Work Text:
Two Years Ago
“NEVER SHOW YOUR FACE ‘ERE AGAIN YA FILTHY WITCH!!”
Bakugo Katsuki grunted as he hit the ground, skidding slightly on the cobblestone street. He was, by no means, a scrawny teenager. It just so happened that the butcher was massive enough to pick him up by the scruff of his neck and literally toss him out.
He wiped his face off and sat up. “FUCK YOU YA HAG, I NEVER LIKED YOUR SHIT ANYWAYS!” he yelled back.
His sweatshirt flew at him and smacked him in the face.
The butcher and his wife sneered down at him from the steps before they disappeared back into their shop with a slam of the door. Katsuki pulled himself up onto his feet and angrily tugged the hoodie over his head. Straightening out his clothes and brushing off dirt, he took one last look at the deli he’d been going to for months, with it’s wooden sign and welcoming scent of freshly baked bread...
...and he spat at their doorstep and stalked off.
Yanking his hood up to shield himself from the rain, Katsuki headed down the wet streets.
He wasn’t sure who he was more upset at: the deli or himself. He had been going to this place for months now and to be honest, he really liked it. Not only were they cheap and delicious, the owners had always been so kind and welcoming that he felt a sense of home in their little shop.
Of course, all of that had to change when they saw the runes tattooed on his arms.
Katsuki scowled as he walked, shoving his hands deep into his pockets.
It was his fault, really. Months of hiding, of wearing long sleeves and hoodies, only to be ruined because he had been in a rush in the morning and had forgotten to slap on a concealment spell. The minute he walked into the deli and pulled off his hoodie, the butcher and his wife had gone quiet, eyes zeroed in on the black ink that spiraled around his biceps and trailed down the center of his forearms.
Needless to say, they did not take well to witches.
Katsuki groaned, feeling his stomach growl. He had been really looking forward to his regular sandwich from the deli, but it seemed like that plan was shot forever. Feeling the rain steadily soak through his hoodie, he quickened his pace, taking a sharp right at the next street corner.
So what if that place didn’t tolerate witches? He knew at least one place that did and he was fine going there.
No matter how shitty their sandwiches were.
A bell rang as Katsuki pushed open the door and a familiar voice floated over to him.
“Hello! Welcome to Un Pour Tous, please take a se-- oh! Kacchan!”
Katsuki sneered, marching into the place like he owned it. He dropped heavily onto one of the stools by the bar and it creaked with the sudden force. “I told you not to call me that ya shitty nerd,” he growled, tugging his hood off and running his hand through his damp hair.
His eyes scanned the place. It was a gloomy afternoon and the coffee shop had a decent amount of people tucked away into the corners, sipping on their drinks. Everything was clean, like always, but the fancy, up-tight atmosphere raised his hackles like always.
The sign on the window that said ‘Magic Folk Welcome’ made him crinkle his nose.
“So, uh, what brings you here today? You don’t normally come in...” Deku trailed off as he came up on the other side of the bar, rag in hand.
Katsuki sighed before digging into his back pocket to pull out a handful of bills, dropping them onto the counter. “I’m fucking starving, can I get a damn sandwich or something?”
Deku blinked at the money. “O-oh! Of course! Here lemme just, ah, I’ll get your order,” he said, scooping the money into his hands. “What sandwich do you want?”
He shrugged. “I don’t fucking know, anything. Just make it spicy.”
Deku nodded before disappearing through the back door, into the kitchen.
Katsuki slouched into his chair, heaving a sigh. He pulled out his phone and he scowled when he saw that the screen was cracked, nasty spiderwebs across the entire face. He must’ve landed on it when he got thrown out.
With a quick murmur and a gentle tap, a rune tattooed on his forearm lit up and the screen was repaired within seconds. A few people looked up at the light swell in magic but no one was bothered by the display.
“How nice of you to grace us with your presence,” a deadpan voice appeared from his side. Katsuki glanced over to see his other favorite fucking person place a tray onto the counter.
“Fuck you, half and half,” he said without much heat. He was too tired to summon up the appropriate amount of anger he usually felt seeing the fucker’s face. His day had been nothing but draining so far and all he wanted to do was grab food and go home. He was pretty sure he had a replenishing potion somewhere lying around his flat.
Todoroki raised an eyebrow at him. “What are you doing here? Don’t you hate this place?”
Katsuki made eye contact with him and kicked his leg up onto the counter, leaning his stool back onto two legs. “I do.”
The half and half bastard’s eyes narrowed at his leg and Katsuki smirked. His day had been shit, but at least he could still piss off this jackass.
“Kacchan, please, feet off the counter. I just cleaned it,” Deku sighed, pushing open the back door, plate in hand.
He scoffed, picking his feet off but not without a snide look at Todoroki. The other witch just huffed quietly before joining Deku behind the bar.
“So… what brings you here? Is everything okay?” Deku hedged uncertainly, sliding the plate over to him. Katsuki knew what he looked like: wet and tired, slightly roughed up from being thrown out onto the street. He didn’t answer for a second, choosing instead to grab his sandwich and take a huge bite.
“I got kicked out of a deli because they found out I was a fucking witch,” he muttered through a mouthful of food. It was decent...but not as good.
“Really?” Deku sighed, resting his elbow on the wood and then his chin in his hand. “I guess I’m not surprised, things have been a little tense since the news about Sir Nighteye.”
Katsuki raised a blond eyebrow as he tore through his meal. “The fuck happened to him?”
“You didn’t hear? It’s all over the post,” Todoroki said.
“Does it look like I fucking heard?!?”
Deku rolled his eyes. “Sir Nighteye was killed a few days ago,” he said solemnly. “Apparently his place was attacked in the dead of night and they found his body the next morning. His place was a mess and there was obvious foul-play.” He exchanged a glance with Todoroki. “Police think people attacked him for his research, and when they searched the place, they couldn’t find any of his notes. So that means --”
“-- either he hid them so well they never found it, or some powerful magic has fallen in the wrong hands,” Todoroki finished.
Fucking shit, no wonder. The tension between the magic folk and the regular folk had always been high, but he noticed that they’d been extra strained as of late.
Katsuki’s not sure how this relationship began, but it’d been like that for as long as he knew. The regular folk regarded them with fear, and what they feared, they hated. Shunned by a majority of the world, some witches banded together in the form of covens to provide a sense of community, but that only seemed to widen the gap. Although recent efforts had been made to bridge this gap, witches and magical folk alike were held at an arm’s length.
And this recent news about Sir Nighteye probably made things worse. The normal folk already had enough to be afraid of, now “evil” witches were popping up and causing a disturbance.
“Let’s fucking hope he hid his research away. Who knows how strong that shit was,” Katsuki muttered, picking his teeth.
“Rumor has it, he was working on gravity magic.” Deku rubbed his chin with his hand. “Making things weightless, increasing their gravity, things like that.”
“You could do a lot with that,” Todoroki mused. “I can see why people would want to go after it. It’s a difficult magic to harness, let alone manipulate.”
Deku nodded and Katsuki could already see his thoughts rushing through his head.
“Speaking of magic….” Deku began and Katsuki stiffened, knowing what he’d ask. “Kacchan, how are your spells coming along? All Might told me you were working on new ones.”
He thought back to the past several nights of no sleep, failed experiments, and spells blowing up on him and he scowled darkly at his plate. “None of your fucking business.”
Deku and Todoroki’s identical looks of skepticism grated on his nerves.
“You know, if you joined our coven, you’d probably have access to even more books and spells to help your research,” Deku said, and Katsuki immediately clenched his fist.
“I fucking told you, I don’t need to join a shitty coven!!” he barked, startling nearby patrons of the cafe.
He knew it’d probably help, it was too Katsuki was fucking stubborn. He wanted to be the best, yes, but he wanted to do it his own way. So what if covens had organized libraries of books? So what if covens had an internal support system of witches? He didn’t need any of that shit.
If All Might wanted him in his coven so badly, then maybe he should’ve picked him as his apprentice instead of shitty Deku years and years ago.
“You and all those shitty extras can be all buddy buddy for all I care, I don’t fucking need a coven. I’ll show you all up, just you wait and see,” Katsuki sneered, baring his teeth at the other witches.
“Hard to see that happening when you’re struggling so much now,” Todoroki said coldly.
“Oi ya fucking wanna fight bastard?!?”
“Guys please, not in the cafe!” Deku raised his voice up over them and held out a hand to stop Katsuki from lunging. “Todoroki,” he warned, narrowing his bright green eyes sternly at expressionless witch.
Katsuki briefly took in the composed and strong posture of his childhood acquaintance and scoffed. It seemed like his apprenticeship under All Might had done some good for his confidence.
“I know we can’t convince you to join the coven, but could you at least think about finding a familiar?” Deku asked, once he was sure both were settled.
Katsuki made an annoyed “tch” noise in between his teeth. If it wasn’t about the coven, then it was about him finding a familiar. As if he hadn’t heard enough.
Familiars weren’t common to come by, but most, if not all, powerful witches had one. Deku had found a little rabbit earlier this year named Gran and even Todoroki had an arctic fox named Izumi. They were animal spirits that bonded with witches and, once bonded, could help better channel magic as well as manipulate it. They were known for being loyal, powerful partners, and building a relationship with one could lead to a witch increasing their strength tenfold.
The difficult part in obtaining one was that the witch didn’t pick the familiar, the familiar picked them, and because of the spirit’s picky nature, those who found themselves with familiars were quite blessed.
“Give it up Midoriya.” Todoroki crossed his arms. “If he wants to be difficult then let him. I doubt any familiar would want him as their witch anyway.”
Katsuki flipped him off.
“Good thing I don’t give a shit about them,” he growled, standing up from his seat. “I’m fucking outta here, I’m tired of your fucking faces.” He had the decency to push the stool back in but then he quickly spun away, not wanting to see the look on either of their faces.
It was always the same, soft, pitying look from Deku, and it never failed to piss him off.
As he exited the cafe and pulled his hood back up to shield him from the rain, Katsuki looked out onto the street with tired eyes.
It was a long walk home.
Katsuki was halfway home when he heard it.
Mew.
He stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and looked around. It wasn’t a loud noise at all. It was soft, nearly inaudible, yet he heard it for some reason. He glanced at the people around him and it didn’t seem like anyone else noticed. How did he hear it then? Was he just imagining things?
Mew.
There it was again. Katsuki frowned, his carmine eyes surreptitiously scanning his surroundings. It was such a quiet noise and yet it felt like it was ringing in his head, insistently, eagerly.
Mew.
His head snapped to the right. All he saw was a dark alleyway, with dumpsters lined up against the brick wall. There was nothing out of the ordinary about that alleyway, but it felt like something was pulling him towards it. With one last look around, he slowly walked into it.
The alleyway was small, tucked away from most of the public, and it smelled faintly of garbage. There were water stains on the brick walls and small puddles on the ground, and he navigated around them, walking until he stopped at the end of the alley.
In front of him was a little cardboard box sitting on the ground. It had a lid covering the top as well as holes poked all around its sides, and it was about as tall as his knees. Katsuki crouched down before it, eyeing it with caution.
Mew.
He reached a tentative hand out, tucking his fingers below the lid, and when he lifted it up an inch, he was glad to see nothing jump out. It wasn’t like he was scared or anything, but it was best to err on the side of caution. Katsuki took a deep breath. In one smooth movement, he lifted the lid clean off and peered into the box.
Big brown eyes blinked up at him.
It was a cat. A tiny little round thing, the size of his forearm probably, and its fluffy tail swished behind it as it regarded him calmly.
“The fuck?” Katsuki muttered, examining the little creature. Its fur was golden brown, like the color of the maple syrup he liked to put on his waffles, and on its cheeks were two spots of rosy pink. Dainty, feline features sat on a round face and he smirked, reaching down to caress its chubby cheek. “Damn, yer pretty round aren’t ya Cheeks?”
The cat mewled and pressed its head against his palm, darker brown ears flicking. Its fur was soft and clean against his skin, and it looked healthy, which meant it was probably only recently abandoned.
A cold wind passed through the alley and the cat mewled pitifully, tiny shivers wracking its frame.
Katsuki clucked his tongue, eyeing it with suspicion. He usually didn’t give a shit about things that were ‘cute’ or ‘adorable,’ but there was something different about this cat that was making him feel soft. The cat raised itself up onto its haunches and pawed at him, looking up with those large, liquid eyes.
Fuck.
Katsuki groaned, rolling his eyes towards the sky. “Alright fine, c’mere you stupid thing,” he said, reluctantly scooping the animal into his arms. “Just for a bit, alright? And then you’re going in that shitty box again.”
The cat mewled, as if it understood him, and it rubbed its round face happily into his chest. It pawed at the neck of his hoodie and with a tug, it jumped into his sweatshirt.
“Oi oi, hey! The fuck?!”
The cat made itself comfortable inside his hoodie, wriggling around comfortably, before sticking its head out of the neck to peer at him with wide, innocent eyes. Katsuki stared down with an unamused look.
“Great, are ya fucking happy now?”
The cat licked his chin.
He sighed heavily, letting the cat get comfortable in his hoodie of all fucking places. It started purring and the noise vibrated his chest. He hated to admit it, but it was sorta soothing. “As soon as you’re warm, I’m putting you back, you know.”
The cat mewled indignantly, and he noticed these tiny little brown spots above its eyes that furrowed together like eyebrows normally would.
“I’m not fucking taking you home! I don’t have the space for a cat!”
The cat blinked slowly at him, and he faintly got the impression that it didn’t believe him. It examined him for a few seconds before it made a little patronizing chirp and resumed rubbing its cheek against him.
“Look here you little shit, you can purr and meow as much as you want but I’m not taking you home!” Katsuki barked firmly, glaring down at the little creature. “After this you’re going back in the damn box! This is my fucking goodbye, alright? So…bye.”
The cat stretched up and licked his nose.
He ended up taking it home.
“This is my home. Don’t fuck it up,” Katsuki said curtly as the cat sat up on his shoulder to look around his studio apartment. As soon as they had left the alleyway, the cat had jumped up to his shoulder and perched itself there.
The image of a surly blond teen with a small round cat on his shoulder, stomping down the cobblestone streets, had drawn some curious glances.
Katsuki walked over to his large desk and bent over so the cat could jump off onto it. It sat down, mindful of all the things on his desk, and looked around his place with interest evident in its eyes.
His apartment wasn’t big. It was a small studio loft apartment with a spiral staircase that led to his bed up top. Down below, was his kitchen and his study space. He had bookcases pressed up against dark brick walls as well as random plants and herbs decorating the area, and his large wooden desk was set neatly in front of his window, which showed the gloomy sky outside. There were books scattered on the ground, as well as a half-empty cauldron shoved into the far corner of the living space with wisps of fragrant steam curling over it. He wasn’t usually so messy but the past few days of intense research had drained him of the usual energy to clean. At least his kitchen was spotless, just the way he liked it.
“Hey, don’t touch that!” he snapped when the cat nudged his notebook, flipping it open to reveal his messy scrawl. He quickly snatched it out of reach, holding it to himself protectively. “Don’t touch my shit! You know how important those notes are??”
The cat blinked at him.
Scowling, Katsuki bent down to put his notebook on a small stack of books. He’d probably need it later anyways when he started working again. When he straightened back up, the cat was curled up on top of his desk, already looking too comfortable in his place.
“The fuck am I doing with a cat?” Katsuki muttered, mentally wondering what possessed him to bring home a random cat from an alleyway. It was as if some unseen force had pushed him to do it. For a second, he thought the cat might’ve cast a spell on him or something, but he didn’t feel any magic from it. The only thing it had were these stupidly large, terribly convincing eyes.
“What are you anyways?” he asked, not really expecting an answer. “A boy? A girl? I can’t keep calling you ‘it’ can I? Or maybe I can just stick with calling you Cheeks” He reached out to pick up the cat and, as if it sensed his intentions, it started squirming.
“He-hey, stop moving, lemme check ya.”
The cat meowed indignantly as he shifted it in his arms so that it lay belly up, little paws stuck up in the air. His eyes roved over its fluffy underside until his eyes landed where it needed to.
“Huh.”
Mrow!!
In hindsight, he probably deserved that scratch.
Katsuki rubbed his arms as the nighttime chill set in and he hissed as his rough hands came in contact with the brand new scratches he had, courtesy of the cat perched on his bookcase. He glared at her and she yawned, nonplussed.
After their little tussle, he got to work on the spell he’d been crafting for weeks now. Before he knew it, hours had passed and the sky was dark outside his window.
Groaning tiredly to himself, Katsuki ran a hand through his hair, messing up the spiky locks. He was sitting on the floor, surrounded by textbooks and notes, and his laptop was open to a webpage named ‘What Could Be Wrong With Your Spell: Working Out The Kinks.” The rejuvenating potion he took earlier was starting to wear off and he was tempted to take another, but he knew it’d keep him up all night. He leaned back on his arms and examined the mess around him.
He knew he was close to figuring it out. He had the calculations down and he had inscribed the correct runes onto his palms, it was just a matter of getting everything to work at this point.
Was it his magic? Was he pouring in too much? Too little? What was the right amount?
Every time he tried summoning the explosions, they either exploded in his face or sputtered weakly. He could get them to manifest but it seemed like the issue was controlling them.
Explosion magic was tricky and highly volatile, but that’s why he wanted to harness it.
“Fuck, I’m tired,” Katsuki grumbled, rubbing a still warm hand down his face. His latest attempt had been weak and sputtery, which he inwardly was grateful for. He didn’t want to clean up his entire apartment again like the last time, when it blew up in his face and sent him sprawling.
The cat on his bookcase meowed at him and he looked up at her. “What? You think this is fucking funny Cheeks?”
She blinked at him from one of the bookcase cubes that wasn’t packed with spellbooks. Her tail was hanging off the edge, swishing rhythmically back and forth, and her head was leaning against the side. Katsuki couldn’t help but smirk at how her pudgy cheek squished up against the wall of the case. He had to admit, she was pretty fucking cute for a cat, even if she mauled his arm.
“Alright, last time,” he said, cracking his neck side to side and putting his arms out in front of him. He knew he didn’t have much left in him for more than one shot, so this had to be the last. He exhaled quickly, feeling the air rush out of him in a single breath. It was frustrating as hell to fail multiple times at something, but he didn’t want to give up. He couldn’t give up, not when he wanted to be the absolute best.
Katsuki closed his eyes and willed the magic within him. It sat in his very core, like a vat of hot lava in the pit of a volcano, and he could feel that it was on its very last drops. His eyebrows furrowed as he urged it forward and his magic trickled into his pathways like a narrow creek, rather than the rushing river he needed. He growled in frustration.
Fucking hell, he needed it to work. He had to do this, he had to be strong, otherwise he’d just be a fucking weakling. Weaker than All Might, weaker than that half and half bastard, even weaker than that shitty nerd.
Come on!!
Just as he felt his magic start to pour forward, something furry brushed up against his legs and he jumped in alarm. “What the fuck?!” he shouted, and to his dismay, he felt his magic slip out of his grasp at the lack of concentration. He grinded his teeth in frustration and turned to snap at the cat sitting on the ground beside him. “Are you fucking kidding me?? Do you fucking know how close I was??” Katsuki shouted down at her, hands clenched in anger.
The cat didn’t react, unaffected by his yelling, and she examined him with a curious look on her face.
Huffing quietly, he propped his elbows on his knees and let his head drop. Was it even worth trying anymore? Was it worth wasting more of his magic? Why did it feel so hopeless?
Mew.
Katsuki felt a tiny paw rest on his knee and he looked up to see his cat staring at him with keen, bright eyes. He shifted uncomfortably. It felt like she was peering into the depths of his soul or something, her eyes looked too sharp, too piercing. With the way the moonlight shone into his apartment, it almost seemed like her irises were glowing eerily. She meowed again, before shuffling onto all fours.
“H-hey, what are yo-” he began as she clambered onto his lap, tiny paws pressing against his thigh and his calves. Her tail flicked against his arms as she circled to get comfortable. As soon she settled down, that’s when he felt it.
A pulse reverberated through his entire body, making the hairs on his arms rise. It settled him and riled him up at the same time, calming his magic but making him feel more energetic than he had all night. What was the pounding that he felt? Was it his heartbeat? Was it hers? Katsuki wasn’t sure but he felt...strong. He felt capable. His magic stirred and he was surprised to feel that it was more like plentiful well, instead of the scarce drops from before.
What was going on?
Slowly letting out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, he looked down into his lap to see his cat looking back up expectantly. He reached down to sink his fingers into her plush fur and when he did, that’s when he realized.
A familiar.
That’s what she was. That’s why he had been so drawn to her, that’s why no one else seemed to hear her. She was a familiar and out of all people, she had chosen him.
Him.
Snorting softly in something akin to wonder, Katsuki stroked her head and her eyes fluttered in delight as his fingertips brushed as the fine magic weaved into her fur. He felt the connection between them slowly sprouting, growing vines that wrapped around their souls to intertwine them as one. His magic rose eagerly and he could feel hers do the same. It was different, but it was complimentary - something he didn’t know was missing.
He had always said he didn’t need a familiar, but now, with one in his lap, it was hard to deny the utter pull one had. Her magic felt like a warm, soothing hug, wrapped around his very being. She rejuvenated him and centered him, better than any potion could.
This wasn’t just any familiar, this was his familiar.
“Alright then,” Katsuki said lowly, stretching his arms out in front of him, palms up. “I’m trusting you.” The cat in his lap perked up, chirping excitedly, and he smirked as he closed his eyes one last time.
This time, his magic swelled like a wave and it poured over in a rush, aided by his familiar’s guidance. All of his research, all of his hard work clicked together, and he felt everything fall into place like it was meant to. The runes on the palms of his hands tingled and with a powerful exhale, he let his magic go.
Crack crack crack!
Twin explosions blossomed in his hands and he opened his eyes just in time to see them light up the room. They were as large as his hand, not any bigger or smaller, and they died out with only the faint smell of burnt sugar left behind.
Katsuki stared at his hands in wonder.
He did it. He actually did it!
“Holy shit,” he breathed, unable to stop the wide grin stretching across his face. “Holy fucking shit!!”
A little meow came from his lap, and he quickly swept the cat into his arms, jumping to his feet. “We did it ya little fucker!! We fucking did it!!” He crowded, hopping excitedly. The cat complained as she was jostled in his arms.
Dumping her onto his desk, he did another victory lap around his apartment before skidding to a stop in front of her. Leaning down to her level, he shoved his finger in her face.
“You know what this means?? This means you’re mine. You’re mine and you’re stuck with me forever!” he declared. She mewled happily at him, tail swishing back and forth, and he was sure that the glint in her eyes matched his.
“Me and you Cheeks, we’re gonna show the world what we’re made of,” he said, mouth curling into a wild, triumphant grin.
With her as his familiar, he was fucking ready to be the best.
No one could stop him now.
Present Time
Katsuki groaned as he slowly dragged himself from the land of the dead. He tried to raise a hand to rub his eyes but frowned when he realized that he couldn’t move it. Now that he was more conscious, he realized that there was a slight weight draped over his body and against his side. It was all smooth, soft, skin and he could feel luscious curves pressed into his. He remembered going to sleep alone last night so that could only mean….
He quickly sat up, dislodging the lithe body next to his.
“Oi! Why the fuck are you in my bed!?!” he barked as his bed partner whined, burying herself further into the covers.
“Katsukiiii, not so loud,” she whined and he could only see the tips of her brown cat ears as she ducked under the sheets. “M’tiiiired.”
“Hey! No! Ochako! Wake the fuck up!”
His familliar just groaned as he reached over and forcibly shook her shoulder. “Okay, okay! I’m up, I’m up, what do ya want?” She pouted, rubbing her eyes with her hands.
“The hell are you doing in my bed??” Katsuki barked, and his eyes widened as she sat up. The covers dropped from her upper body to reveal that she was very very naked. “W-w-why the fuck are you naked?!?”
“Hmmm?” She blinked down at herself. “Oh I guess I was too tired to summon clothes last night.”
“Argh, just, fucking cover yourself already!” He slapped a hand over his eyes and turned away, already feeling the heat rise up the back of his neck. He heard the rustle of his blanket and after a few moments, he was glad to look back and see that she had properly covered herself.
“I don’t know what the problem is, you’ve seen me naked multiple times,” she said casually before she yawned widely, revealing sharp little canines.
It was true, he had seen her naked plenty of times, but he didn’t think he’d ever get over it. He still remembered the first time she revealed this form, shortly after he had first successfully wielded his explosion spell. One second, he had a cat in his lap, and the next, a very attractive, very naked girl was in his arms.
17 year old Katsuki had not been prepared.
“Shut up,” he snapped, willing his blush to die down. “How did you even end up in here? Didn’t I say no sleeping in my bed anymore?”
“You don’t remember?” Ochako asked, tilting her head, scratching lightly at a twitching ear. “It was thundering last night and I got scared, so I jumped in.”
Katsuki sighed seeing her little pout. He should’ve known that would happen. The skies didn’t look great last night and Ochako was deathly afraid of thunderstorms for some reason. She didn’t remember why, but she told him that they terrified her. Looking at her now, with her little ears drooping slightly and watery eyes, she looked so sad and pathetic that he couldn’t find it in himself to stay mad at her.
Cat form or not, it seemed like he was always weak to those big eyes.
“Alright, fine, whatever,” Katsuki grumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. “That doesn’t explain why you’re naked though!!”
“Oh, well that’s because you were crushing me with your weight last night. I had to transform so you could cuddle me properly.”
“I don’t fucking cuddle!!!”
“You do. You’re a cuddler, Katsuki,” she said plainly, lips curling into a catlike grin. “Anyways, it’s early, can we go back to sleep now?” Ochako wriggled back down the bed and reached over the covers to make grabby hands at him.
Katsuki dodged her padded fingertips. As tempting as it was, he had too much to do today and he was eager to get started. He couldn’t waste any more time in bed.
“Nope, gotta get up Cheeks. Today we finally get started on that spell.”
Ochako sat up, careful to keep herself covered this time. “The spell? The one you’ll enter into the competition?” she asked, eyes sparkling with anticipation. Wordlessly, he nodded.
The Bi-Annual Spell Competition was coming up quick and with his research approved and cleared, he was itching to get started on development. Finally it was his time to show everyone what he was made of. He was gonna dominate the whole thing and prove that he was the best.
Locking eyes with his familiar, Katsuki gave her an excited grin. “You ready for today? Imma need you to give me your best.”
Ochako matched his grin with her very own, pumping her fist. “Bring it on!”
The competition wouldn’t know what hit ‘em.