. This is how a friend should react.

“Thank you,” he tells Sara who only nods in reply.

“I've been there, I understand.”

It's Mila’s turn to gape. “Somebody broke into your apartment?”

Sara tilts her head in confusion before her eyes clear with understanding. “Oh! No, no! But when I was a kid, Emil broke into my and Mickey’s room. You know we live so close to each other, he simply climbed from his window to ours on the tree between our houses.” She smiles in soft embarrassment. “Apparently, he was bored and wanted to play a game that Mickey borrowed from him. Well, I woke up, the light was off, so I didn't know it was him. I threw all my toys at him before my parents found us like that.”

Mila coos and pulls her sweetheart into a one-armed hug, then presses a kiss to the top of her head. “You were a kid, though,” she defends. He curls a lock of Sara’s hair around her finger. “Yuuri here is an adult.”

“Are you talking about the skin magazine Yuuri bought for the kid?” Phichit joins in out of the blue, still wearing his apron as he falls onto the only empty chair at the table.

Both girls stare at him in shock. “He did what?”

P h i c h i t!

“Aren’t you supposed to be working?” Yuuri asks through gritted teeth.

Phichit carefully looks around the table. “Lunch break?” he says slowly, surely realising what he’s just done.

Mila gawks at Yuuri, like she's seeing him for the first time. “You bought a five-year-old a porno?”

“N-no, it wasn't like that!”

“A five-year-old, Yuuri!”

“The kid wreaked havoc at the store,” Phichit defends him. Defends him, for a change. “What was he supposed to do?”

“Get him a toy. Or a candy bar,” Mila supplies, looking at them both ridiculously. “Literally anything else!”

Sara is openly laughing next to her, drawing attention from several other patrons to their table.

Yuuri tries his best to curl in on himself and disappear. The closest thing he manages to do is to hide his face in his crossed arms, resting on the table. “He found it and grabbed it and wouldn't let go of it, and wouldn't stop screaming unless I bought it,” he mumbles to the table. “He thought his father was in it and wanted me to buy it.”

Phichit pats his back in sympathy.

“Vitya? In such a magazine?” Mila asks, doubtfully.

Yuuri shakes his head. “It was just a lookalike with the same first name on the cover.”

For a moment all he can hear is just the usual chatter of the café, none of his friends talking. For some reason, his head feels heavy. When he looks up, all three pairs of eyes are glued to him, amused.

“You looked inside?” Mila asks, a teasing note back in her voice.

Yuuri only groans and lets his head fall back onto his arms.

It’s settled. From today on, he officially has no friends.

The phone rings just when he’s about to fall asleep that night. Yuuri sighs and looks at the screen, only to frown at the hidden number. Private. For a moment, he considers not answering – it is late, after all, and he doesn’t know anybody whose number isn’t already saved in his phone.

Unless...

His eyes widen in surprise at the idea of who exactly could be calling him and, not even fully aware of what he’s doing, he accepts the call.

Shit. Now what? He can’t cancel it now without looking like a jerk. Not saying anything isn’t very nice of him, either.

“Hello?” comes from the phone after the longest three seconds of his life. Yuuri immediately puts the phone against his ear.

“Hello.”

“Is this Yuuri Katsuki’s number?”

Yuuri recognises that voice, no matter how few words it uttered to him the last time he heard it.

He could safely say that the call is a mistake and forget about the babysitting fiasco once and for all. He can’t help but wonder, though...

“Uhm—I guess,” he stutters and promptly winces at how silly that sounds. ‘I guess?’ He quickly adds, “I mean, yes, it’s me.”

“Oh, good! This is Viktor Nikiforov speaking, we met yesterday.”

How could I forget?

“Oh... Right.”

“You never showed up today,” Mr Nikiforov says. “I had to find somebody else to take care of Yuri while I was at work. It was very unexpected and very last minute. Has anything happened?”

‘Has anything happened?’

Yuuri frowns at the words and looks at his phone to check if he’s not imagining the call after all, but no, it’s real. The seconds are ticking away. The private number hidden from his eyes truly belongs to Viktor Nikiforov who is asking if something has caused him to miss a day at work.

“Yuuri?”

The sound of his name pulls Yuuri back to the present and he quickly presses the phone back to his ear.

“Um, yeah, about that,” he croaks, “I thought—I thought I wasn’t supposed to come back?”

There’s silence on the other end of the call. One second, two...

“Was that a question?” Mr Nikiforov asks, sounding confused. “Why did you think you weren’t supposed to come back?”

Yuuri frowns. Isn’t it obvious? “Are you serious?” He shakes his head, incredulously. “I took you for a burglar! I—I nearly sprayed air freshener into your eyes!”

The voice chuckles quietly.

Here we go again.

“You were protecting Yuri and the apartment. That was quite a brave thing to do. Besides, I hadn’t got to introduce myself yet; as far as you knew, I could have been a burglar.”

But he didn’t lock the damn door...

“Yes, but—”

“I haven’t even paid you for babysitting Yuri yet,” Mr Nikiforov adds then. “You left so suddenly.”

Yuuri winces again. “I’m really sorry for that. I was just—very...”

Embarrassed? Ashamed?

“I see,” Mr Nikiforov’s voice is soft again, like he’s smiling, like he knows exactly what Yuuri wants to say. For a second, Yuuri feels a little bit better. “I suppose I shouldn’t mention the magazine I found in the bathroom, then?”

Any relief and warmth that have found their way into Yuuri’s heart are gone in a blink. He’s never thought his blood could turn so cold in a matter of mere seconds.

The magazine. Oh God.

He left the magazine in the—and he never even—he never even closed it.

Yuuri sits up straight on the bed, fingers clutching to his phone. “Mr Nikiforov!” he calls, petrified. “I promise I—I—It’s not what you think—!”

The man laughs, and even though he does it quietly, the sound of it drums in Yuuri’s red ears. “Don’t worry about it,” he says, catching some breath. “Yuri told me the magazine was his when he saw it—“

Yuuri chokes out an embarrassed sound and hides his face in his free hand. Where’s the death he requested yesterday?

“—and he said he still wanted to ‘see me in it’. I put two and two together.”

What two and two? There’s no math in this situation that could even begin to explain Yuuri’s actions.

Mr Nikiforov continues, though. “You know, you aren’t the first babysitter he tried to scare off.”

That sentence grabs Yuuri’s attention. What Yuri did throughout his first day taking care of him was all... on purpose?

“He wanted me out,” Yuuri speaks slowly with a frown, “so he made me buy him the magazine?”

“Well, I believe he really thought it was me on the cover. But yes, it sounds like him, to tease and try to manipulate his babysitters.”

“But—The magazine was—And you’re alright with that?”

“Of course I’m not alright with that,” Mr Nikiforov sounds more strict now. “I talked to him about it and I fully expect you won’t buy such things again when you’re babysitting my son.”

Yuuri wants to say that he won’t buy such things at all, ever, he promises, but he only nods his head. And then he remembers Yuri’s father can’t actually see him, so he hums in agreement. And then...

“Wait...” He rubs at his eyes. “Mr Nikiforov, does that mean I’m not fired?”

There’s a sigh in his ear. “My name’s Viktor, you can call me that. And yes. Both me and Yuri are expecting you tomorrow. Is that alright?”

Is it? Yuuri clenches his eyes. He made a complete fool out of himself yesterday, he ran out of the apartment like it was on fire. And all the suspicious looks he got when he was grocery shopping with Yuri, and when they got out of the store, too...

But then he remembers how... easy it was when the dirty magazine was hidden in his backpack, forgotten, when he and Yuri were sitting at one of the tables in the ice cream parlour and the five-year-old was stuffing his face full of chocolate mush and whipped cream. Yuri behaved like a little angel when eating ice cream or watching the opening of The Lion King, ready for his nap.

Maybe he will act more like that when he sees Yuuri is back for day two—never mind there was a hiccup—and understands that he isn’t that easy to scare off?

(Never mind that he is. The kid definitely doesn’t need to know that, though.)

“Same time and place?” Yuuri asks finally, letting out an inaudible sigh as he rubs at his eyes again.

“Yes, if that’s alright? Yuri has a private dancing class right before you come to our apartment. His instructor will be waiting for you to take over.”

Yuuri nods to himself. Private dance classes. Of course.

“I’ll be there,” he promises.

As soon as the call is off, Yuuri plugs the phone to charge and falls back on his bed, hands covering his face.

He’ll show the little Yuri that he’s not a pushover and he’ll prove the boy’s father that he isn’t a pervert. It’s not important that the man doesn’t seem to think that. Yuuri thinks Mr Nikiforov might be secretly thinking that, and that’s all that matters.

He nods to himself and rolls onto his side, arm hugging the pillow, ready to sleep.

...why the hell did he agree to go back?

[nomanonold]

#Chihoko

I woke up still sort of hungover to this BLAST of texts from my collaborator friend telling me about HO-LY-SHIT everything that had happened in the fandom over night. But mostly, Sin wanted to write the story, because once you hear it, you HAVE to write it, right? 

So here you go: our take on #Chihoko

http://archiveofourown.org/works/10762548

Or read here:

No one ever accused Yurio of being a patient, understanding friend, but this morning, no one could blame him for his outrage.

The two men he looked up to most in the world, he was literally looking up to right now, as the fucking idiots sat naked on the roof of a castle yelling at the sunrise. Since when did the youngest guy in the room end up being the only responsible one?

Since they all started drinking last night, the bastards.

------

They left Ice Castle in a fit of boisterous ego. Every single one of them knew this was going to be the best production they’d ever done. Or, at least, the very most fun. There was so much fanservice and silliness, things they’d never get away with in real competition. It was professional athletes fooling around and seeing what they could really do with their bodies without ISU judgement. The triplets kept a steady slow drip of “accidental” sneak previews feeding the public into a hyper frenzy.

The event was already sold out. Every room in Yu-Topia booked. People were staying in cities two hours away and taking the train back and forth to Hasetsu just for the “Victor and Friends” ice skating exhibition extravaganza.

The hardest part was getting Yakov to agree to let the entire Russian Team come to Japan for this. After that, Phichit, Minami, and Chris were easy to bring on board. And once he had them, it was no problem for Victor to get Seung Gil, Leo, Guang-Hong, Mickey and Sara. Because the entire city was booked, everyone was bunking with Victor, Yuuri and Yuri at Yu-Topia, but quarters were already tight, which necessitated an unfortunate amount of room sharing. In the morning, many bodies were strewn on the floor of Victor’s room, being the largest of the three. Somehow, Yurio managed to keep all the potential bed-sharers out of his closet-turned-bedroom, but he slid the door open in the early morning, thinking he’d get a head start on his preparation, to see chaos.

No one was fully clothed. There were about a dozen people in Victor’s room, on his bed, on his floor, everywhere. Yurio was immediately disgusted by this display. He didn’t even know a few of these people. Everyone was asleep. They needed to be at Ice Castle in a few hours. What the fuck was going on?

Finally, Yuri spotted Yuuri: or what was left of him.

“Katsudon! What the hell hap--..?” but he couldn’t finish his thought.  

Yuuri looked worse than the entire room put together. He was ass-up at the foot of Victor’s bed, face a passed-out heap on one of his folded arms. The other arm was splayed at a hard angle. He was drooling and snoring. His back was covered in sharpie marker.

To top it all off, he had a pair of too-small bikini-style men’s underwear on his head, spraying his hair into a million odd angles through the leg holes. Black, of course, and undoubtedly Victor’s.

Speaking of which.

Yuri narrowed his eyes, taking a closer look at the scrambled assortment of human flesh.

“Yuuri!” Yuri woke his rival up the best way he knew how: kicking Yuuri over onto his side and then repeatedly punching Yuuri with his foot.

“Where did you put Victor?!” Yuri exclaimed. For all the bodies in the room, none of them were the star of the upcoming show.

That was a problem.

Yuuri finally woke up, moaning, and blinked at Yuri for all of two seconds before he was leaning off the edge of the bed, grabbing the upturned waste basket by his desk, and hurling into it.

That was the last straw.

Yuri yelled at the entire room to wake up.

“Victor’s not here?” Yuuri finally managed, blinking through the pounding of his head, groaning. He was somewhere between drunk and hungover and didn’t know which was worse.

Everyone else was making similar noises, complaining and bitching and getting groggily to their feet.

“Where the fuck is Victor?!” Yuri repeated. Normally, it took a steel spatula to pry Victor off of Yuuri, and yet now, on the morning of his big event, he was nowhere to be seen? Something was off.

People started looking at their phones, trying to see if they’d heard from Victor, received a text, or if Victor was somewhere Instagramming his heart out as was his routine in the early morning.

No one had heard a peep.

“Maybe YOU did something to him, Yurio!”  Georgi accused, in the beginning of a panic.

“What the FUCK would I do to Victor?!”

“You have always wanted to be Russia’s only star, get out from under Victor’s shadow,” Mila declared, her suspicion teetering between legitimate and playful. How the hell had Mila wound up in this room? The girls were supposed to take Yuuri’s room.

“Like I need any help with that, Baba!” Yuri growled.

“Look,” Mickey said, holding up a scribbled napkin that had fallen out of the waste bin when Yuuri grabbed it for other purposes. On the napkin were various poorly-scripted show names: YURI ON DARKNESS, YURI ON GALAXY, YURI ON TIGER, ME VS THE WORLD. “You even want your own show!”

“HEY!” Yurio glowered, disguising his embarrassment as anger. “Those -- That’s --- HALF OF THOSE WERE OTABEK’S IDEAS!”

Sometime during this conversation Chris - who was nowhere to be seen - had tweeted:

“Victor! Where are you?!” with winking smiles, and now everyone’s phones were blowing up. Chris had just informed the rabid, sold-out crowds that Victor was missing.

Minako burst into the room of mostly-still-asleep half-naked men: “Yuko just called! What the hell happened last night!? Where’s Victor????”

That outburst got everyone awake for real, and people who didn’t stand up fast enough for Minako’s tastes got kicked in the ribs or butt.

“Yuri-kun! What is that on your back?!” Minami squealed, pointing with one hand and clutching his gasping mouth with the other.

Minako spun her protege around. “It’s in Russian! It must be from Victor!”

She promptly shoved Yuuri into Yurio. “READ IT! WHAT DOES IT SAY?!?!”

Yurio was suddenly in too-close proximity to Yuuri’s, sweaty, alcohol-smelling, naked flesh. He growled and struggled, but the group overpowered him.

“Please, Yurio?” Yuuri finally begged, bending over and trying to do a ‘flat back’ style yoga pose to ease Yurio’s reading of the text. “We need to know where Victor is. We can’t do ‘Victor and Friends’ without Victor.”

“You know, we could always --” Georgi started, Mila beside him, but Yuri wasn’t one to be shown up.

Yuri looked away, shrugged off his captors and growled:  “It says Victor will beat Chihoko. Or… overcome Chihoko.”

Almost simultaneously, nearly everyone in the group uttered some variant of: “Who the fuck is Chihoko?”

Yurio stomped towards his room. “How the heck should I know! IDIOTS! I hate all of you!” and did his best to slam the sliding door before throwing himself onto his bed with a pillow over his head so he couldn’t hear the madness outside. He did his part to help in the search by texting Victor.

The fuck have you gone?

“Oh no. This is terrible,” Yuuri clutched his forehead in the other room and tried to stand, failing, and slumping back against the bed.

Seung Gil looked nervously around the room and was happy the Victor disappearance overshadowed his own… actions… last night. He tried to further deflect attention from himself by announcing:

“Katsuki Yuuri, one thing needs to be said before we go on.”

Yuuri looked up at him with the saddest, most beaten down eyes, hoping for comfort from a younger, kinder friend.

“Put some clothes on!”

This entire time, in front of Minako Sensei and everyone else, including, OH GOD BAKA MINAMI KUN, Katsuki Yuri had been balls and dick hanging out for all the world to see.

Yuuri immediately grabbed the trashcan and threw up again.

“Okay, okay,” Phichit decided to try and save the day. “Everyone’s seen a drunk morning after movie, right?” There was bleary, non-committal nodding in response. “Well, we have to retrace our steps, look for clues! Everyone empty your pockets and try to remember what happened last night!”

“We ate katsudon for dinner.” Georgi pulled out his receipt from downstairs.

“Oh yeah,” Mickey continued to build his case against the Russian Fairy. “Victor said ‘Here’s your katsudon, kitten’ and then Yurio got pissed.”

Mila laughed and mocked with her best Yurio voice: “I am the ICE TIGER!”

Leo shuddered. “That was when things started to get… gross…”

Guang Hong looked at his phone and found a video of Chris. He hit play.

The Swiss star lounged salaciously in the middle of a Victor and Yuuri sandwich. He leaned into Yuuri, purring: “Do you want to... drink my… sake?” The tone made it clear he was talking about anything but sake.

Yuuri feigned pushing him away, leaning Chris into Victor. “It’s OUR sake, Chris.” He corrected. “It belongs to Yu-Topia.”

Leo and Guang Hong could be heard near the phone: “Ugh. Adults are gross.”

The video kept playing to prove the youngsters right. Chris snorted at the pair and turned his weighty gaze on them. “If we’re so adult for you, why don’t you go to your mums, get a nice suckle of milk, and go sleep in your cribs, hmm?” The words alone were bad, but Chris accented them with a slow swirl of his finger around his nipple and a squeeze of his pectoral.

The video ended.  

Minako was flush and excused herself to go look for Chris and Victor since they both had to be out in the town somewhere.

“THAT’S IT!” Yurio burst from his bedroom. “Yuuri was jealous of Victor flirting with Chris all night and hid him away!” He pointed a finger of judgment at Yuuri as the Japanese skater pathetically tried to hop into a pair of pants. Phichit, bless his soul, was acting as a human railing for Yuuri to hold on to to stay balanced as he dressed.

“It looked more like Chris was flirting with Yuuri,” Leo offered.

“They were all pretty into each other,” Georgi sighed, enamoured by the love his friends shared. “I don’t think either Victor or Yuuri would be jealous of Chris.”   Yuuri buried his face in his hands.

“Oh! Look at this video!” Mila chirped.

A far more sober video began to play, it must have been from much earlier than the Chris milking incident.

Victor and Yuuri were drinking, but slowly, and the video panned to everyone around the room enjoying themselves, fully clothed.

Victor jumped up behind Yuuri and grabbed him around the waist.

“Yuuuuri my cuuuteee piiggyyy!” His fingers began to squeeze Yuuri’s pooch over his shirt. “Your off season soft tummy is sooo squishy!” Then his hands got up under Yuuri’s shirt and exposed his tummy. “I squish it!”

Yuuri squirmed a bit adorably and whined: “Victor!! Everyone’s watching!”

This did absolutely nothing to disincentivize Victor.

“What the heck, Mila?!” Yuuri groaned as the video actually zoomed in on Victor’s hand smooshing a warm circle over Yuuri’s bare and adorably pudgy stomach.

“Poodgy poofy woofy!” Victor laughed and jiggled the flesh.

Mila covered a spit-take style laugh with her hand as the video stopped playing.

“Maybe Katsudon got jealous that everyone saw Victor being cute with him and wanted to keep him to himself!” Yurio tried to shout, but it was drowned out by the combined cacophony of everyone laughing at the video.

“No. This clue doesn’t help.” Phichit scratched his chin and did his best detective voice. “Anything else anyone remembers?”

“Oh! I’ve got one!” Leo cheered. “Oh! This is a good one! I bet this is it!”

The newest video showed Victor flirting with Chris this time. Yuuri had lost an article of clothing or two, but still had his pants on.

“Victor! Stop looking at Chris and look at meeeeeee!”

Victor’s position in the onsen made it possible for him to be facing both Yuuri and Chris at once.

“Yuuri, I AM looking at you!”

“You’re not looking enough.”

Snickering could be heard in the background as drunk-video Yuuri put on a pouty face and reached for Victor. Once he had Victor in his clutches, Yuuri’s Sochi banquet begging voice was suddenly all anyone could hear in the room. At full volume, Katsuki Yuuri wailed:

“Victor! Do it with me!”

Minami-Kun, hearing this from the recording, dropped his phone with a loud thud. His body when rigid and he didn’t even try to retrieve the device.

“Do what?” came the silver tongued reply in the video.

“That thing we do… when we drink… do that… do it with me…”

Yurio covered his ears and his growls were crescendoed to a roar of insolent rage. He knew this was all Yuuri’s fault! No one listened to him!

The video ended.

“That’s right!” Phichit laughed. “You guys came back in here and started playing Yakyuken! Oh, Yuuri-kun, you lost… BAD. You were naked in like ten minutes.”

“KATSUKI SHIT YUURI!” Yurio erupted.  

Yuuri had buried his face in the pillow by this point, curled up into a ball and commenced a long, aching, moan. No had had the courage to tell him that Victor’s underwear was still on his head. Finally he admitted in a whine of pain: “It’s true… I want to disappear…”  

Georgi raised a delicate finger. “I saw Victor when he left last night! He was naked when he left! And he kept saying something.” His steepled his fingers against his temples as he paced, wracking his brain. “Chin… hoko…?”

Minami went more crimson than he already was. “Uh, is had to be something else, right Georgi? He couldn’t have been repetitively saying…” he blanched, “penises, could he?”

Mila guffawed. “That sounds about right for drunk Victor!”

Yurio screamed. “Chihoko, you ass!” at Georgi. “The same thing that’s written on Yuuri’s stupid sweaty, stinking back!”

“OH!” Phichit suddenly exclaimed. “Chihoko!!!” He’d tagged that on one of his IG pics the previous night: Yuuri and Victor, waist up, though Victor had one of Yuuri’s ankles in his hands and was compressing the Japanese skater into an impressive stretch. “Look!”

“I… I have a video from then…” Minami whispered in horror. His cheeks were bright red, and he couldn’t bring himself to press play. He held out his phone in one hand, the other covering his eyes.

It looked like Minami had been trying to take a video of Yuri and Leo balancing cards, but in the background, sure enough, were Victor and Yuuri, half out of frame but their voices clear:

“Who…. is Chihoko!?” Victor gasped in alarm, dropping Yuuri’s leg. Yuuri twisted around and wrapped his arms around Victor’s neck, slurring:

“Are youuuu maaaaaadddddd,” Yuuri teased, his butt shaking in the video as he pushed Victor back.

“No!” Victor tried to scoff.

“Yess youuu arrrreeeee!”

The pair’s words escalated, but the video cut off abruptly as Yuri and Leo’s card tower fell down.

“My Victor and Yuuri got a divorce!” Phichit shrieked in horror.

Yuuri made another deathly noise from his pillow.

#Chihoko was on several people’s phones, with the question trending online “Who is Chihoko?!” The skaters were all asking one another the same question, now.

That was when Emil walked in, blinked at the sight of everyone, shook his head like clearing a nightmare, and asked: “Why is Victor naked on top of the castle?”

Even Yurio was stunned silent.

“What?” Yuuri finally had to ask.

“Victor… he’s… er….” Emil nodded the way he’d came. “He’s naked. Stretching. On the castle roof.”

“Oh, god.”

Yuuri made a move for the door, and it wasn’t until he was almost out of Yu-Topia that Emil called: “Take that underwear off your head!”

Yuuri would never forgive Phichit for this.

By the time Yuuri reached the castle, panting, out of breath, and quite certain he was still drunk, the sky was light enough that sunrise was imminent.

One story above him, the love of his life was up there stretched into a pose that mimicked one of the nearby statues. It was an impressive sight, cock and all. Before Yuuri could even open his mouth, Victor was shouting:

“IS THIS BETTER THAN CHIHOKO!?”

Yuuri blinked.

“WHO THE HELL IS CHIHOKO!” He held out his hands in exasperation towards his love: “I COULD SEARCH THE WHOLE WORLD; THERE’S NOBODY BETTER THAN YOU!”

And he saw and heard the little shriek of joy this caused in Victor.

By this time, the others had arrived, only a few stragglers still coming up the hill. Chris had run into Emil on the other man’s way to Yu-Topia and had been standing below Victor trying to talk him down for more than thirty minutes. Phichit greeted Chris with a chipper grin:

“Have you been babysitting him this whole time? You missed all the fun this morning.”

Chris smiled and flashed his phone, revealing a photo of Seung Gil laying kisses on a stunned Nishigori: “Oh, Phichit, the day is only just beginning.”

Victor caught everyone’s attention when he hailed from above: “Yuuuuuri! Strip and join mee!!!”

Chris and Phichit laughed, like Victor had made a funny joke, but Yuuri stared pure-hearted determination up at Victor and promptly started removing his shirt and pants all over again.

“Ahhhhh! Yuuri! Amazing!” Victor swooned when Yuuri finally caught up to him, walking carefully along the rooftop. “Am I shining, Yuuri?!”

“Very, very brightly,” Yuuri agreed, the first rays of the sun catching on Victor’s pale skin and making him glow.

“THIS CHIHOKO MAY BE YUURI’S PAST,” Victor called down to the assembled skate group, who had absolutely no idea how to deal with this situation, “BUT I AM YUURI’S NOW!”

Yuuri nuzzled into Victor’s naked body and bare skin.

“Oh good, everyone!” Phichit enthused. “My best friend got remarried!!!”

There was a round of clapping from the assembled skaters as Victor and Yuuri took their seats on the roof, arms hugging waists, watching the sunrise.

“I’M BETTER THAN CHIHOKO!” Victor cried out happily.

“HE’S BETTER THAN THE SUN!” Yuuri joined him, pointing at the half moon of burning light.

“I’M BETTER THAN THE WORLD!!!”

---

“Oh for fuck’s sake,” Yuri growled from the ground.

This was why he shouldn’t let those two around alcohol.

It was officially confirmed for their fans and all of their friends. Victor and Yuuri were a couple of drunk exhibitionists. Next time they called Yurio to be part of their show, he would tell them to fuck off. Fuck right off. There was no way he was getting sucked into this again. The disgusting public affection. The raunchy nudity. The uncontrollable theatrics. Up early enough to see the fucking sunrise!

Yuri huffed, surrounded by his skating family, after one of the most ridiculous nights of his life, and couldn’t entirely hide the way his lip quirked up as he looked at that horizon.