Chapter Text
It’s been a year since Shouto and Katsuki started dating.
They started dating in their second year of high school. Shouto was 16, Katsuki was 17, and they confessed to each other at night under the moon (with the gentle silver light emitting from it framing their faces). Katsuki made Shouto happy ever since, and their bond has been steadily building as time went on. Their relationship was beautiful like that; it grew slowly, over time, into something strong.
Now, Shouto was 17, Katsuki was 18, and it’s been exactly a year. Katsuki was taking them somewhere (it was a secret), and Shouto was getting ready in his room, when he heard a knock.
“Come in,” Shouto said, putting on his shoes.
“Hey, do you still have that-- woah, what are you wearing?” Came Eijirou’s excitable voice. Shouto turned to look at him. His hair wasn’t gelled like usual, held up in a ponytail, and he was wearing a huge hoodie. A perfect contrast to Shouto’s jeans and fitted black shirt. “Is it too much?” Shouto asked.
“No, you look nice,” Eijirou cleared up. “But what’s the occasion?”
Shouto looked at him, brows pinched in confusion. Surely as Katsuki’s best friend, he should’ve known about the meaning of the date? Nevertheless, Shouto told him.
“It’s Katsuki and I’s anniversary,” Shouto told him. “He’s taking me out.”
“... No, but seriously, I’m curious,” Eijirou said with a smile. “You usually look good-- I mean, you’re you -- but never like you're trying to look good, so this is pretty refreshing.”
“I just told you,” Shouto frowned. “It’s our anniversary.”
Eijirou laughed. “You know, you don’t usually joke around, but this is nice,” he said encouragingly. “It’s good to see you loosen up every once in a while. Well, if you don’t want to tell me, it’s okay! Have fun!”
And with that, he exited Shouto’s room, leaving the puzzled boy alone with his confusion.
When Shouto took the elevator down to the main floor, he was met with a few curious glances of his classmates that were hanging around in the common room.
“Have you guys seen Katsuki?” Shouto asked, looking around.
“He went outside,” Hanta said, pointing his thumb at the door.
“And he was looking nice, just like you,” Kyouka added, looking up from an assortment of cards she had in her hands. “Where are you going?”
Shouto remembered Eijirou’s reaction and wondered if they wouldn’t believe him, either. “He’ll probably tell you guys when we get back. I’ll head out, don’t want to be late.”
“Sure, we won’t keep you,” said Ochako, placing a card on the floor and laughing as Kyouka sighed in defeat.
Shouto went outside, putting on his jacket as the wind blew his hair away. Katsuki was leaning against a tree, scrolling through his phone. When he looked up and saw Shouto, his eyes brightened, and his usual deep frown relaxed.
“Hey,” Shouto said after making his way to him, tucking a strand of hair behind his ear elegantly. “I hope I’m not too late.”
“You’re not,” Katsuki said quickly, observing him. “Even if you were, it would’ve been fucking worth it.”
Shouto’s lips quirked up as Katsuki placed his hand on Shouto’s neck and planted a gentle kiss on his cheek. “You’re ready to go?”
“Yeah,” Shouto said quietly, his smile content. Their hands intertwined and nothing felt more meant to be.
Katsuki recently got his driver’s license, and with his mother’s car and Aizawa’s permission to leave the school grounds, he was free to take them anywhere he wanted. Katsuki liked the freedom, and Shouto liked to gaze out of the open windows at the scenery, so it worked out perfectly.
“Where are we going?” Shouto asked, looking at Katsuki from where he was leaning against the window frame. Katsuki didn’t look away from the road, but he smiled a tiny bit, and Shouto’s heart swelled with fondness. “You already know I won’t tell you. Stop asking.”
“I was hoping you were weak enough to tell me.”
“You make me the weakest,” Katsuki confirmed, and pink blossomed on Shouto’s cheeks. “But I still won’t tell you.”
Shouto pouted as if that wasn’t the answer he expected.
At some point, after parking the car somewhere, Katsuki told Shouto to close his eyes. He did, and let Katsuki lead him through the uncertain darkness.
“Give me a hint! is the surprise food?”
“Food comes later,” Katsuki answered. “Try again.”
“Hm… are you taking me to a roof?”
“Fuck no, I think we both learned our lesson from last time.”
“Aizawa was so mad,” Shouto said, suppressing a chuckle. “It was worth it.”
Katsuki hummed in agreement and continued to lead him. At some point, Shouto heard him pushing open a door, and then another one, and then Katsuki let go of Shouto’s hand.
“You can open your eyes,” he said.
Shouto let his eyes open, and then they widened slightly, and then they immediately softened. It was an ice rink.
The ice rink was empty. No people, no staff. It looked to be abandoned, and Shouto looked at it with stars in his eyes.
“Katsuki, how did you--” Shouto asked, turning to look at him. He was holding two pairs of Ice Skates in his hands.
“You said you wanted to teach me how to skate, so here you go,” Katsuki said, the corners of his lips quirking upwards. “Let’s see what you’re made of, hotshot.”
Shouto smiled and kissed him softly. “Thank you,” he muttered happily. “I don’t know what I did to deserve you.”
“Come on,” Katsuki said, trying (unsuccessfully) to hide his red cheeks.
Shouto held Katsuki’s hand as he tried to skate. It was the first time Shouto’s ever seen him not immediately excelling at something he tried for the first time and it was the most endearing thing Shouto’s ever seen. Maybe it was a spur-of-the-moment thought, but Shouto reached the conclusion that maybe he wanted the rest of his life to look like that; holding Katsuki's hands and feeling nothing but happiness.
They laughed, fell, exchanged small kisses and soft words until it was late. Katsuki wasn’t a person that smiled often, but he did it a lot more when he was around his boyfriend, and Shouto was so unbelievably gone for his smile. Shouto couldn’t help but stare whenever Katsuki smiled genuinely, and would think to himself that he was so immensely lucky. when Katsuki smiled widely, laughing after he fell on top of Shouto accidentally, he couldn't resist the urge and kissed his nose.
They were lucky to have found each other.
Later that night, they went out to eat. Shouto got to have the cold soba he always wants, Katsuki ate something that looked spicy beyond belief and they talked over anything and everything at the same time. Nothing was more perfect.
They came back to the dorms at around midnight, whispering and laughing and overjoyed. When they entered the dorm building, they ignored the several heads that turned in their direction, and went up to Shouto’s room (with the intention of cuddling and not letting go, because they couldn’t get enough of holding each other).
“Wasn’t that really weird just now?” Mina mentioned after Shouto and Katsuki left the common room, just as she, Denki, Momo, and Tenya played an Uno game (class 3-A was pretty big on card games).
Momo tilted her head, thinking. “I also didn’t know that Shouto and Bakugou-san were close like that, but they have gotten considerably closer the past year and a half, so I guess they greatly improved their friendship when I wasn’t aware.”
“That’s one hell of an understatement. Don’t you feel like something spicy is going on?” Mina asked as she placed a color-changing card and stuck out her tongue at Denki. “I mean, that was the most blatantly happy expression I’ve ever seen on Bakugou’s face.”
“That’s their thing,” Denki replied after putting down his last red card. “They like to mess with people. I saw them holding hands yesterday.”
“Shouto-kun and Bakugou have gotten close, as Momo said,” Tenya said, placing a yellow card on the pile. “It shouldn’t be out of place for them to spend time together, and I don’t think they do it simply to confuse the rest of us.”
“I’ve never seen Baku this smiley before though.”
“Yeah,” Mina said, wondering. “He doesn’t smile like that with anyone, not even with Eijirou, and they're best friends . That smile seemed a lot more intimate.”
Momo and Tenya hummed in quiet agreement, and they continued to play with the interaction on their minds.
“I still stand by my point, that they’re joking,” Denki said after a while. “We all saw them just now, all smiley and touchy in the common room of all places? They wouldn’t do that unless they’re pranking us, like I said! Maybe they’re trying to make us spread rumors and speculate.”
“That… would make sense, I guess.”
“Even though I doubt Todoroki-kun would go through with something like that…”
“Contrary to popular belief, Shouto-kun does possess a sense of humor.”
“I guess that’s what it is, then,” Mina agreed. “So they’re trying to prank us? Those sly foxes.”
“They’re probably trying to convince us that there’s something between them!” Denki continued. “Because how weird and out of place would that be, right?”
“I can see them together, actually,” Momo said, placing another card. “They would make for a really sweet couple.”
“Ew, Bakugou and Todoroki? No way!”
“Where were you?” Izuku asked when Shouto entered his room, looking up at him from books and papers that were scattered on the ground. “I wanted to study, so I figured I should call you too but you weren’t in your room. When I asked Ochako she said you went somewhere with--”
“Katsuki,” Shouto completed. “Yeah, it was our anniversary today.”
Izuku’s eyes widened like saucers. “What are you talking about?”
Shouto sighed in disbelief. “Come on Izuku, you’re my best friend. I expected you to remember, I had it marked on the calendar in my room and everything.”
“So that’s what it was?” Izuku muttered to himself. “Wait, slow down-- can you go back to the part when you said it was your anniversary? Anniversary of what exactly?”
“Our relationship,” Shouto said, as if it was obvious. At Izuku’s puzzled expression, Shouto let out an exasperated groan. “We started dating a year ago, Izuku.”
“Hold up, you started what ?!”
“Did you not know?!”
“Was I supposed to? You never told me anything about this!”
“Yes, I did! Right after we got together officially, I came to your room and told you that we sorted out our feelings!”
“I didn’t know those were the kind of feelings you were talking about! Are you serious?”
“Dead serious,” Shouto said, face-palming. “I mean, even if you didn’t get it at first, we were a couple a whole year after that! How could you possibly not know? Did you think the hand holding and the hugs were me being friendly With Bakugou Katsuki of all people?”
“I don’t know,” Izuku said defensively. “I thought you were just messing with me.”
“This is the dumbest thing you’ve ever said,” Shouto declared. “seriously, I can't believe you. I think I’ll go back to my room, where my boyfriend is sleeping in my bed.”
“You’re really serious about that? Please tell me this is some really elaborate joke.”
“I call him by his first name!”
“I do too!”
“Katsuki and I aren’t childhood friends though, Izuku.”
Izuku hid his face in his hands. “So you're telling me this whole time, you two were together …”
“Yeah.”
“Am I a bad friend for not believing you?”
“Oh my god. I hate you.”
“Is that a yes?”
“Yes, jerk,” Shouto huffed. “I’m leaving.”
“Is Kacchan really in your room?”
“ Yes , why would I lie about that?!”
“I don’t know?”
Shouto wanted to smack his friend in the face. How clueless and dumb one must be to not notice their year-long relationship?
Shouto entered his room, closing the door soundly in an attempt to not wake Katsuki up. Despite that, Katsuki opened his eyes as soon as he did.
“Sorry, did I wake you up?” Shouto whispered, and Katsuki lifted the blanket to let Shouto in.
Once Shouto was settled nicely under the blankets, Katsuki closed his eyes again. “It was cold without you.”
Shouto’s heart fluttered in his chest, and he let out a tiny smile like he often did around Katsuki.
After a while, Katsuki still wasn’t asleep, and his eyes slowly opened. “I can’t sleep.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Just say something. Your voice helps me calm down.”
Shouto started to smooth out parts of his hair. “I went to Izuku’s room before I came here, just to check on him. He asked me where I was, so I told him I was with you since it’s our anniversary.”
“Let me guess, he didn’t remember.”
“Worse,” Shouto said. “He didn’t even know we were dating.”
Katsuki’s eyes, that were looking at nothing in particular, moved up to meet Shouto’s. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
“Right?” Shouto asked, on the verge of laughter. “I thought it was pretty obvious. Even after I cleared it up, he still didn’t believe me.”
“Some best friend you have,” Katsuki said and chuckled.
“Hey, yours reacted pretty much the same way!”
“To hell with that, Kirishima knows we’re together.”
“...”
“... I think,” Katsuki added after a while. “What did he say to you?”
“He came to my room before we left. I told him you were taking me out and he thought that I was joking and avoiding the question because I didn’t want to tell him. He even told me that it’s "refreshing to see me joke around" and then left.”
“The fuck.”
“I know, right?”
“If those two dumbasses don’t know, who in this hellhole does?”
“... I assume everyone else?”
Katsuki looked at Shouto skeptically. “I doubt that.”
“We weren’t exactly being secretive about it. Or subtle.”
“But we never really said it, either,” Katsuki said. “And the people we did say it to don’t fucking believe us, apparently.”
Shouto processed what he said and couldn’t stop himself from laughing quietly. “So no one knows?”
“You tell me, genius.”
“This is absurd,” Shouto declared quietly. “No one in our class is that dumb.”
Katsuki raised an eyebrow.
“... Stop that. They’re not.”
“Maybe we should check that,” Katsuki suggested, his small smile turning into a mischievous grin.
“What are you planning?” Shouto asked, hiding his smile with his hand. “Please don’t do something you’re going to regret.”
“Don’t worry your pretty little head about it.”
Shouto was mildly concerned, but he let Katsuki peck him on the lips and close his eyes, clinging to Shouto’s warmth as he went to sleep.