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Katsuki clicks his tongue for the thousandth time today. ‘Such bullshit,’ he thinks as he walks down the halls of UA, stomping down his foot with every heavy step he takes. The students passing by already know to stray away from him, they all squeak and quickly move out of his sight as soon as they taste the smell of burnt caramel in the air.
Whispers and chatter float around in his vicinity, some are about his performance in the sports festival and how aggressive he was back then. Some are acknowledgments of his achievements, others are just jealous extras who have nothing else to do with their lives but gossip. He rolls his eyes again and puts his hands in his pockets, looking outside at the scenery. He takes in how much colder it is outside this time of year. It’s fall already, it’s now the middle of his second year at UA. The leaves outside flutter around the trees and fall at their sides with the other dead ones already, all of them dropping more each day.
He continues walking, absentmindedly walking down without looking in front of him. He’s Katsuki Bakugou, he knows where the hell he’s walking.
A shriek cuts off his thoughts. Quickly enough, he feels a force collide with him, the thud of notebooks and equipment falling on the floor. “What the hell!” he yells as he grabs his shoulder and rolls it around a little, he blinks twice again, focusing his sight. A girl is on the floor, shamefully getting up and grabbing her things while profusely apologizing.
“I am so sorry! I didn’t mean to bump into you, it’s just that I’m in such a rush and—-“ she stops for a second, her eyes widening in a realization Katsuki doesn’t feel a part of. “Oh my—Do you feel okay?! Please tell me!” she starts shouting with worry, continuing her onslaught of questions.
He stares dumbfounded for a while more, opening his mouth to tell the girl that he’s obviously fine. Katsuki takes a deep breath to control his annoyance at the grating questions she keeps asking. But as soon as he tries to get some words out, everything starts feeling dizzy and the room spins around at an increasing speed.
Everything blacks out.
_______
Izuku is in the main room of the UA dormitories, chatting with Ochako about how she could improve her quirk a bit more. Everyone is either on the coach or on the ground, playing games and talking with each other about school work or such, others are playing games, and some are watching a show on the massive TV.
Kirishima enters the room, his face set in worry as he and Aizawa drag in a passed out Katsuki. The room goes quiet for a second, Izuku himself feels frozen in his seat as he takes in the view of his childhood friend settled comfortably on Kirishima’s back.
It’s silent for a while more while everyone processes it. then the questions and yelling start. Izuku stands up first, rushing past everyone to get a good look at Katsuki. “Is Kacchan okay? What happened? Is it his heart again? Did you guys take him to recovery girl? What did she say, did she—-“
The various questions repeat over and over again, “Is Bakugou okay?!” “What happened?” “Did a villain attack him?!” They all stop once Mr. Aizawa puts a hand in the air. Izuku shares a look with multiple of his classmates, all of them with the same concerned look. Except that they’re all moving away to make space, it’s only Izuku that stands frozen next to Kirishima, in a protective position as if he’s ready to rip Katsuki out of Kirishima’s hands and defend him all alone.
Possibility after possibility, theories after theories flood his brain. Images of what happened in the war invade his brain once again. “.. Bakugou is okay.” And they only stop once he hears those words, sighing in relief and taking a step back. He only realizes he didn’t quite hear what else Mr. Aizawa had said. He looks over to Kirishima, nodding his head to get him to explain.
Kirishima takes a breath, looking at everyone and adjusting Katsuki before he speaks. “Uh, I was walking out of the bathroom when I saw Bakubro passed out on the ground! I freaked out a little, but this girl that was next to him told me that she thinks it was just her quirk. I did take him to recovery girl, though, after telling Mr. Aizawa and recovery girl said that he was alright, but we should let him rest!”
“A quirk? What quirk was it?” Ochako asks.
“From what we found out, the quirk supposedly manifests a bad karma. A redemption of sorts. It’s what the student told us.”
“No way! Did they do it on purpose?!” Kaminari asks and others echo his questions with a disbelief in their tone. Kirishima shakes his head, and so does Mr. Aizawa.
“Ah, no,” Kirishima reassures. “The girl was pretty freaked out when I found Bakugou! She was crying, I’m pretty sure. I told her not to worry much. After all, the quirk didn’t seem to activate.”
“Maybe the karma is happening inside Bakugou’s mind and that’s why he hasn’t woken up yet?” someone says and Izuku nods his head at that, it could be. A cold feeling settles in his gut. He wonders what bad karma Katsuki could be suffering right now. If it’s in his head, he sure hopes it’s not too bad and he recovers quickly.
“No. The student stated that the quirk searches the mind and takes whatever bad deeds they have done to someone, whatever bad karma they have and makes it real. I suppose it happens to make the person realize the pain they have inflicted and to fix it, hence redemption.”
‘Oh,’ Izuku thinks. ‘This can’t be good.’
A grumble is heard from Kirishima, it’s what they all assume is Bakugou waking up. The blonde grunts and moves around a bit more, opening his eyes lazily and then closing them forcibly to unblur them. Everyone stays quiet as they watch him try to move in the hold of Kirishima’s arms and slowly realizing that he is in Kirishima’s arms.
He yells loudly. “What the fuck! My head hurts like shit! Shitty hair, what the hell are you doing? Let me down!”
Collective sighs of relief go around in waves as everyone relaxes. ‘Bakugou is fine. And he’s also back..’ they all think as they allow smiles and tiny laughs to fall from their lips. Izuku stands still for a little more, watching Katsuki regain his composure as he jumps from Kirishima’s arms and stretches his muscles, extra careful with his arm.
He looks up once more and locks eyes with Izuku. He smiles a little, something Katsuki raises his eyebrows at and is about to question, if not for the random earthquake and explosion that happens just as quickly.
Everyone falls to the ground, fighting positions and quirks activating in case of a villain attack, but once everything goes quiet once again, and the cloud of dirt and dust fades, once everything is clear and in front of them, a boy with a mop of green curls, a pale face with big, round green eyes, small and skinny, curled in on himself with a scared expression on his face, frozen in fear stands in the middle of the room.
He squeaks and squirms in place, realizing he made a sound he quickly covers his face with both of his hands and makes himself impossibly smaller.
“Is that…” someone starts.
“Doesn’t that kinda look like Midoriya..?” another one of their classmates speaks out.
“That is Midoriya! Just.. younger?”
The younger boy’s eyes widen, he’s scared, but he takes some courage to take his hands off his face and ask, “Do I know you guys..?” in a small voice.
Ochako is the one that rushes to him first. Seeing this, the other girls join quickly and soon enough, the whole class is surrounding him like bees on honey. Except for two students. Katsuki and Izuku. Katsuki stands with his feet glued to the ground. His eyes have a fear, a deep regret in them as he continues to stare. Izuku is a little more than shocked at seeing his middle school self stand in the middle of everything, but his attention focuses on Katsuki easily.
“Kacchan,” he starts quietly as he looks over to him. “Do you feel okay?” he asks.
Katsuki swallows loud enough for Izuku to hear and he would have laughed if it wasn’t for the terror that only he can recognize in his childhood friend’s eyes. He quietly recovers though, looking away and putting his hands in the pockets of his sweatpants. “I’m fine, stupid nerd. I’ll be in my room.” he says, and he starts walking off.
“Wha—Kacchan! You can’t go!” Izuku softly shouts after him with a slight desperation in his voice. Technically, Katsuki had no reason to redeem when he already did. He had apologized. There was no reason for him to do it again. Either way, Izuku knows that his younger self would want to see him here.
“I doubt he would want to see me. Just tell me when this is over.” Katsuki says calmly before stalking off to his room, leaving Izuku with no way to drag him back. He can only take a deep breath and approach the circle surrounding his younger self.
In the middle of everyone else, his younger self is squirming, fidgeting with his fingers, his clothes, and his hair as the others bury him in questions. “How old are you?” “Oh, you’re so cute I could just eat you up!” “Have you met All Might yet?” “Tell us everything about you!” they shout and ask.
“Everyone!” Iida exclaims. “We should leave young Midoriya alone! He just got here and I'm more than sure he’s confused at what is happening. He should be the one asking us questions.” Izuku is grateful at his friend’s attempt to help his younger self, but now that he’s been put in the spotlight once more, with everyone staring expectantly at him waiting for questions, the poor boy goes red and starts muttering nonsense.
“We should give him some space. Midoriya needs to process everything first. He should talk to himself before asking anyone else questions.” Todoroki says rationally after a while, a hand raised to his head elegantly.
To the side, Izuku is sure he hears Mineta scoff. He laughs nervously for a bit, scratching his head and thanking Todoroki. “Yeah, uh, I think that makes more sense.”
Everyone backs off, allowing the younger Izuku to take a look at his older self. He blinks unintelligibly for a while, looking up and down at Izuku before he screams, “You’re me!? How did this happen? Was it a quirk? What kind of quirk would allow for something like to this to happen, I’m guessing a time travel quirk, or an aging quirk but wouldn’t that mean that I would’ve swapped bodies with you? Would your mind go somewhere else or would it stay with my body, do you think— My notebook! I need my notebook!— Oh, where did it go?—Oh. Sorry.” he stops once he notices the looks everyone was giving him. “I guess what I meant to ask is, um, hah, how did I get here?” he asks nervously once again, swaying in place.
Izuku gives a sheepish smile. “I promise I’ll explain everything.” he confirms, “We should go to my room, though.”
“I’m guessing you have it covered then, Midoriya?” Mr. Aizawa says with crossed arms. Izuku ignores his younger self’s yelp and muttering once again about meeting a pro-hero. Mr. Aizawa quickly scans the situation and deems it safe enough for him to leave. “I will come back later to check the situation. Don’t let anything happen, problem child.”
Izuku smiles nervously and shakes his head, “I promise.” Mr. Aizawa gives a quick nod and heads for the door, closing it behind him and leaving the whole class to watch a younger Izuku practically vibrate in place. Izuku laughs a little before taking him upstairs.
Walking towards the dorm with a younger Izuku following him, Izuku prepares himself to open the All Might shrine that is his bedroom. Of course, over time he has left a few of them home and has made more space in his bedroom for other things, since his friends had told him many times that it creeped them out to be watched by a hundred All Mights. He agreed with them, yeah, but it didn’t exactly change his room much. Izuku liked it though, it was perfect.
Younger him muttered under his breath the whole walk to his bedroom, but once the door opened, that was when he shut his mouth with a gasp. His eyes wandered around the room and he quickly ran in.
“The Golden Age limited edition All Might figurine that I’ve been begging mom to get? No way!” he said with excitement as he searched throughout the room and found all the other merch that he had been asking his mother for at the time. His eyes fall on the poster hanging on the wall and Izuku thought he might’ve pissed himself. “The 10th Anniversary poster that was never sold to the public?! How do we have it!!”
Izuku snickered a little as he bounced in place. “It’s a secret I’m not supposed to tell.” he said with a finger to his closed lips.
Younger Izuku laughed in disbelief, delight decorating his features before they turned confused again. “Will you explain everything now? This is.. really confusing. I mean, how did this quirk accident happen? Was it on purpose? How come we live in this dorm with different people? Are they my friends? How old are we? Did Kacchan get into UA, where is Kacchan by the way? Is he okay? Have we talked to him? Also, was that eraserhead back there? Why do we look so different, everything is so different now, really, what happened?”
Izuku stood with his mouth open. Wow, he really did talk. He cut his younger self off with a raise of his hand and an awkward cough. “I’ll tell you what I can, honest. But you should sit down first! It’s a really long story.”
“Ah! I should probably get my notebook! Wait—I don’t have it with me! I wonder where it went!”
“Don’t worry! You won’t need it. I think. Either way I still have mine. I’ll let you look at them after!”
Younger him nodded and sat down on the bed with Izuku. After replaying what he was going to say in his mind, he started to talk. He wasn’t sure if telling his younger self everything that has happened so far would be a good idea, with him not knowing if it would affect the future. But again, this wasn’t the product of a time travel quirk, so he was sure nothing bad would happen.
He told his younger self about his quirk, he didn’t exactly tell him about All Might, the vestiges, and how he had lost it, but he did tell him how it worked in a really over simplified way. He told him about getting into UA and how everyone out there were his classmates. Younger him was ecstatic, excitement coming off him in waves and Izuku knew that not being able to write all this down was physically hurting him, nevertheless he continued to tell him everything (Leaving out a lot, but really, why did his younger self need to know everything that haunts Izuku now?).
“Did Kacchan not get into UA?” his younger self asked sadly. “It was his dream. Kacchan had more than the capacity to get into this school, so how come? Unless he’s in another class because you really have to tell me how much stronger he’s gotten!” Then he went quiet. “Does he still.. Do we talk to him at all?”
Izuku was still for a second, searching his younger Izuku’s eyes. “Don’t worry,” he said with an easy smile. “Kacchan is in our class, I guess he was just tired today. “ And that was all he said. He wasn’t about to tell his own self that the reason he was here today was because Katsuki was hit with a karma quirk. “I’m sure you’ll see him soon, though! He cooks for the whole class, you know! And he’s really good at it too, his katsudon might be better than mom’s.”
His younger self gave him a funny look, but he laughed anyways. “Well, I wouldn’t expect anything less from Kacchan. He always excels at everything.”
Even if he was praising Katsuki, Izuku noticed the sad glint in his younger self’s eyes. Watching his childhood friend turn cold, turn so mean was bewildering to him. Katsuki had always been amazing, from day one. He wasn’t amazing at being nice to Izuku though and the years in middle school were harsh. They could never have a proper conversation without Katsuki being agresssive and loud. He never took his words to heart because he knew how Katsuki was, but that didn’t stop him from wishing that things were different and that things had never changed for the worst. He was glad him and Katsuki could talk now. Izuku was too blessed.
“Kacchan gets a lot better. At everything. I would tell you how happy it’s made me, but you should see for yourself.”
His younger self jumps at that. “What?—“ he softly shouts. “Do you really think Kacchan wants to see me right now?”
No, Izuku thinks. Not for the reasons this younger version of himself thinks, but because he knows it would be a reminder to Katsuki. It was bound to happen anyway, Izuku says to himself. Now he’s sure that Katsuki wouldn’t do anything to harm this version of himself.
“Yeah. Why wouldn’t he? I bet he’ll even make us katsudon for dinner. If we ask nicely, that is.” Izuku says with a beaming smile and a laugh. He can hear some chatter from the living room, Katsuki should be making dinner right now.
Both him and his younger self walk downstairs. Just as every day in the dorms, his classmates look up and greet him when he walks in, now with the addition of his younger self. The girls sort of coo when they see him and then they continue their talks with each other. He glances over to his younger self. He was tense, his shoulders hunched up, relaxing bit by bit as he stared at Katsuki. At Katsuki alone in the kitchen, cutting up some vegetables effortlessly, with a calm expression.
Izuku breathes sharply from his mouth. Of course. How could he ever forget the massive crush he had towards his childhood friend. During this time, Izuku had not yet figured out that the reason he would freak out and the reason that his heart would beat so fast whenever Katsuki talked to him was not only because he was sort of terrified of what the other would say to him that day. He had also had not figured out the reason that he couldn’t stop staring at Katsuki in class or follow him out of school on the way home was not just because he so wished to be his friend again. It was because Izuku was a little bit gay and because Katsuki was regrettably, extremely handsome.
So yes, he understands his younger self when he starts looking at the sight in front of him with an open mouth, drool practically falling out as his eyes follow Katsuki’s every mouth. Izuku smiles a bit, restraining the laugh about to fall from his lips.
“Kacchan!” he calls. “It smells good! What are you making?” he says as he gets closer to him. Katsuki whips his head fast to shoosh him away.
“Can’t you see I’m cooking? Get the hell out of my kitchen, shitty Izuku!” Katsuki tells him with a twitching expression, shoving him out of the kitchen with a kick, Izuku smiles at this, and he slowly backs off. Until, after a second, a loud shout startles everyone in the dorms.
“IZUKU??” his younger self shouts. Izuku closes his eyes and nods in understanding.
The whole class laughs a little at this, watching with anticipation at what is going to happen next. Katsuki is standing there motionless as he registers younger Izuku’s presence. He takes a deep breath, Izuku notices, swallows — Izuku notices this too because the clench of his sharp jaw and the bob of his Adam’s apple isn’t something he can ignore — and finishes with a nod towards his younger self.
“Are you hungry?” he asks him. Izuku notices the way his younger self physically relaxes at the question, clearly expecting Katsuki to yell something like, ‘Shut the fuck up, Deku!’, but then again freezing at the causal question.
“Um.” he says dumbly.
Katsuki licks his lips. “Are you hungry or not? I’m making katsudon.” he says irritably.
“Katsudon..” his younger self echoes. Izuku tries hard not to laugh at this awkward encounter, but he feels glad his younger self gets a taste of Katsuki’s change head on. Even if it’s frying his brain and getting him close to the verge of passing out from all the red obscuring his pale skin.
“Katsudon is great, you’re the best Kacchan!” Izuku speaks up for himself and flashes Katsuki a big dopey grin. Katsuki only clicks his tongue and scoffs. Neither of the Izukus noticed the deep breath he took after or the twitch of his hands as his heart calmed down.
Izuku and younger Izuku sit down on the couch as the rest of his classmates come close to talk.
“So… little Midoriya, you got any dirt on Bakugou? We’ve asked older you a bunch of times and he never tells us anything.” Sero asks, Mineta leans in with a smug smirk on his lips.
“Um!” younger him yelps. “No, I don’t!” he says looking around with raised hands. Sero and Mineta both stick his tongue out at him but leave it alone regardless.
From the kitchen, Katsuki bares his teeth and shouts. “If you think using the stupider nerd to get dirt on me is gonna work then you both are dumbasses!”
“At least we tried!” Kaminari shouts back. Katsuki lets out a loud cackle and younger Izuku looks back to catch the smile on his lips. It’s a sight, Izuku knows. Everytime Katsuki shoots him a smile, whether it’s smug, cocky, teasing, or a genuine one, he finds himself lost with no way back. That’s how captivating it really is, shutting down all of his senses and simultaneously bringing him back to life. Yeah, Izuku understands.
“So, Deku-kun—“
“Deku?!”
Ochako stops for a second, taken aback. “Oh.” she realizes. “Sorry! It’s just that—“
“Uraraka-chan told me that Deku can sound like “you can do it!” and that it would make a great hero name. I guess I took her word for it and trusted her.”
“Yes!” Ochako smiles softly. “Plus, it sounds cute!”
“Oh, well, yeah, Deku it is!” younger Izuku says, flushed red in the face. Izuku and Ochako share a look and laugh. Younger Izuku goes quiet for a second, most likely thinking back to the previous encounter he had with Katsuki. “.. How come Kacchan doesn’t call me Deku anymore?” he asked quietly.
Everyone else exchange glances. Mina is the one who speaks first, “You should ask Bakugou that!” she exclaims excitedly. Raising her head to look back at Katsuki, she asks. “Hey, Bakugou, how come you don’t call Midoriya ‘Deku’ anymore?” turning back to younger Izuku, “it was a whole thing. I’m guessing that it’s because he apologized for being such an ass to you when we first got to UA, but Deku doesn’t necessarily mean anything bad anymore!
Katsuki stays quiet in the back, his focus solely on the food he was preparing even though most of the class was looking at him now. “It’s none of your business, idiots! Don’t involve me in your stupid conversations. I’m cooking.”
Mina sits back down, disappointing and most of the others roll their eyes or smile fondly. Typical Katsuki. Izuku finds himself in the catergory of smiling fondly, once again turning to his younger self and catching the painful expression.
He opens his mouth to say something, but is cut off by someone else speaking. “We haven’t introduced ourselves yet,” Todoroki blurts out. Younger Izuku jumps up on his seat, his eyes lighting up with curiosity.
“Oh yeah! What are your name? And quirks? Sorry! I totally forgot to ask!”
“It’s okay!” Kirishima says with a thumbs up. “We’ll tell you, right, guys?” Everyone nods.
While younger Izuku is busy with catching and memorizing the names of all the members of class A, Izuku stands up and finds his place in the kitchen with Katsuki.
“Are you okay, Kacchan?” he asks. Katsuki gives him a side glance as he mixes something together, a breath escaping his lips as he looks away.
“I’m fine, nerd.”
Izuku purses his lips in understanding, but the truth is that he doesn’t understand anything. “Why won’t you talk to him? He’s been asking about you, you know.”
Katsuki slams down an utensil on the counter, turning to face Izuku. He opens his mouth a few times, snorting from his nose as he thinks of what to say. “Look. I was a little shit to him— to you— in middle school, technically currently am being an asshole to him. I know you hated me in middle school, so I really doubt that little dweeb wants to talk to me right now.” he says with a humorous voice, but it’s not funny.
Izuku brings his eyebrows close together as he listens to Katsuki talk. “That’s not true, Kacchan.” he says. Katsuki gives him a look that says, ‘be for real.’ “Okay, yeah, sometimes you pissed me off, but I never really took anything you said to heart! I didn’t hate you. Like I told you, Kacchan, I forgave you a long time ago. And you’ve proved time and time again how sorry you are, you’ve proved how much better you’ve become. I admire that. You’re amazing and I’m glad you’ve changed for the better!” he said with a warm smile.
Katsuki stood still for a moment, his ruby eyes burning through Izuku like fire. He looks down after, biting his lip. “Yeah,” he says weakly with a wobbly smile. Katsuki has gotten better at smiling for sure. He doesn’t try to hide when he wants to laugh at something, and he smiles more than usual. Of course, it’s still a challenge to get a good laugh or a warm smile out of him. Kaminari, Sero, and Kirishima play that game all the time. Sometimes the whole class joins.
“Dinner’s almost ready, nerd. Be useful and set the tables, yeah?” he says with a smirk.
“Bet I could do it faster than you!” Izuku says with a competitive glint. Katsuki only smiles harder and points a spatula at him.
“Set the fucking timer, loser.”
Once everyone is in their place and eating the delicious food Katsuki prepared — Did Izuku mention that it was delicious? — The younger Izuku could not find it in himself to turn his eyes away from Katsuki. Izuku was a bit worried, but he guesses that it’s the sudden change. Middle school Katsuki was always mad for a reason, he was always yelling in the halls, never calm. His attitude was always rude towards everyone, that’s how Katsuki isolated himself.
Now though? Katsuki sat quietly as he watched everyone eat their food with pleasure. He gives a winning smile to himself and reaches down for a bite. Izuku practically feels the spiciness of it. Anyways, the point is that Katsuki is more calm now, softer. He’s still his normal self, yelling at people and wanting to win at everything, nothing escapes him. But he seems to genuinely want to sit down and spend time with everyone, even if he tries to act like he doesn’t. It’s cute, Izuku thinks. Katsuki had a big change. He’s a lot softer around the edges and he doesn’t try to lash out at every minor inconvenience. It’s great, he thinks, how they can have conversations.
But it also does horrible things to Izuku’s heart because they’re closer now. Closer than they’ve ever been. Being around Katsuki’s smell all the time, that addicting sweet smell, and being touched by his incredibly warm hands, seriously causes Izuku’s brain to go into overdrive and his heart to explode. It’s insane.
Younger Izuku is not too far off from there. Every so often, Katsuki raises his head and makes contact with the younger Izuku. When he does this, he tilts his head to give a nod of acknowledgment. Izuku is starting to believe it’s going to be the thing that kills younger him and himself in the process.
“So, um, Kacchan—“ younger Izuku starts and then he stops. He stays quiet for a second with his eyebrows so close together they’re practically touching. Katsuki raises his head to look at him, but that only makes him jump a little.
“What?” Katsuki responds after he’s done chewing. Younger Izuku looks a little bit out of place, like he was waiting for Katsuki to blow up and tell him not to talk to him while he was eating or to just not talk to him, period.
“I was just wondering! The.. um, the scars?” he says in a meek voice, almost ashamed at asking such a question. After Katsuki doesn’t blow up due to the question asked, he gains more confidence. “I just noticed that you and older me have, uh, a lot.. of them. I was wondering how you got them?”
Katsuki brings his chopsticks down. “You want to know how I got them?” he asked carefully with a deep voice.
Younger Izuku flushed. He looked at Izuku and back at Katsuki, nodding quickly. “You don’t have to tell me, of course!” he explained. “I was just curious, that’s all. Sorry..”
“Don’t fucking apologize. That shit pisses me off.” Katsuki said with a raise of his voice and lip. His ‘don’t-piss-me-off” face. Younger Izuku seems to get this and he looks down at the floor again. Katsuki rolls his eyes, “I’ll tell you, nerd. But don’t freak the fuck out.”
“I won’t! I promise I won’t! I—“
“Shut up!” Katsuki yells , slamming his fist on the table. It was easy to tell that he was annoyed, but not dangerously annoyed. Younger Izuku went quiet instantly. “Damn. Things never fuckin’ change, do they? Still yappin like a chihuahua.”
“Hey!” Izuku shouts from his spot after swallowing a handful of ridiculously good katsudon.
Katsuki rolls his eyes. “What the fuck ever.” he says, turning to face the younger Izuku who looks so out of place that it’s embarrassing. His face is red and he resembles a tomato. Jeez. “These scars.. I got them from battles with villains. No big deal.”
Izuku frowns at the statement. It was a big deal. Katsuki died and Izuku wasn’t there fast enough to help. it’s something he’ll never be able to live with, what would’ve happened if Katsuki had stayed dead? If edgeshot hadn’t saved him? Regardless, Katsuki brushes it off as nothing when he continues.
“There were a shit ton of problems, but I fucking lived. That’s what matters the most, no other fucking what-if bullshit.” he says, staring Izuku down like he could tell what he was thinking. .. He probably did.
“What! Were you okay?” Younger Izuku says.
Katsuki’s face goes blank. It’s idiotic, actually. Izuku burts out laughing.
“Shut the fuck up, shitty Izuku. And don’t be stupid, nerd. Obviously I am fine! How the fuck would I be here if I wasn’t?!”
Younger Izuku immediately covers his mouth. “Oh right, sorry! Habit, I guess..” Katsuki stares him down for a little bit longer before he gets up and collects the dishes on the table.
“I’ll clean the dishes this time.” he says with no room for Izuku to argue. “Don’t say anything, nerd. And don’t think you’re off the hook! You’ll owe me later!” he shouts back and Izuku nods towards him even though he’s turned away.
He turns back to younger Izuku, watching as he develops tears in his eyes. He extends a hand towards him, a kind smile on his lips as he signals over to where the bedrooms are. ‘That interaction with Kacchan must’ve been too much,’ he thinks as he leads the way to his room.
When they finally get there, younger Izuku’s tears have dried on top of his skin. He’s smiling, though, so Izuku doesn’t worry much. In the light of his room, this Izuku looks younger than he really was. He looks like a kid that just discovered his favorite toy still works after years of neglect.
“Are you alright?” Izuku asks him. They’re both sitting down on the floor now and Izuku takes the pile of analysis notebooks that he keeps hidden under his bed to give to his younger self. “You can read through them. I know you’ve been dying to ask more questions about our classmates' quirks. I’ve taken to analyzing all of them. There’s a lot to learn about their quirks and occasionally they come to me for help so it’s great to keep these updated.”
Younger Izuku sniffles and quietly takes the notebooks.
He reads through them carefully, a hand placed on his chin in deep thought. He’s mumbling storms under his breath and this time Izuku doesn’t try to stop him. They sit like that for a while, until younger Izuku speaks up.
“This is.. great! You’ve taken into consideration their limits and such. I hope it’s useful for them! I’m glad I have classmates to give advice to, since, well, I doubt pro-heroes want my advice.” he jokes with a nervous laugh.
Izuku laughs with him. “Yeah. I’m glad I can help them too.”
“And Kacchan..” younger Izuku starts. Izuku sits up at this, wondering what it is he’s going to say. “Kacchan sure is different. I know you said he changed and I’m really happy I got to experience it myself! It’s awesome to know that in the near future I can finally talk normally to him!”
Izuku nods with a hearty laugh.
“He looks very different too! He’s grown taller for sure! And stronger, I bet! I mean I haven’t seen him in action or anything, but I just know that Kacchan is amazing in combat! I mean I’ve spent years researching his quirk and watching it with my own eyes! This notebook proves it all, its really interesting! I wish I could see Kacchan in battle too,I mean he’s also grown in muscle, like a lot, which isn’t a bad thing! In fact it’s totally great! That means he can beat enemies super easy with a flick of his finger! And his personality has changed a lot too! He’s a lot calmer now! His face looks a lot more mature and sharp. Man, he really grew into his looks— I mean!— Kacchan is objectively good-looking! It’s surprising no girls have ever confessed to him! Does he get a lot of confessions here at UA? Not that I care much, I mean Kacchan’s love life isn’t any of my business, you know? But I’d like to know that maybe someone is receiving Kacchans affections, I’m sure he’d be an amazing partner to have since he’s very attentive to everything, nothing really escapes him— And, well—“
Izuku laughs harder, amusement in his eyes as he tries to keep his eyes open and watch how his younger self’s face takes the form of a strawberry.
“Kacchan got a lot of fangirls for a while, but he scared them all off. Typical Kacchan, I guess.” he says with a giggle.
“He did?” younger Izuku asked curiously. “I mean— I understand why!
Izuku nods along with him. “Yeah! They were all impressed by Kacchan’s skills.”
Younger Izuku’s eyes beam with emotion at this and he grins from ear to ear. “I’d love to watch Kacchan using his power. Everything written down about him is interesting, especially how he’s modified his costume! I—“
He gets cut off by a knock. Both Izuku’s look at each other and Izuku stands up to open it.
It’s awfully late by now, most people are usually in their rooms by now. Either way, he opens the door easily and finds Katsuki standing there with his head to the side, his hands in his pockets as usual. He has a weird expression on his face, his eyebrows furrowed together in irritation and he’s biting his lip as if he doesn’t know what to do.
As soon as the door opens, Katsuki’s head turns and he nods towards both of the Izukus. “Izuku,” he says towards him and then directs his head to the one on the floor. “Izuku.”
Once upon a time, Izuku would’ve gone slack at hearing his given name from Katsuki’s mouth. Now he’s used to it. A crazy slow progress and downtimes he does find himself freezing, but it’s every day that he looks forward to hearing him say ‘Izuku.’
“Kacchan!” both of them say in unison. “What are you doing here?” Izuku continues, motioning for Katsuki to enter the room.
Katsuki looks in between the two of them and heads in with an incline of his head, calm. Graceful. He says, “Aizawa came by after you left. Told him that you were off to bed already.”
“Oh!” Izuku says intelligently. “Did he say anything about the quirk?”
Katsuki sucks on his teeth and nods. “Yeah, he said the fucker with the quirk told them it should only last for a day. Little shit should be gone by tomorrow,” he says, pointing with his head towards younger Izuku.
“Uh.” Younger Izuku interjects. “Can I ask.. something?” Attention obtained, younger Izuku becomes a little smaller, but he speaks up either way. “What kind of quirk was it? It couldn’t be a time travel quirk since you’ve told me a lot already. Unless it allows for my memories to be erased once I’m back to where I was, I mean do I technically exist right now? Cause you’re me and you’ve already lived through this age, so does that mean that I’m just a memory? Is it a memory quirk? I’m—“
“Ugh!!” Katsuki screams with aggravation. “Cut it out!” he says and younger Izuku shuts up with a squeak. “This shitty nerd hasn’t told you about the quirk yet?”
Katsuki looks at Izuku, deeply confused, but Izuku can only shrug. “I didn’t find a point in telling him, Kacchan. Seriously.”
Katsuki growls. “That’s fucking stupid.” he concludes.
“So..so was it a villain?” Younger Izuku asks.
“No,it wasn’t a weak fucking villain. I was just walking down the hall when some extra in a rush ran into me and activated her quirk. Fuking stupid if you ask me. With that kind of quirk you would think she could control it already.”
“Kacchan! You never know. She was probably distracted, you can’t say things like that!”
“Shut it, Izuku!” Katsuki drawls with his head to the side. “I can say whatever the fuck I want.”
“Kacchan was the one hit by the quirk?” younger Izuku asks, shocked.
“Yeah.” Katsuki says.
“But—but why am I here then? Wouldn't the younger Kacchan show up? I don’t—“
“It was a bad karma quirk or some shit.”
“I’m..” Izuku said, defeated. “I’m bad karma? What does that even mean?”
Katsuki takes a deep breath. “It’s- It’s not that.”
“Then..?” Younger Izuku trails off, almost dazed with his overflowing thoughts and feelings. Izuku doesn’t feel much different.
“You’re strong, Izuku. You’ve always been stronger.. In middle school, when we were younger, I always felt inferior. As if you were looking down on me. That’s why I bullied you. To feel superior, to stay away from you. I was annoyed at everything you could do even though you had no powers. These past two years made me realize that everything was different, nothing went the way I wanted to and I was forced to see how much better you’ve become, how much you’ve achieved.”
“I was a little shit to you in middle school and I know that you fucking hate my guts right now. I had a chance to apologize to you already, and I’ve been given a chance to apologize to you.” Katsuki says, emphasizing ‘you’. His eyes burn into younger Izuku’s, who is sitting shocked in surprise. “I’m sorry for all the pain I’ve caused.”
Izuku feels his lip wobble, his eyes blurring with tears threatening to come out. He stares from a safe distance at younger Izuku, who still has not been released by Katsuki’s gaze. He’s intensely sobbing, his face scrunched up and some snot running down his nose. It’s an ugly sight, Izuku has to admit.
Katsuki looks from him to Izuku who is standing by his bed. He looks a little stunned that he’s crying too, but a weak smile forces its way into his lips as he looks between the two of them. “Fuck. Cry baby tendencies are still present, huh.”
“I’ve never hated you, Kacchan—“
A loud snort from younger Izuku interrupts him and they both turn to see him aggressively wiping his face with his sleeves, snot falling down to enter his mouth. He opens his mouth to say something, a string of saliva appears in between, but nothing ever comes out because smoke appears and suddenly no one can see anymore
Katsuki and Izuku close their eyes instinctively, Izuku runs to the window and opens it, letting all the smoke fly out.
“What the fuck!” Katsuki yells after the smoke is gone and he looks around the room. “Where’d the crying nerd go—“ he says, making contact with Izuku. “—Oh nevermind, he’s still here.”
Izuku laughs and dries his face with his hands. “I think the quirk wore off already. Do you think it was because of the apology?”
Katsuki huffs. “As if. That apology wasn’t fucking enough.”
“It was, Kacchan. It was more than enough,” Izuku says, sobering up. “At the time, I never expected an apology from you. I didn’t even think I needed one. Like I said, I forgave you a long time ago.”
“That doesn’t fucking change anything, Izuku.” he argues weakly. Sticking his hands once more into his pockets, he turned towards the door and twisted the knob, looking back once more at Izuku still standing in the middle of his room, he said, “Night, nerd. Go to sleep or else I’ll beat you during training tomorrow easily.”
He never makes it out of the room.
Izuku encircles Katsuki’s forearm with his hands and carefully pulls him farther into the room. “Kacchan.” he says firmly.
“The hell?” Katsuki says, a little surprised. “What?”
Izuku looks a little hurt, puffing out his cheeks as if what’s about to say will haunt him forever. It’s a stupid face, he knows, but he takes a deep breath and begins to speak. “Do you know what he was saying the whole time he was here, Kacchan?”
Katsuki stayed quiet.
“He wasn’t talking about how scared he was to see you, he wasn’t talking about how much he hated you or anything like that because I don’t hate you! I wasn’t lying when I said I never did.”
Narrowed red eyes burned into his as he kept talking. “He was going on and on about how awesome you were! When he saw how much you changed he said he was glad we could have civil conversations! He never said anything negative about you. And you know why, Kacchan. Because even though you were so mean back then, I could never think less of you.”
“You are my image of victory! Nothing can change that and no matter how much you think you can never make up for what you’ve done in the past, I don’t think you have anything else to prove! You’ve been so great to me this past year and more.”
“I don’t care what you think, I won’t ever think anything bad about you and I will continue to think you’re the greatest person in the world because that’s what I've been doing this whole time and nothing you say or do will change the feelings I’ve felt for you for years.”
Izuku took a deep breath at the end, gaining back all the air he lost from his declaration, trying to ignore the way his voice cracked at the end. His eyes never once left Katsuki’s, even if he desperately wanted to dig a hole and die.
They were so close now, Izuku could feel the warmth radiating from Katsuki. In some other less awkward scenario he would’ve loved to share it with him, but he wasn’t sure what Katsuki was thinking now and it was killing him inside. His eyes never once looked away, nor did they widen in disgust, but they squinted forcefully.
The tension was palpable and Izuku had no choice but to stand still and firm. He wasn’t going to back out, and yes, his rapidly increasing blush may have taken the seriousness out of his face, but he was going to wait for Katsuki to say something and then he would ask for his friends to bury him in the hole he dug for himself.
“What.” was what Katsuki said. His breath hitting Izuku’s face due to the closeness.
“I said I have feelings for you, Kacchan.” Izuku repeated, his hands twitching.
Strong. Unyieldingly. Stupid feelings he kept with him forever.
“Huh?” Katsuki said dumbly. His voice wavered at the end, as if he was a deer caught in headlights. The tips of his ears began to redden. Who knows how long they’ve been standing there?
Katsuki’s eyes moved throughout Izuku’s face, first his eyes, then his freckles, and lastly his mouth. Katsuki stepped closer. They were chest to chest now, sharing breaths. A hand went into his hair, softly caressing his scalp, it wasn’t gentle but Izuku could barely feel any other part of his body that wasn’t his heart beating.
The hand pulled a bit roughly. Before Katsuki could speak, Izuku was already reaching forward and catching his lips with his. They touched hesitant at first, clearly unsure of what they were doing. Soon enough, they were both tilting their heads to make it comfortable. Their lips sliding against each other, soft and slow, was more than Izuku could ever ask for.
Izuku quickly broke it off, hiding his face in his hands as if that would make him disappear. Katsuki stayed silent for a while longer too as he held Izuku with a hand on his back and one in his hair. “Kacchan..” Izuku murmured, embarrassed.
“Izuku.” Katsuki said, his voice a little breathless. A finger poked Izuku in the stomach and he jumped, his hands coming off his face. “Fuckin’ idiot. Look at me.”
“Kacchan, this is really embarrassing for me.”
Katsuki laughed lowly—what!!!— “Yeah.” he agreed.
With a hand on his waist, firm and pleasant, Katsuki lead Izuku to the closest wall and connected his back with it. In the new position, their lips connected again. It was new, this feeling. Everything inside him felt like vibrating and everything was so easy in the way their lips just seemed to know what to do.
This time, Izuku allowed himself to feel. He took his arms and hooked them around Katsuki’s neck, then he moved his hands across his broad shoulders, down the muscles in his arms and squeezing hard. It was all he needed to earn confidence and lick Katsuki’s lips.
Katsuki easily opened his mouth and Izuku slowly moved his tongue inside, licking across Katsuki’s mouth and feeling his teeth with it. Katsuki’s tongue made contact with his and a battle started, both fighting for control as Izuku groaned a little in the back of his throat, something Katsuki swallowed easily. Izuku didn’t know how long it had been, all he knew was the feel and taste of the others mouth and how soft his skin felt under his palms. He was hyper sensitive to every spot that touched Katsuki and it was driving him insane.
He only realized that breathing was a thing when Katsuki broke off with an exhale.
“Feelin’ bold?” Katsuki asked with his half-lidded eyes and with such a low voice that any confidence Izuku had conjured up from nowhere crumpled quickly.
He grabbed Katsuki with force and pulled him closer, just for Izuku to hide in the spot between his neck and shoulder. He smelled amazing, Izuku thought. His eyes focused on the pale skin and he kissed there for no reason, remembering what his younger self was saying about Katsuki. That made him flush harder and hide deeper into Katsuki.
“Oi. What the fuck are you remembering?” Katsuki asked with curiosity, pushing Izuku’s shoulder to get him to look at him.
“Nothing, Kacchan.” he said with a groan.
“Don’t get fucking sassy on me now that you’ve kissed me, nerd. I could still beat your ass.”
Izuku snickered a little, only laughing harder when Katsuki shivered. “I would beat your ass harder,” he said softly.
“What was that?” Katsuki said with a mean smirk. “You kiss your mother with that mouth, nerd?”
At this, Izuku retreated from his spot on the blonde’s neck and planted a quick peck on Katsuki’s lips. “‘No. I kiss you though.” he said with a dizzy smile. The hand that was resting on his back followed down and squeezed his waist, tickling him.
Izuku squirmed and laughed, making Katsuki laugh with him and allowing him to push Izuku into the bed. “Go to sleep, nerd. If you’re half asleep during training I swear I’ll beat you up so quickly you won’t be able to walk.”
Izuku laughed, his brain feeling a little airy at the reminder that he kissed Katsuki. He had kissed Katsuki Bakugou. The man mentioned was now looking away from Izuku and walking to the door, which made him frown.
“You’re not staying?” he suddenly asked before thinking. Katsuki stopped in his tracks and looked back.
“What?”
“I mean! I just— Obviously if you don’t want to stay you don’t have to, I guess I was just hoping that you would and— It’s fine, Kacchan! You should go to bed, it’s already late and like you said we can’t be tired during training tomorrow—“
“Shut the fuck up!” Katsuki yelled. He closed the door already, his ears matching Izuku’s face, red as tomatoes. “I’ll stay, I guess. But if you go the fuck to sleep already.”
“R—right. I promise I will, Kacchan. You should sleep too, it’s already past your bedtime.”
“Stalker. How the shit do you know that?” Katsuki said with a quirk of his brow before raising the covers of Izuku’s bed and settling in comfortably next to him. Izuku scooted a bit closer, dropping a leg on top of Katsuki’s, experimenting. When nothing happened, he scooted closer and grabbed onto an arm, tilting his head so it was practically touching Katsuki’s shoulder.
He bit back a smile when Katsuki seemed to naturally relax at the touch and scoot closer.
…
…
…
“Kacchan.”
A throaty groan. “What?”
“Um. I just— I wanted to know. Since we kissed and everything, I mean. Youreallydolikeme?” Izuku asked quickly.
Katsuki moved his head to catch Izuku’s eyes. He looked pissed. “Be serious, idiot. Do you think I just go around kissing people when they say they like me? No fucking shit I like you back.” he said, somehow catching what Izuku said.
“Ah—“ Izuku said, gulping after the voice crack. “That’s great—I like you too.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“Good.”
Katsuki huffed out a laugh, scooting closer to Izuku’s space. “Go the fuck to sleep, Izuku.”
“Does that mean we’re like— I don’t know, dating?” he asked then, ignoring what Katsuki said.
Katsuki sighs, adjusting his position on the bed, turning to face Izuku. “Look, I don’t know what the fuck i’m doing, Izuku. I know I like you, that’s the truth. I don’t know anything about romance and I don’t want to fuck this up. If you want to date, then—“ he scratches at the scar on his chest. “Then I'll try my damn best. I don’t half ass anything and you better be fucking ready for that.”
“Of course. Kacchan is the best after all.” Izuku agrees absentmindedly.
“I’m serious, asshole.”
“I’m serious too, Kacchan. I’m not the best at this romance thing and I can be too much—“
“That doesn’t fucking scare me.” Katsuki interrupts.
“I’m glad, Kacchan.” Izuku says with an honest smile. “Promise we’ll learn together?”
“I’ll learn faster than you.”
“It's not a competition!” Izuku deapands at first, but he finds himself laughing after a while. “I’ll learn better than you.”
“Hah! I’m gonna romance the fuck out of you so bad that you’ll panic and die!”
“Nuh uh!” Izuku says and snuggles closer to Katsuki, practically crawling on top of him. “I'm already winning, see?”
Katsuki’s ears go redder and Izuku can feel how hot his neck is right now, but he quickly regains control by realizing an explosion and turning them over, ending with Katsuki suffocating Izuku with his weight on top. “I win fucking again, I-zu-ku! Don’t even bother, I’m the best!” he says with a winning smirk.
Izuku feels intense euphoria at this moment, that he finds himself dumbly agreeing with Katsuki, tangling his hands in the silky blonde locks he’s been dreaming of touching. They’re so soft and Izuku would stay here forever if he could.
“ ‘Love y’u, K’chan,” he says lazily before his eyes close and he falls into a deep slumber.
“…Love you too, zuku.” a voice echoes before it too falls into a peaceful sleep.