Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Izuku Midoriya was kind of stupid. At least that’s what his friends would say. His family would try to take a kinder approach to the word and say he was reckless. He, however, would just say he was adventurous. His friends had a hard time keeping up with him. He was always urging them to go cliff jumping with him into the quarry, or go on all the black diamond ski trails, or go skydiving with him for his 18th birthday. Just that past winter he’d convinced Iida, who had a pick-up truck, to hook up his sled to the back of his car when the roads were iced over to drag him around. He never went above 5 miles per hour, however (much to Izuku’s disappointment).

So, when Izuku texted them saying they wouldn’t see him for a few months after high school ended, no one was really all that surprised.

Sure- his mom started furiously calling and texting him, asking him what he was doing and where he was going (she almost even preemptively called an ambulance, being very aware of her son’s tendency to hurt himself), but she knew it wasn’t like he was just going to back out of whatever he was up to and come back home. Luckily it wasn’t anything dangerous (this time), which set his mom’s mind at ease a little. In fact, it was the least dangerous thing he’d done in a long while.

He’d made up his mind to go on a road trip across the country, visiting any place he found interesting, so that’s exactly what he was going to do.

Izuku grinned to himself, feeling the wind whip through his wild hair and listening as best he could to the half-broken radio. The sun beat down relentlessly, somehow managing to create a reflection off of Izuku’s excessively dusty car. It was so hot that the asphalt looked reflective in the distance.

The past few months hadn’t been the best for Izuku if he had to be honest with himself. He found out his partner, Shindo, had been cheating on him for the entire 6 months they had been together. Izuku was, obviously, very upset about that and after voicing his frustration, Shindo got even more defensive. He told Izuku he never actually cared about him and was only in it for the sex.

What a lovely thing to say to someone.

And- sure- that really fucking hurt, but Izuku didn’t like to dwell on things. He had planned on throwing himself into the next crazy thing to take his mind off it, but life had other plans.

Turns out an amateur dirt biker shouldn’t go on a black diamond trail.

He ended up snapping his leg in half and his leg was forced into a cast. This meant he had to take time to rest and recover (doctors orders), which was the exact opposite of what he wanted- no, needed- to do.

Now that his leg was all healed, he was finally able to drive and get away from everything for a while.

He had always wanted to go on a long road trip, but he had never had the time. Now that he had finally graduated high school, the summer was a perfect time.

It had been going well, and he was enjoying watching the scenery change as he left his small city. Though, he found himself getting a bit bored.

Izuku sighed, running a hand through his windswept curls, and frowning a little.

If he had to be honest with himself, he wasn’t very good at being by himself and he was beginning to rethink his summer plans. He wished he brought a friend or two with him. He hadn’t even thought about that as he had pulled out of his driveway earlier that day.

Fuck- he should really start thinking things through.

Maybe that’s why when an hour into his trip he saw someone he knew walking on the side of the road in his rearview mirror, he practically slammed on the brakes.

Well, know might’ve been a strong word. Izuku had seen that guy in the halls of school, day after day, year after year. They’d had an English class together Junior year, but the guy had kept to himself, so Izuku never approached him. Honestly, Izuku was a little scared of him just based on the rumors he’d heard floating around. It wasn’t anything too bad- just that he hated people and had a quick fuse.

They were dragging their feet, clearly exhausted as Izuku pulled to the side of the road. They immediately stopped, and Izuku cursed to himself, coming back to reality a bit. Had he really just stopped on the side of the road for someone he had never even talked to? Did he even know his name?!

“...Keitaro?...Kazumi?...Katsuro?” Izuku muttered to himself, hoping that he might recognize the name if he said it out loud, “...might be Katsuro.”

Izuku peered hesitantly into his rearview mirror. “Katsuro” was standing completely still behind the car; his face was weirdly expressionless. He could just drive off now and save himself from having to explain why he had stopped and also who he even fucking was. Izuku sighed, looking at the slump of Katsuro’s shoulders, and his tired blinks. The heavy-looking backpack he was carrying didn’t seem like it was helping either.

He hadn’t picked his first destination for his trip yet anyway...

Izuku hopped out of the car before he could think any more about it. Thinking had never been his strong suit anyway.

“Hey!” Izuku greeted with a wave, wincing as Katsuro startled a little, “Oh, sorry- uhm… I’m Izuku.”
He tried giving his friendliest smile to hopefully ease the now-very-tense guy standing a few feet away from him.

“You probably don’t know me, but we had an English class together last year? And when I saw you walking along the road, I kinda got worried so I-”

“Worried?” Katsuro spat defensively, his red eyes narrowing.

Ok… so this might be harder than Izuku thought.

“Yeah, I mean… you’re far from home. Or- I guess I don’t know where you live, but it’d be weird if you live super far away from school, so I kind of assumed that maybe you’d like a ride to wherever you’re trying to go?”

“Oh, so you’re one of those people.” Katsuro muttered, kicking a rock away with his foot.

“”Those” people?” Izuku repeated, tilting his head a little.

“Yeah, the ones who can’t just mind their fucking business.”

Katsuro stalked up to Izuku, who instinctively backed away. Was Katsuro going to punch him or something? Izuku tensed, hands coming up. He wasn't sure what to do if Katsuro actually did try to beat him up.

However, Katsuro didn’t do anything, just glared as he went by, going to continue walking down the road.

“Wait a minute! Hold on.” Izuku said after shaking his head to clear it, “C’mon! You’re clearly tired, and I don’t have anywhere to be. I was taking the summer to go on a fun road trip anyway, so seriously, if you need a ride somewhere, I’ll take you.”

Katsuro didn’t even glance back, so Izuku did the first thing that came to mind.

He jogged after him and grabbed the back of his backpack, which had a skateboard strapped to the back of it, pulling a little.

“What the-” Katsuro began, stumbling back a little as Izuku tugged him towards the car, “Are you trying to fucking kidnap me?!”

“Nope, I’m trying to help. You’re obviously exhausted if you can’t withstand me pulling you back.”

Yeah, so maybe doing the first thing that came to mind all the time wasn’t the best idea, but Izuku wasn’t turning back now.

“I’m not getting in your car.” Katsuro snapped, glaring at him.

“Katsuro, come on.” Izuku let himself let out a huff of exasperation.

“My name isn’t Katsuro.”

“...Okay? So what is it?”

“Katsuki.”

“Eh- same thing.” Izuku shrugged.

“No, it’s not.” Katsuki clenched his teeth together, grabbing Izuku’s hand and ripping it away from his bag.

“Please get in the car?” Izuku pleaded a little instead of arguing that Katsuro and Katsuki were pretty much the same names.
When Katsuki set his jaw, still not moving, he added, “I have food.”

And that’s how Izuku found himself driving down the road with a very pissed-off-looking Katsuki (who had yet to stop eating the jerky Izuku had offered) in the passenger seat. His bag was crammed upfront at his feet, despite Izuku’s insistence that he could just put it in the backseat.

“Where were you trying to go?” Izuku questioned after a minute of silence.

“Massachusetts.”

“Wh-what?” Izuku sputtered out, “Were you going to walk there? You do realize we live in Virginia, right?”

“Yeah, I do.” Katsuki snapped as if Izuku questioning his choice to walk hundreds of miles was absurd.

Why the hell didn’t he just go to the bus stop or something?

He stole a quick peek over at Katsuki, seeing the same annoyed expression he’d had since he got in the car. Well- no, scratch that. He’d looked annoyed since Izuku had opened his mouth.

It was deafeningly quiet again, and a bit awkward as Izuku directed them onto Highway 95 towards Massachusetts.

Izuku sneaked a few glances at Katsuki from the corner of his eye as best he could while driving. He looked only a little different than he did Junior year. His hair was platinum blonde, spikey, and in need of a good haircut.

His look was pretty simple- all dark save for the chipped pink nail polish on his fingers. The splash of bright color seemed a bit out of place, but Izuku wasn’t one to judge. He was wearing a black, wrinkled t-shirt and some joggers. His clothes seemed a bit too big on him despite how tall he was. The only things that were noticeably different from when Izuku had seen him last in English were his black nose ring, he had hearing aids now, and that- you know- he looked a little older.

He was actually kind of attractive, Izuku realized. Y’know- if you’re into angry, emotionally constipated people who look like they wouldn’t care if you stepped into oncoming traffic.

...Or maybe Izuku just had bad taste in guys.

He was also clearly still on edge, hands clasped tightly around a water bottle he now had, and shoulders hunched.

“Are you actually driving me there?” Katsuki suddenly questioned, as if realizing they were going north rather than west now. Whether he was actually surprised by this or not was up in the air, considering his tone was flat.

“Uh… yeah? If I say I’m doing something, I’m gonna do it.”

“I was going to hop on a bus or something.” He grumbled a bit.

I doubt that. Izuku thought.

“Well, now you don’t have to.”

“Are you serious?”

Izuku let out a little sigh.

“Listen, if you really don’t want me to take you there, I won’t, but I think this is better than you paying for a bus. It’ll be faster and, as a bonus, there are fewer people.”

Katsuki furrowed his eyebrows at that.

“What? You clearly don’t like people. I’ve never seen you talk to anyone.”

Katsuki didn’t respond, simply turning his head to look out the window instead.

Izuku was now left to think.

So, after being gone for an hour, he’d already picked up some random guy (whose name he’d just learned) off the side of the road and was now driving him to Massachusetts… Huh.

He almost wanted to laugh at his own stupidity. What if this guy was some kind of serial killer or something? He was anti-social, irritated easily, and looked like he didn’t care about anything. Izuku’s eyebrows furrowed; thinking. Those things didn’t for sure make him an evil person, but it didn’t make him trustworthy either.

Why was he going to Massachusetts anyway? And why was he going on foot? Why didn’t he get a ride with his parents or a family member? Were they really not concerned with him being on the side of the road?

Izuku suddenly had too many questions he wanted to ask, though he kept his mouth shut. This guy was different from his friends, so he couldn’t just blurt out whatever questions he wanted to ask and expect Katsuki to answer.

The corner of Izuku’s mouth quirked up into a small smile.

Maybe the road trip to Massachusetts wouldn’t be too bad after all. He had time to crack the code that was ‘Katsuki -...’

Oh- he didn’t even know his last name.

“Hey, what’s your last name?” Izuku started, figuring that was a safe question to start with.

“You don’t need to know.” Katsuki retorted, not taking his eyes off the view from the window.

Okay… so not a safe question.

“...but I’d like to know.” Izuku countered quickly.

“Why?”

“I’m just curious… Here I’ll tell you some things about me! I’m Izuku Midoriya, and I-”

“Can you be quiet?” He tried interrupting, but Izuku continued.

“- really like rollercoasters and swings and dogs- well I guess just all animals in general, and I get hurt a lot because my friends say I don’t think about things before I do them, but I think things are better that way. Oh! And-”

“Do you ever stop talking?”

“- I broke my leg a few months ago because I tried dirt biking, and it went pretty poorly, but I’m all good now, but that’s why my right leg is a lot paler and more anemic looking right now than my left. I’m also an only child, but I hang out with my friends a lot because they only live a few minutes away. Ochako Uraraka is my best friend- she’s pretty cool- and she helps me look for frogs in the creek in her backyard and-

“If I tell you my last name will you shut up?” Katsuki finally broke, exasperated, and with an eye practically twitching with annoyance.

Izuku grinned, nodding, happy his plan had worked. It was actually kind of funny seeing Katsuki irritated.
As long as he kept not punching him.

“Bakugou.”

“Katsuki Bakugou… huh.” Izuku’s smile widened.

“What? What’s with that look?” Katsuki was glaring at him still.

“Nothing. Just happy you told me.” He shrugged, chuckling a little as his passenger grumbled under his breath.

“Wow, good for you,” Katsuki deadpanned, “Now will you be quiet? I have a headache.”

Izuku took pity on him and nodded, returning his attention fully back to the road. He turned the radio back on, too, keeping it very low, just in case Katsuki actually did have a headache and didn’t just say that to shut Izuku's mouth.

He didn’t mind the quiet as much this time. Sure, it still felt a bit weird as it usually does sitting in silence with a stranger, but the soft music flowing through the speakers (or just one speaker, since the one on Katsuki’s side, was broken) helped.

His phone was now displaying directions to Massachusetts. Izuku had realized that, upon entering the directions, Katsuki saying he was going to Massachusetts was incredibly vague.

He’d need to get more specific instructions on where to go later on, but that wasn’t for another nine hours and 54 minutes according to his phone.

Katsuki was currently struggling to stay awake beside him. His eyes kept falling shut, before being forcefully opened again. A few times, he’d fall still, head lolling to the side uncomfortably before jolting upright again.

Izuku was confused at his extreme fatigue for a moment, though the more he thought about it, the less surprising it was.

Izuku had been driving for about an hour before finding Katsuki, so he had to have been walking for…

(Izuku didn’t know how long off the top of his head, so he had to google it)

A whole day?! (Apparently 25 hours to be exact)

No wonder he was exhausted.

Why the fuck was he so hellbent on getting to Massachusetts of all places?!

Izuku gave him a worried glance, seeing that Katsuki had seemingly finally fallen asleep against his will.

A few hours passed as Katsuki continued to sleep and Izuku continued to drive. He still somehow didn’t look comfortable, even while asleep. His legs were bunched up and he was smashed against the door, almost as if he was ready to bolt at any moment.

The sun was slowly beginning to set, and Izuku was starting to regret not leaving earlier to cover more ground. If he had been with his dad, Izuku was sure they would’ve left even before the sun had risen.

Just as Izuku was contemplating finding somewhere to sleep, Katsuki startled awake, making Izuku almost jump out of his skin in response. His eyes darted around for a frantic moment as if he forgot where he was. Izuku thought he was actually going to try and jump out of the car for a second.

“Relax, you’re alright,” Izuku said calmly, sending him a gentle smile in hopes Katsuki would stop panicking.

Katsuki’s eyes snapped to him, still wild for a brief moment before he glared.

“Of course I’m alright.” He defended, clearly still not okay as his hands were trembling. Katsuki seemed to notice this at the same time as Izuku- swiftly shoving his hands in his pockets.

“So…” Izuku drawled, sensing Katsuki would rather not talk about whatever was going on, “I was planning on just sleeping in my car when I first thought of this trip to save money, but if you don’t want to I think there should be a motel or someth-”

“I’m fine with sleeping in the car.” He interrupted, decidedly not looking at Izuku as he continued, “or I could just drive while you’re asleep.”

“Yeah, no,” Izuku shut that idea down quickly. He didn’t like it when other people drove, especially people that he didn’t know well. “I’ll probably drive for a while longer until I actually get tired. Then we’ll find a parking lot or something.”

Katsuki gave a noncommittal noise in response.

Izuku ended up driving until almost midnight, finding he wasn’t as tired as he expected himself to be, and pulled into the back of a nearly empty parking lot. Just as he was about to cut off the engine, Katsuki spoke up.

“You sure I can’t drive?”

Izuku froze, surprised he had spoken first without any prompting, though he supposed it was just because Katsuki was eager to get to his destination. He turned off the car with a small smile.

“Yep,” He popped the ‘p’, “I don’t trust you to drive my car.”

“I’m a great driver.” He countered as if he was defending his honor. Izuku thought it was kind of ridiculous.

“Sure you are.” Izuku nodded along.

“Are you being sarcastic right now?”

“I would never.”

Katsuki frowned, clearly not amused, making Izuku laugh.

“Listen, man, don’t take it personally. I don’t let anyone but my parents drive me places.” Izuku explained, watching as Katsuki gave him a look from the corner of his eye. It was like he wanted Izuku to explain further, without it seeming like he cared.

Izuku grinned.

“I just don’t trust people I guess. I mean- I do stupid stuff all the time, and most of it’s dangerous, but that’s my choice. Having someone driving would be like putting my life in their hands kind of. Riding in a car is definitely not the most dangerous thing I’ve done though…” Izuku huffed out a laugh, “I know it’s pretty stupid, but that’s just how my brain works.”

“It’s a control thing,” Katsuki said bluntly.

“Huh?”

Katsuki sighed. “From what you just told me, you’re obviously not scared of taking risks, but it’s only when it’s of your own accord. Once your choice- or control- is taken away, that’s when you have an issue with it.”

“...Oh… Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Izuku murmured, eyebrows pinched together as he thought about it.

Weird. Izuku never thought he was the controlling type.

The more he thought it through, the more it made sense. He had always been the “idea guy”. Planning and doing things, just dragging his friends along for the ride. Was it a bad thing? Were his friends annoyed that they didn’t pick what to do? Had they ever told him this before, and… if they did, had Izuku just ignored them? Was that why Shindo cheated on him? Was that why they didn’t love h-

“Don’t think about it so hard.” Katsuki waved his hand dismissively, interrupting Izuku’s spiraling brain “Just go to sleep.”

He blinked a few times, watching as Katsuki reclined the seat so it was almost flat, rolling so his back was to him.

“Are you, like…” Izuku stuttered a bit, brain still reeling as he brought himself back, “secretly a therapist or something? How the hell did you know that shit from just listening to me for the past couple hours?”

He heard Katsuki snort.

“I’m just good at figuring people out.” He responded shortly, making Izuku hum.

“Alright, then…” Izuku considered his next words, “I- um… Do you want to sleep with me?”
Katsuki’s head turned so quickly towards him he thought he heard his neck pop.

“What?”

Okay, so maybe he should’ve elaborated first.

“Ah, shit. Not-” Izuku chuckled a bit, “Sorry, I’m not the best with words. I brought a sleeping mat and a sleeping bag with me. I was planning on folding the back seats down so it’s all flat back there so sleep. It’ll probably be more comfortable and you can have either the mat or sleeping bag.”

He listened for Katsuki’s reply as he stepped out of the car to set up the backseat.

“I’m good here.” Came the reply once he opened the backseat door. Katsuki leaned his seat back as far as it could go, and Izuku shrugged.

“Suit yourself.”

Once everything was set up, he settled in his sleeping bag, mumbling a quiet “goodnight” to Katsuki.

Chapter Text

When Izuku woke up the next morning, it was to the annoying ringing of his phone. He fumbled with his phone, turning off the alarm and glancing over at Katsuki. He was still asleep, hearing aids placed on the dashboard.

Izuku couldn't help the smile that crept onto his face. His expression was soft, not twisted into a scowl like how it was when he was awake. It was something Izuku hadn't gotten to see when he fell asleep during the drive, fearing that taking his eyes off the road for too long would result in a car accident.

After deciding it would be weird to watch him sleep any longer, Izuku stretched out a hand.

He was attempting to take him up as gently as possible, but Katsuki’s eyes snapped open like he’d been shocked before relaxing upon seeing Izuku.

Izuku winced and gave an apologetic smile, while Katsuki reached for his hearing aids; putting them on. Katsuki rubbed his eyes, looking back at Izuku.

“Good morning,” Izuku greeted, not really expecting a reply as his alarm finally shut off, “We’ll find somewhere around here to get breakfast before taking off again.”
Katsuki grumbled something unintelligible, sitting up and twisting to the left. His back gave a few loud pops and he twisted again, doing the other side.

“Holy shit, is your back broken?” Izuku huffed out a tired laugh, sitting up “That’s fuckin’ loud, dude.”

“I’ll live.” Was Katsuki’s deadpan answer, making the corner of Izuku’s mouth quirk up.

He looked a little less on edge today, maybe it was just that Katsuki still seemed half-asleep with heavy eyelids and messed up hair, but Izuku was hopeful it was more because he was coming to realize Izuku wasn’t some sort of threat.

He gracelessly crawled his way up to the front seat and got ready to start driving again. It didn’t take too long before he spotted a little diner with a red flashing ‘OPEN’ sign in the window. It looked pretty deserted, considering it was still early, which was good. Izuku figured Katsuki would appreciate the lack of people.

“Alright, let’s eat.” He said, hopping out of the car and assuming the guy would follow.

Izuku opened the door, holding it for Katsuki who was warily trailing behind him. It was odd how anxious he seemed considering the reputation he had at school. No one had said how skittish he was or how he seemed extremely uncomfortable around people. It was always about how he was mean and didn’t give a shit about others. It was the exact type of “bad boy” persona that was confident wherever they were. It was the opposite of what Izuku was currently experiencing from Katsuki.

Huh… weird.

“Take a seat anywhere. I’ll be with you in a second.” A semi-bored sounding voice came from behind a counter.

“Thanks.” Izuku smiled at the woman and nodded.

He took the lead, finding a booth in the corner of the diner and away from the few other people eating. Izuku slumped down in his seat, setting out a sigh. The booth was much more comfortable than the car seats. Katsuki carefully sat across from him- eyes scanning the diner, and seemingly taking everything in. Izuku quirked an eyebrow before looking around himself. The place seemed ordinary enough. It was one of those retro-style diners with red booths and checkered floors. There was a long counter with bar stools at the front, separating the kitchen from the dining area, and Izuku was sure if he was to order a milkshake it would come in one of those classic glass cups. The place smelled, unsurprisingly, like bad fried food and the lights kept flickering. There was an old photo poorly covering some chipped paint next to him on the wall.

Anyone else would’ve probably curled their nose up at the place. Izuku loved it.

He turned his attention to the waitress, Melanie (her name tag said), who stepped up to their table, putting two menus down.

“Welcome, what can I get you two kids to drink?” She said shortly and Izuku gave his best polite smile.

“Could I have a water, and a coffee?” He asked, making her nod and turn to Katsuki.
“What about you?”

“Coffee.” He answered curtly, not looking up from the menu he was staring at.

Melanie walked off and Katsuki glanced up from the menu, keeping his head down. His eyes followed her, making Izuku turn to look too. There was nothing out of the ordinary with her as far as he could tell. She was wearing a pink retro-looking uniform and her blonde hair was pulled back into a bun. She seemed to be just a bit shorter than Izuku- from what he could tell while sitting down. Izuku looked back over at Katsuki who had averted his gaze.

Izuku frowned a bit, confused, but kept his mouth shut. He figured he could at least keep the talking down to a minimum until they got their food for Katsuki’s sake. Though, he realized that Katsuki might be a morning person. From the face he was making, it seemed more probable that he wasn’t, though. To be fair- he had been making that face since Izuku had picked him up the previous day, so… maybe he just wasn’t an any time of day person.

Izuku let out an amused huff at that, drawing Katsuki’s questioning gaze to him. Izuku just smiled and looked at his own menu.

It was silent between them until Melanie came back to take their orders. Izuku decided on pancakes, eggs, and hashbrowns, while Katsuki got scrambled eggs, bacon, and hashbrowns. He didn’t speak up until they both had their hot breakfasts set in front of them.

“So…” Izuku started, cutting into his pancakes, “why are you headed to Massachusetts anyway?”

Katsuki’s hand paused as he lifted the fork to his mouth for a split second before he seemed to regain himself.

“Why do you need to know?” Was his defensive answer. Izuku had to suppress an exasperated sigh.

“Because I’m just curious. Wanna make sure I’m not bringing you to some jaded ex that your parents forbid you to see or something.”

Katsuki, unsurprisingly, didn’t find that amusing and just frowned.

“No, that’s not why.”

“Then why?” Izuku pressed.

“What if I just don’t want you to know.”

“Why can’t I know? I’m just going to think that this past lover of yours is a criminal now or something.”

“Drop the ex thing. They’re not a criminal, and I’m not going to see one.”

“Well… That’s what I’m going to keep believing if you don’t tell me the truth.”

“Will you just drop it?” He was clearly a little annoyed, but Izuku was finding it a little too amusing to stop.

“Nah, this is fun.”

“This is fun to you? Annoying me?”

“Yeah. Though I guess I should be careful knowing your ex is a criminal now.”

“They’re not a damn criminal and I’m not going to see them. I’m going in the opposite direction I should be if I was actually going to meet up with my ex-boyfriend.”

Katsuki froze, eyes widening and irritation washing away as if he had said something wrong. He ducked his head and tensed his shoulders; his fingers twitched before tightening into fists in his lap. He looked panicked again like he did when he woke up from his nap the previous day. Izuku leaned forward in his seat, trying to catch a glimpse of his face.

“Are you okay?” Izuku tilted his head to the side.

Izuku was concerned now, wondering if he had pushed too far. He couldn’t think of anything Katsuki had said that warranted that reaction though. They were talking- well more like Izuku was teasing and Katsuki was bickering- about Izuku wanting to know why he was going on the trip, and then Izuku brought up an ex and made up that they were a criminal. Katsuki started to deny it and said his old boyfriend was in the other direction and then he freaked out and-

Oh.

Was it because he specified he had had a boyfriend?

“Hey, Katsuki,” Izuku spoke up, keeping his tone gentle, “you know I don’t give a shit about who you like, right?”

“Why the fuck would I care what you think?” Katsuki shot back immediately, but Izuku could hear his voice waver just a touch.

“Just wanted to let you know. It’s fine that you had a boyfriend. I’m actually bisexual, so you don’t have to worry about me getting all homophobic on ‘ya.”

Katsuki raised his head just slightly at that, allowing his eyes to lock with Izuku’s. Izuku gave the guy a gentle smile.

It was silent for a moment as Katsuki continued to stare with narrowed, defensive eyes. Izuku would’ve been uncomfortable, but it seemed like there was an internal debate going on in his new road-trip companion’s head.

“I’m going cause I got family up there,” Katsuki murmured after a brief moment, voice quiet and finally averting his gaze.

Izuku hummed in acknowledgment.

“How come your parents just let you wander on the side of the road yourself? They didn’t want to drive you there?”

Katsuki stiffened again at this as Izuku realized his mistake a moment too late.

“Ah, fuck- Sorry, I- uh… You don’t have to answer that. God, I’m such a dumbass. I’m so sorry!” Izuku covered his face with his hands waiting for Katsuki to either punch him (which he figured he deserved) or walk out of the diner.

When he didn’t hear any movement from the other side of the table, however, he peeked a hesitant look through his fingers.

Katsuki’s face was downcast, and his hands rested on the table, utensils clenched in his fingers.

“They don’t give a shit about me.”

Izuku’s heart split in two.

He wanted to say something- anything that could comfort the guy in front of him- but what could he even say? He didn’t know him at all and Katsuki didn’t seem to be the kind of person that would appreciate empty words and promises, especially from someone who he’d barely talked to.

“Quit giving me that look.” Katsuki demanded when he looked up, a scowl replacing the almost openly vulnerable expression, “I’m fine, alright? I’m going to Massachusetts. I’ll be happier there without them.”

Izuku did his best to do what Katsuki said and wipe the sympathetic look off his face.

“Ok, well let’s get going then.” Izuku did his best to smile and Katsuki rolled his eyes.

“You still look like you just watched someone kick a puppy.”

“Oh my god, that would be awful!” Izuku exclaimed, the unwanted image of a puppy being kicked popping up in his mind.

His distress over the mental image was apparently funny because the corner of Katsuki’s mouth was twisted into a smile. He looked away covering his mouth when he saw the delight on Izuku’s face.

“Let’s go.” He muttered, this time leading the way with Izuku happily trailing along behind. He paid at the counter before leaving, finding Katsuki sitting on the hood of the car.

“You’re gonna put a dent in my car.” Izuku frowned, patting his pockets to find his keys.

“You think I’m heavy enough to dent your car?” Katsuki shot back, leaning back on his hands.

“I think my car is old as fuck and might as well be made out of tinfoil.”

Katsuki huffed (in amusement?) and slid off the car, looking bored as he waited for Izuku to unlock the door.

It wasn’t long before they were back on the highway, listening to a crappy pop station.

From the few glances he gave Katsuki, he seemed better than the previous day. He wasn’t so on edge now. He had moved his bag to the backseat, allowing for his legs to stretch out and his back to sink into the seat. He still had some pretty heavy bags under his eyes though, and it almost made Izuku want to tell him to take a nap. He refrained after considering it for a moment, however. He had a feeling Katsuki would take that and immediately refuse, possibly even forcing himself to stay awake just to spite Izuku.

Izuku chuckled just thinking about it, Katsuki’s attention snapped to him.

“Why the hell do you keep laughing randomly? It’s creepy.”

“Sometimes I laugh about the things I’m thinking about,” Izuku shrugged, smiling, “I guess it would be kinda weird just to see someone start laughing outta nowhere, though.”

“Yeah, trust me, it is,” Katsuki grumbled a bit, turning back to the window.

Izuku’s good mood didn’t waver at Katsuki’s apparent bad one. If anything, Izuku was beginning to find the other’s constant scowl almost endearing in a weird way.

He could see why he had that awful reputation at school. He didn’t make any effort to be approachable, or even very nice for that matter, but Izuku felt like he was gaining an understanding as to why. Clearly, Katsuki had some shitty parents. He didn’t know exactly what they’d done to him, but it had obviously done a number on the boy. There was also the fact that Katsuki immediately shut down when he accidentally outed himself.

Izuku frowned.

He hadn’t even met Katsuki’s family, but he hated them.

Izuku glanced at the directions on his phone which- after Katsuki had put in the actual address- showed that there were three hours left until they arrived.

“What family do you have up there anyway?” He asked after a moment, trying to keep his mind from wandering to the potentially awful things that had happened to the guy sitting next to him.

“Are you always so nosy with everyone you meet?” Was what he got in response.

Izuku hummed, pretending to think for a moment. He wasn’t, but he was interested in Katsuki so he had been asking a lot more questions than normal.

“No, but I’ve only got three more hours to annoy you so…” He lied.

“Or you could just... not do that.”

“Lame.”

He sees Katsuki shake his head in his periphery.

“I’ve got an Aunt and Uncle. They got a baby too, though they’re probably not a baby anymore… Maybe five or six by now.”

“Kids at that age are so funny.” Izuku grinned, “I babysit two kids, they’re 3 and 5, and they say the most hilarious shit.”

“Yeah, well, they’re also a pain in the ass.”

“What? You babysit?”

“No, I have a little sister... Wait, why the hell did you say it like that?!”

Izuku couldn’t help the laugh that escaped him.

“You just don’t look like the type to have a soft spot for kids, let alone babysit them. Though I guess I shouldn’t judge based on looks.”

“Yeah, asshat, keep your stereotypical assumptions to yourself.” He crossed his arms, grumbling, and Izuku’s smile widened.

“Why the fuck do you do that?” Katsuki suddenly snapped.

“Do what?”

“Smile every time you piss me off. You think it’s funny or something?”

“Absolutely.”

“You’re a pain in the ass.”

“Thanks.” Izuku took it as the compliment it wasn’t.

Katsuki groaned and thunked his head against the window. Izuku smugly took that as a sign of defeat.

---

Katsuki did eventually fall asleep again and the rest of the trip to Massachusetts was done in silence much to Izuku’s dismay. He’d hoped they could talk for the rest of the time, but he wasn’t going to wake him up just to endure Izuku chatting away at him. As he eased the car into the driveway he (as gently as he could) roused Katsuki from his nap.

The house was nice and quaint, with a baby blue exterior. It was farmhouse-esque with a large front porch adorned with rocking chairs and a small table that seemed to have a half-finished game of chess on it. The yard was just a bit overgrown with weeds springing up messily, but Izuku had never liked the fake cookiecutter yards he came across in some of his friend’s neighborhoods. There was an old station wagon parked in the carport in front of them, so Izuku assumed Katsuki’s relatives were home.

Katsuki, much like last time, sprung up from his seat, sitting his head on the top of the car. He muttered curses as he calmed down, rubbing his head and looking towards the house.

“We’re here.” Izuku pointed out obviously, not quite sure what else to say.

“...Yeah,” Katsuki replied, looking from the house, to Izuku, and then back again. He seemed nervous, his fists clenching and unclenching seemingly involuntarily.

“I’ll wait here until you’re inside. I wanna make sure someone’s home before I just leave you here.” Izuku said, putting his car in park and unlocking the doors. Katsuki nodded and stepped out, glancing back at Izuku with a clenched jaw.

“Thanks.” He blurted out after a tense pause, “For… y’know… driving me here.”

It was stilted and awkward, but Izuku beamed nonetheless.

“No problem. I was happy to help.”

Katsuki grabbed his bag out of the backseat before striding up to the front door, knocking before shoving his hands back in his pockets.

There was a weird pang in his chest as he watched Katsuki walk away, but he decided to push that away. He focused on being happy that Katsuki would be with a good family.

Izuku was excitedly waiting for the small family reunion, his heart beating faster as the door opened. There was an old woman there, making Izuku frown. He hadn’t remembered Katsuki telling him about a grandma living there with his aunt and uncle. Though, he may have just left that part out due to how private he was.

Katsuki took a half-step backward, his mouth moving, speaking to her. His hands moved to clutch the straps of his bag. The woman was shaking her head at whatever he was saying and he watched as Katsuki’s shoulders slumped and his head hung.

Something was wrong.

This was even more apparent as she closed the door and Katsuki stood frozen to the spot.

“Katsuki?” Izuku called after rolling his window down.

This seemed to jolt Katsuki out of his head and he started walking back to the car. Izuku hopped out, cutting the engine off as Katsuki stopped in front of him.

“They- uh-” Katsuki’s face was scarily blank, “They don’t live here anymore.”

He was looking anywhere but Izuku, hands shaking despite their iron grip on his bag, which was turning his knuckles white.

“Can you call them or something?” Izuku immediately asked. Surely he’d have his Aunt and Uncle’s phone numb-

“No,” Katsuki said, “I don’t have any way of contacting them.”

His face was expressionless, void of anything in a way that made Izuku’s heart do a nose-dive into the pit of his stomach. His eyes were glazed over, still staring at nothing past Izuku’s shoulder. Izuku did the first thing that came to his mind whenever he saw someone so distressed. He stepped into his space and wrapped his arms around Katsuki. He was just barely tall enough to tuck his chin over the other’s shoulder.

Katsuki startled, tensing in his grasp. Izuku, however, refused to let go unless he was pushed away.

The whole reason Katsuki made the stupid decision of going to Massachusetts on foot was to find his extended family. To find shelter from whatever shitty home he had back in Virginia… And they didn’t even live there anymore. Which meant he had nowhere to go except the house he had run away from.

“Fuck.” Izuku breathed out. Because what could he say?

Katsuki still hadn’t relaxed in the slightest, but he hadn’t made any attempt to escape the hug he’d been forced into, so Izuku didn’t let go.

“I’m sorry.” Were not the words Izuku expected next out of Katsuki’s mouth, “you drove me all the way here for nothing. I just fucking wasted your time when you could’ve been having fun on your trip.”

Izuku blinked, processing the words for a moment.

“What the hell?” Izuku pulled back, holding Katsuki at arm's length, his hands on his shoulders.
“What do you mean you wasted my time? I chose to take you here you idiot. You were the one who kept telling me you didn’t want me to.”

Izuku shook his head, a smile tugging at his lips as he remembered how he practically had to drag Katsuki to his car.

“Besides, you made my trip more interesting.” He let the smile form on his face and underneath Katsuki’s blank mask, a small bit of curiosity flickered in his eyes.

“Huh?”

“Yeah. Right before I saw you walking, I was just thinking about how boring it was to be taking a road trip by myself and you’re a pretty interesting guy so it was cool having you with me.”

“Oh.”

Maybe seeing Katsuki so confused as to why Izuku enjoyed being with him wasn’t the best. But it was at least better than the numbness that seemed to engulf him before.

“Well- I… If you don’t mind, could you take me to the nearest bus stop? I’ll just… go back to Virginia. And no-” He cut in as Izuku opened his mouth to argue, “you aren’t going to drive me all the way back there. I’m not wasting any more of your time.”

He keeps saying that… Why does he think he’s wasting my time?

“But-”

“No.”

Izuku sighed. “I thought you had, like, an aversion to buses or something? You were walking here before, and I remember there being a bus stop near our school.”

Katsuki stared at him for a moment, before looking down at his feet.

“Yeah, well- my trip here wasn’t planned. I just kind of… started walking.” He continued quickly when Izuku opened his mouth, “-No… just don’t say anything to that. Just take me to the bus stop.”

Izuku wanted to refuse. So badly. But the almost pleading look Katsuki was giving him was too much. He didn’t want to fight him on this.

“Okay.” Izuku reluctantly agreed.

Katsuki was making his way back to the passenger seat when the front door opened again.

“Wait!” The old lady called out, waving something small in one of her hands.

Izuku and Katsuki gave each other a confused glance before hurriedly meeting her halfway up the concrete path to the door.

“I’m sorry, I completely forgot about this. My old brain can’t keep up anymore,” She laughed to herself and the two boy’s confusion only grew.

“I found this postcard under the fridge when I moved in, they must’ve accidentally left it. I didn’t throw it away because the painting was so beautiful on the front.” She held out said postcard which had a stunning watercolor mountain range on it. Izuku took it, sensing Katsuki’s hesitance.

“I couldn’t help but be a little nosy and I read it. The writers were apparently past friends with your family,” She turned her kind eyes on Katsuki as Izuku quickly flipped the paper, reading through the card as quickly as he could, “It came from Bend, Oregon.”

“Oh… ‘We can’t wait to be neighbors’.” Izuku read and the card was immediately snatched out of his hands by a frantic Katsuki. His eyes skimmed over the words, halting on the ones Izuku had just read aloud.

“I hope that helps. I would’ve mentioned it earlier, but as I said, I had forgotten about it!” She smiled warmly.

“Thank you. This helps a lot.” Izuku beamed at her, his gaze flickering back over to Katsuki who was still staring down at the card as she turned and walked back inside.

“So? What are you waiting for Kacchan? Let’s go!” He blurted out, excited at the new information.

“Huh? Wait- did you just call me-

“C’mon!” Izuku grabbed his arm and dragged him back to the car, “It’s gonna take a while to get to Oregon, so let’s get going.”

“You’re taking me?” And that was the first time Katsuki’s voice raised in pitch.

“Well, duh. Taking a bus to Oregon would cost a fortune. Plus I wanted to go to Oregon anyway.”

“What about-” Katsuki began to protest.

“I know you’re strangely worried about you ‘ruining’ my trip, so how about this- We stop at the places I wanted to go anyway on the way there. That way I still get to do what I wanted, and you get the hell away from Virginia for good.”

Katsuki sighed and looked away.

“Great, now let’s go.” Izuku took the silence as confirmation, and it was since Katsuki didn’t protest further.

Soon, they were once again back on the highway

Chapter Text

Katsuki wasn’t sure how he got into his current situation.

One moment he was starving and delirious, walking towards god-knows-where, and the next he was in a stranger’s car.

Ok, so maybe that sounded a lot worse than it was. Or maybe it really was that bad.

He should probably clarify, for the record, that he had at least some idea of who the driver was. It was a guy named Izuku, who he went to the same school as. He was pretty sure he remembered seeing him in his English class at some point during his four hellish years there. He seemed nice- almost annoyingly so- and hadn’t ended up being some serial killer.

That being said, he was very stupid for just getting in his car at the promise of food (which the guy did deliver on, so that was a plus).

He was now listening to Izuku ramble about how he thought animal crackers were the best crackers he’d ever had and how they shouldn’t be labeled as just a “kids snack”.

“I’m just saying that they’re delicious and if I want to eat animal crackers as an 18-year-old, that’s what I’m gonna do and no one should judge me for that.”

Katsuki couldn’t believe he trusted this guy enough to drive him across the country.

“And that reminds me of when in school when I was super young we had snack time. Holy shit I miss that. Did you have snack time too? They’d give out graham crackers mostly, which I’d never eat at home, but at school, they just taste different. Better somehow…”

Katsuki wordlessly reached back, opening up the bag of snacks they had and tossed a bag of chips at Izuku.

“Fuck!” Izuku exclaimed, cutting himself off mid-rant about snacks that just tasted different when he didn’t eat them at home. The car swerved just a bit, though luckily the highway was pretty empty. “Why’d you do that?”

“Eat it. You’re hungry, aren’t you?” Katsuki sighed, glancing over at the guy who now looked practically astonished.

“How’d you know?” His voice almost sounded revenant, as if Katsuki was an actual mind reader.

“You’ve been rambling about different kinds of snacks for the past 30 minutes.” Katsuki deadpanned with an even glare.

“Oh… Have I?” He looked away with a sheepish grin, holding the steering wheel still with his knee as he opened the bag, “Sorry, I didn’t notice. Thanks though. He smiled, lifting the bag of chips.

“Yeah, whatever.”

Fuck, did Izuku ever stop smiling? His face has got to hurt from all that. Katsuki couldn’t even remember the last time he’d smiled past a small smirk. Maybe that’s why Katsuki had trusted him enough to get in his car. Izuku was the exact antithesis of him, which was a good thing if he was going by what everyone had said to him in his past 18 years of being alive.

They’d been on the road for 2 hours since Katsuki had found out his relatives didn’t live where he had thought they did. He wasn’t sure how he was feeling now. He was better, but he knew there was a lot more traveling to be done before he would feel secure again. He wouldn’t go back home, he couldn’t. Who knows what his mom would do if he showed back up now.

Probably try and beat the shit out of him again.

It hadn’t always been like that. No, his family used to be picture-perfect. A mom and dad who loved each other, a son and a daughter who got along. It all fell apart when Katsuki had decided to have opinions on things because god-forbid he thinks for himself. Grades and exceeding in life were all Katsuki’s mom cared about. If he wasn’t absolutely perfect, then he was a failure.

He remembers clearly when he learned that lesson. He had come home with just a single B+ on his report card.

He thought it would be harmless.

After 12-year-old Katsuki was sent to bed with no dinner that night, he realized his mistake.

He tried even harder after that, but when he got another B and had gotten detention for arguing with some asshole at school, it got worse.

That was when he started getting hit.

His mom and dad started arguing about her treatment of Katsuki, but his father was a pushover, and never ended up doing much for him. After the arguments, she would take out her pent-up anger on Katsuki too, so his dad eventually stopped trying.

Eventually, his sister, Mahoro, who was only 9 at the time, was sent to live with his grandparents after his dad decided it was a bad environment for her. He tried to get Katsuki out of the house too, but his grandparents were old and said they couldn’t look after both of them.

He knew that wasn’t why. They knew he was gay, and they hated him for it.

He’d still sneak out to his grandparents whenever he could, just to see Mahoro’s face light up when she saw him. She would paint his nails (often bright colors he would’ve never picked for himself) after he snuck in through her window and he’d play house with her, then begrudgingly leave before anyone found him there.

The only reason he’d regretted leaving home was that he wouldn’t be able to see Mahoro anytime soon.

Katsuki looked down at his nails, bringing himself a little bit back to the present, feeling his heart clench at the chipped pink nail polish on his fingers. He had a bad habit of trying to pick it off when he was anxious, but ever since he’d left he hadn’t dared touch it. He wanted it to stay for as long as possible.

Katsuki looked out the window, watching as the buildings around them grew denser and taller. Traffic began to get more intense as well, and Izuku eventually pulled into a parking garage, paying the fee before finding a spot.

“We’ve got a bit of walking to do, so grab your bag with whatever you think you’ll need,” Izuku said, swinging his own small bag onto his back after cramming his keys, water bottle, and a fistful of snacks in it.

Katsuki followed suit, with a plastic water bottle and his phone. He figured if he got hungry he could just swipe one of the copious amounts of snacks Izuku had grabbed.

Izuku took off, walking quickly out of the parking garage, forcing Katsuki to broaden his stride despite being taller to keep up.

“Why the hell are you walking so fast?” Katsuki grumbled, finally catching up as he slowed down outside the garage.

“Sorry, I’m just excited.” Izuku grinned up at him, a hand idly attempting to comb through his curly locks of hair.

“Where are we anyway?” Katsuki looked around, it kind of looked like they were in New York. He just wasn’t sure why they were there, as it seemed like Izuku had a specific destination in mind.

“The Big Apple!” Izuku exclaimed, sticking his arms out and raising them as if he was presenting the city to him, “I wanted to come here to see Times Square, and also see if the rats are as big as everyone says they are.”

Katsuki huffed. Of course Izuku was curious about some damn rats. He hadn’t known him very long at all, but he was quickly learning how Izuku could be interested in just about anything.

“You’ve never been to New York before?” Katsuki found himself asking. It seemed to him that even people that didn’t travel much had at least been to New York.

“Nope. Haven’t really been out of state at all. My family goes down to North Carolina on Thanksgiving and Christmas so we can spend time with our relatives, but that’s the only other state I’ve been to.”

Katsuki gave a short hum in acknowledgment. He supposed it made sense that Izuku wanted to go on a road trip if he had practically stayed in the same place his whole life.

“What about you? Have you been here before?” Izuku inquired.

“Yeah, I went last year for a club trip.”

“What? No fair, none of my clubs had trips. Which one was it for?”

“Art club. We went around the different art museums and to the wax museum.”

“Cool.” Izuku hummed, “Wouldn’t take you for the type to join a club.”

Katsuki sent a glare over at the other boy. Sure, he was right in his assumption, but that didn’t mean he had to say it.

“I like art, and it got me outta the house.”

Izuku hummed again with a nod.

They fell silent, which Katsuki was grateful for. He wasn’t used to being around someone for so long and he was starting to feel drained. Sure, he never really did much of the talking, but it was hard for him to relax around people. His mind constantly ran a hundred miles an hour trying to come up with responses he usually never ended up saying. The words would get jumbled in his head and had his tongue-twisting in his mouth. It was just easier to stay quiet or be rude in the hope that they would stop trying to converse with him.

The sidewalks were busy, unsurprisingly, as it was a huge-ass city after all. Izuku kept almost stumbling into people or getting run off the walkway into the side of the road, always apologizing when he wasn’t even in the wrong. Finally, after Izuku narrowly avoided getting shoulder-checked by some asshole who didn’t have the common courtesy to take a single step to the right, Katsuki snagged his sleeve and yanked so he was partially behind him.

“Huh?” Izuku said stupidly, though he did stay behind him.

“You’re too much of a pushover, just tell me where to go and stay with me,” Katsuki grunted out, as people were less inclined to almost run him over since he was taller and had a resting bitch face.

“Oh! Thanks, Kacchan.” Katsuki didn’t turn around, but he could hear the ever-present smile.

“Why are you calling me Kacchan now, did you forget my name that easily?” That got Izuku to huff in amusement.

“I dunno. Just felt like it.” He paused, “Maybe it’s ‘cause Kacchan is easier to say.”

“You really that lazy?”

“Yep.” He replied cheerily, popping the ‘p’.

Katsuki rolled his eyes, even though Izuku couldn’t see it he hoped it was a strong enough eyeroll Izuku would be able to feel it. He glared at someone so they made enough room for the two to keep walking.

They continued like that for a few blocks, Izuku holding onto the back of Katsuki’s bag so he wouldn’t get left behind, and occasionally telling him where to turn. They hopped on the subway where they saw a few rats fighting over something (much to Izuku’s delight and Katsuki’s disgust).

Eventually, they made it to Times Square. The buildings seemed to tower taller here, adorned with all different types of advertisements that flashed in a way that irritated Katsuki’s eyes. A few street performers adorned the walkways, gathering crowds, and others in knock-off Disney costumes were taking pictures with people. It was just as busy, loud, and massive as he remembered it, making it one of his least favorite places.

“Woah!”

Of course, Izuku seemed to be mesmerized.

He stepped in front of Katsuki, now, head tilted up and eyes wide as he took in the scene. It was nothing worthwhile for Katsuki, so he found himself watching Izuku instead of the city around him.

He had such an expressive face, something that Katsuki found he appreciated. It was easier to read him like that, and if he could read him, it was just a little easier to trust him. The colored lights highlighted his tan skin and green curls in a way that made it look like he should be in one of the ads on the many billiards plastered around. He absentmindedly noticed the freckles dusting his cheekbones and nose. He was the kind of person someone might call plain when giving him a passing glance, but upon closer inspection, wasn’t plain at all.

Suddenly, Izuku was off into the crowd.

Katsuki startled, almost tripping over his own two feet to go after him. Now that the walkways were larger, Izuku was able to swerve around people, without the threat of going into the road. Katsuki cursed under his breath, trying to catch up. He managed to grab onto the back of Izuku’s bag, much like the other had done to him earlier, and let Izuku drag him through the crowd. He almost stumbled into Izuku when he stopped.

“What the hell was that?” He berated.

“Look!” Izuku said instead of answering like a normal person, pointing at the tower now in front of them. It was the one nestled in the middle of the square, where the ball dropped every new year.

“Yep, that’s a building all right.” He deadpanned, shoving his hands in his pockets.

A punch to his arm jolted him. A shock of adrenaline coursed through him, tensing for another hit that was sure to follow. Fuck, he had pushed too hard this time hadn't he? He took Izuku’s kindness for granted and now he was going to pay.

“It’s not just a building. It’s where the ball drops!” Izuku exclaimed happily.

Oh.

No other hit came, Izuku simply rummaging through his bag now, unaware of Katsuki’s panic. Thinking back, the punch hadn’t even hurt, in fact, it was barely a punch at all. Just a tap of knuckles against his arm.

Fuck, he was so weak.

Izuku was grinning from ear to ear now, having found what he was looking for. Out popped a little hat with “Happy New Year!” plastered on it and comically large sunglasses with the same phrase standing on top. Before he could react, the hat was on his head and Izuku had the glasses on, holding a kazoo in his hand.

“What-” The kazoo went off and Izuku raised his hands.

“Happy new year!” Izuku cheered, shoving the kazoo in Katsuki’s hand and grabbing his camera instead. Again, Katsuki’s reflexes were far too slow as a picture was taken of him.

“It’s not the new year.” Was all Katsuki managed to say as his brain tried to catch up to what was happening.

“Eh, whatever.” Izuku shrugged, flipping the camera around and taking a selfie of both of them.

“Quit that.” Katsuki’s brain finally kicked into gear and he raised a hand, effectively blocking his face from the camera.

“Lame.” Was Izuku’s response.

“Says the one with those stupid glasses on.”

“Like you look any less ridiculous, kazoo boy.” Izuku eyes him, humor dancing in his eyes.

“You’re the one who gave me the kazoo against my will. If either of us would be kazoo boy, it’d be you.”

“Huh, that’s weird,” Izuku frowned, looking down at himself and his open palms, “it seems like I don’t have a kazoo.” He gasped then, looking at Katsuki, “but you do! Which means-“

“I’m tired of your shit.” Katsuki tossed the tiny instrument and the hat, letting them hit Izuku in the face.

Watching Izuku laugh as he picked up the stuff, Katsuki had a strange realization. He was actually having a nice time with Izuku. Sure there had been that brief moment where he thought everything had gone to shit just because of a playful punch, but other than that…

Huh… weird.

They headed back to the car, traveling almost the same way they had before, with Izuku following along behind him.

They piled back into the old car, springs creaking under their weight.
“You sure this thing is gonna get us across the country?” Katsuki questioned, a little nervous at the prospect of the car falling apart.

“Yeah! Er- Probably… I hope so…” Izuku trailed off, sounding less than confident.

“Great. Real reassuring, Izuku.”

“It hasn’t failed me yet.” Izuku tried, glancing a little worriedly at him as the car painfully sputtered to life.

“You just jinxed it.”

Chapter Text

Turns out, Izuku did, in fact, jinx it.

The next day the car decided to die on the highway.

“Shit.” Izuku had hissed, managing to pull the car over to the side.

He stepped out of the shop and sat down next to Katsuki on the curb. It was hot, since it was noon, the sun was high in the sky, beating down on them. Izuku looked over to Katsuki, jealous of his tank top. If he had known they’d be outside, he would’ve worn one too. His hair began sticking uncomfortably to his forehead and nape of his neck.

Katsuki suddenly spoke up, “So, what’s wrong with it?”

“Ah-“ Izuku struggled to remember, he wasn’t familiar with any car terms and most of it flew over his head, “I kind of forgot what they said, but I do know that they can fix it no problem and shouldn’t take more than an hour.”

Katsuki groaned, “how do you not remember?”

“I was distracted okay? The guy in there has this crazy mohawk and I just couldn’t stop looking at it. I mean- it was so tall it was defying laws of gravity.”

“Fucking Deku.” Katsuki scoffed.

“Huh? Did you just call me a deku?” Izuku narrowed his eyes.

“Yeah, Deku. You jinxed the car and don’t even remember what is up with it cause you were too focused on someone’s hair.”

Izuku carefully considered the new (maybe not-so-kind) nickname and then smiled.

“Deku and Kacchan… I like it.”

“There’s really something wrong with you if you like being called Deku.”

“I’ve gotten hit in the head a lot, so that checks out,” he hummed, “and I’ve broken way too many bones, so I think it fits.”

“Why the fuck are you breaking bones?” Katsuki raised an eyebrow, turning his head to the side so Izuku could see his face. His skin was shiny with sweat, much like Izuku’s, and he brushed a hand up through his spiky hair, keeping it from sticking to his skin. Izuku wished his hair would just stick up like that.

“I dunno. It’s not like they’re weak or anything, I drink plenty of milk,” he grinned, “I guess I’m just reckless.”

“That’s not something to be proud of.”

“Psh,” Izuku flapped a hand dismissively, and, to his complete surprise, Katsuki grabbed his hand.

“That how you got all these scars?” He lifted his hand, inspecting it.

Izuku blinked. Katsuki’s hand was warm and also kind of sweaty, but so was Izuku’s. It felt… nice.

“Ah, yeah. My hand’s all scarred because of a four-wheeler accident. I was going too fast and it was muddy and I crashed. My hand got crushed”

Katsuki stilled for a moment, before glaring at Izuku.

“So you’re not only reckless, but you’re stupid. No wonder you’re covered in scars.”

Izuku held still as Katsuki continued to inspect his hand. Red eyes burned over every scar before trailing up to check his arm, but Izuku’s eyes were still fixated on how Katsuki was still holding his hand. He held him gently, which wasn’t something Izuku expected. For his rough exterior, he thought his grip would be punishing.

He became fixated on the chipped nail polish again. He glanced around, seeing a store just a ways away. He figured they could do something while they waited.

“Hey, do you want to repaint your nails?”

Katsuki immediately snatched his hand back, fingers curling into fists by his sides.

“No.” His tone was cold and his eyes were narrowed harshly at him.

“Oh okay, sorry.” Izuku was confused by the reaction, but after his apology, Katsuki softened a little. At least that was a good sign.

“You don’t have to fucking apologize. I’m just being stupid.” He uncurled his hands and gazed down at his nails. He had a bittersweet expression that made Izuku’s heart ache.

“Do you have a top coat?” Izuku questioned. The way the polish was flaking suggested he didn’t, but he figured he’d ask.

Katsuki gave him an incredulous look. “Why the fuck would I need a coat? It’s the middle of summer you dumbass.”

Okay, so no.

“I’ll be back in a second, I’m just going to that store over there,” he stood and pointed, “are you okay here by yourself?”

“I’m not a fucking little kid, of course, I’m fine here!” He glared (like a little kid in Izuku’s opinion).

“Great.” Izuku smiled at him before hurrying off.

It was a quick trip and he was back with Katsuki on the curb in a few minutes. Sure, he had no idea why Katsuki was so defensive about the pink polish, but Izuku figured it was probably important.

“Why’d you just go into that store?” Katsuki questioned, eyes narrowing suspiciously at Izuku.

“For this!” Izuku sat back down and took the clear polish out of his pocket.

Katsuki blinked.

“I told you I don’t want to repaint my nails.” Katsuki defensively scooted away.

“Oh! No, no I’m not going to repaint them. I’m just trying to help you keep them from chipping anymore,” he explained quickly, but Katsuki didn’t seem convinced, “look.”

Izuku uncapped the bottle and brushed some of it onto his own nail, “see? It’s clear. It’s like a protective layer and will keep it from coming off so fast.” He held out his hand, waiting.

Katsuki hesitated for a moment before looking down at his nails. His resolve crumbled before Izuku’s eyes and he shoved his hand at Izuku.

“Okay.” Is all he said.

Izuku smiled and got to work, taking Katsuki’s hand just as gently as Katsuki had taken his earlier. They were pretty calloused, something Izuku hadn’t noticed earlier; soft where the callouses hadn’t formed.

He glanced up for a split second, gauging Katsuki’s reaction. He was quiet all over, eyes soft and watching Izuku work; shoulders slumped. His mouth was turned down ever so slightly, but it was because he had a resting frown.

Izuku focused back on what he was doing. It wasn’t difficult to put a clear coat on, but Izuku took his time anyway. He made slow even strokes, making sure to cover every inch so none of the pink would be left to the elements.

Izuku smiled to himself, enjoying the calm moment.

As Izuku was nearing the end, Katsuki spoke up.

“How do you know to do this?” His voice was relaxed and soft; extremely different from his typical tone.

“My best friend, I think I told you about her. Uraraka loves painting her nails and eventually, she taught me. I do it sometimes, though mainly if I have to go somewhere nice.” He grinned, “I haven’t gone anywhere nice in forever, so my nails have been bare for a while.”

Katsuki hummed, and Izuku capped the bottle, done with his work.

Katsuki examined his hands and seemed to approve of the short nod was anything to go by.

“Uh, thanks…Deku.” He seemed embarrassed, not meeting Izuku’s eyes.

“No problem.” Izuku smiled and reached for Katsuki’s bag, slipping the small bottle into one of the pockets, “do you want to go grab some food? They should be done with the car by the time we get back.”

“Yeah, sure.”

—-

“Kacchan, are we friends?” Izuku asked when their food arrived.

They had found some burger joint a few blocks from the auto shop. They figured It’d
be good considering quite a few people were eating inside. Katsuki had thrown a baseball cap on backward, apparently tired of brushing his hair up and away from his eyes. Izuku absentmindedly thought he looked good.

Katsuki sputtered, almost choking on a fry he was eating, “what the fuck? No.”

“Aw, c’mon.” Izuku frowned, stealing one of Katsuki’s fries, “we’ve gotta be friends by now.”

“I’ve known you for like two seconds.”

“Three days.” Izuku corrected, “most people become my friend in less than two.”

“Well fucking good for you. I ain’t like that.”

“Yeah, you're not, it’s been three days. Be my friend.”

“You can’t just demand someone to be your friend. That ain’t how it works.” Katsuki groaned and pushed his basket of fries towards Izuku as he reached for another.

“Yes, it absolutely is. That’s how I’ve made all my friends.”

“You sure they aren’t just your hostages?”

“No! They love me!” Izuku exclaimed.

“Oh, so they’ve got Stockholm syndrome.”

“Kacchan!”

“I’m serious.”

“Take that back!”

“Nah.”

“You know what? I’ve changed my mind. I don’t want to be your friend anymore,” Izuku turned up his nose and folded his arms for dramatic effect.

“Thank the fucking gods.” Katsuki’s mouth curled into a smirk, which quickly changed to a wince when a baby at a nearby table started high-pitched screaming. Izuku watched him reach up and adjust something on his hearing aids.

“Can I ask you a question?” Izuku asked and Katsuki tilted his head.

“About these?” He tapped his ears.

“Ah- uh, yeah.” Izuku admitted sheepishly, “as long as you don’t mind, of course.”

“Not really,” he shrugged, “as long as it’s not a fucking stupid one.”

“I just remember seeing you junior year, and you didn’t have them then. Did something happen?”

“Not really,” Katsuki huffed, “In junior year my hearing started to get worse, but because it was gradual I couldn’t tell until I had a yearly check-up. Apparently, the combination of listening to music too loud and some shitty genetics ain’t really good. I play drums too. I should’ve been careful with that since my dad’s got shitty hearing too, but- y’know… what’s done is done.” he shrugged again.

Izuku hummed, leaning to the side a little to get a better look, “I like the design on them, did you do that?”

“Yeah, they all looked fucking lame so I wanted to make them look better.”

Katsuki’s hearing aids were behind the ear, with a small wire leading into an earmold that fit in his ear canal. The whole thing was black, but Katsuki had painted orange ‘X’s’ on the portion behind his ear.

“Oh!” Izuku exclaimed, “that’s the same design on your skateboard!”

Katsuki nodded, shoving a fry into his mouth.

“I think it looks really cool.” The red that tinted the ends of Katsuki’s ears didn’t go unnoticed by Izuku. He grinned at Katsuki’s embarrassment.

“Where are we headed once your car is fixed?” Katsuki asked after a brief lull in their conversation.

“Chicago.” Izuku promptly answered before biting into his food.

“Why Chicago?”

“‘Cause,” he mumbled around his bite before swallowing, “there’s this really cool place called Navy Pier; It’s kind of like a small carnival. And then there are all the museums like the medieval torture museum where you can learn about all the different medieval torture methods-“

“What the fuck?”

“I know it sounds weird but it’s really interesting! And there’s an immersive Michaelangelo exhibition! It’s only there for a little while since it’s going around the country to all the big cities. Of course, there’s the bean too and Adler Planetarium and then the American Writers Museum. Oh! The Lincoln Park Zoo is there, and they have giraffes which are super awesome too, and a 360 observation deck where you can see the city from super high up and-“

“Deku.”

“Okay, okay, I know that’s a lot and we aren’t doing all of it. The point is there’s a lot of cool stuff there and that’s why we’re headed to Chicago. We’re only about 5 hours away now.”

Katsuki hummed and they both fell silent, finishing up their food.

Chapter Text

“Kacchan! Look!”

“I’m deaf, not blind, dumbass. I’m looking.”

“But isn’t it cool?!”

“Fuck no. It doesn’t even look like an actual bean. What’s the point of this?”

They had made it to Chicago and were currently looking at the bean or Cloud Gate which was its actual title.

“It’s not supposed to look like a bean, that’s just a nickname people gave it.”

“I was expecting a bean.” He retorted petulantly.

“Kacchan-“

“A black bean, green bean, maybe pinto… I would’ve even accepted a Lima bean.”

“Stop being dramatic.”

“No, Deku, this is a disgrace to beans everywhere.”

“What the fuck?” Izuku began to laugh at Katsuki’s attitude toward the bean. Izuki was happy he was starting to joke around with him, and- oh, Katsuki was smiling. Not just a smirk either, but both sides of his mouth were stretched up, and his teeth were showing. It was a wide, happy smile.

“We’re friends now.” Izuku blurted out and immediately regretted it because the smile disappeared.

“Why the hell are you still on about that?” Katsuki raised an eyebrow.

“Because you just smiled, which means we’re friends.”

“Hah?!”

“That’s the rules.”

And when silence greeted him after that, he grinned.

“Fuckin’ fine,” Katsuki grumbled, looking away.

“Did you just admit we’re friends?!” Izuku hopped over, getting into Katsuki’s line of sight.

“Fuck off you dimwit, let’s just go do the next thing you were blabbing about on the way here.”

They visited the 360 observation deck after that.

“Can you believe we’re 1000 feet up?” Izuku breathed out, staring at the tiny-looking city below.

“‘Course. Everything looks so small.” Katsuki replied from beside him. They stood close, having to squeeze through some people to get a spot in front of the large windows. There was an area where people could hold onto bars as the floor tipped them and the window so they would be looking down at the city, but Katsuki and Izuku both agreed that the line for that was too long.

“I wish I was a bird. Can you imagine getting to see everything like this all the time?”

“It’d be a lot more peaceful.” Katsuki agreed, not looking away from the window.

Izuku sneakily snagged his camera from his bag and snapped a picture.

“Quit taking pictures of me you creep.” Katsuki glowered at him.

Izuku just laughed and took another picture of him, now angrily glaring into the camera.

Katsuki groaned out a curse, making Izuku chuckle. He turned his camera towards the city below and got a few scenic shots.

“Are you ready to head back down?” Izuku questioned, shoving his camera back into his bag. Katsuki gave some kind of grunt in response and stepped back from the window. Izuku, taking that as a yes, stepped back too, smiling up at Katsuki.

“Next is the Michaelangelo exhibition. You like art right? So this should be fun for you too.”

Katsuki just hummed and Izuku led the way out of the building and to the exhibition.

The atmosphere inside was cozy and quiet, lights having been dimmed so that the paintings could stand out with spotlights. The exhibit featured different parts of the Sistine Chapel ceiling painting; blown up on large canvases.

“This is so cool.” Izuku breathed out as they leisurely made their way through, “I mean, all this detail just for a ceiling?”

“It ain’t just a ceiling, he painted the damn Sistine Chapel.”

“But still, he painted it thinking no one would ever get to see it up close… I think if I went through all that trouble, I’d want people to see it in full detail.”

“Well, now people are seeing it. A couple hundred years later, but…” Katsuki shrugged, eyes flitting around.

Izuku hummed and stepped up to one of the paintings. They had been lucky and were at the exhibit at a less busy time, so Izuku took the opportunity to sit down without having to worry about getting in people's way. There was a small placard under it reading “Delphic Sibyl”. Katsuki sat down on the thin carpet next to him.

It was a painting of a woman in green, orange, and blue robes holding a scroll. Her hair was wrapped in a cloth, but a few strands were out near her back, revealing almost golden wavy hair. She was sitting down, and her eyes were looking off to the side as if something had caught her attention.

They sat quietly, studying the painting. Objectively, it wasn’t the most interesting piece displayed, especially compared to “The Creation of Adam” where god is extending a finger out to Adam, and Adam is reaching back, or “The Last Judgement” where Michaelangelo had painted himself in with the people being judged by god. Still, though, Izuku and Katsuki sat enjoying the painted woman before them.

“Is it weird to like all this artwork, but not believe in god? Because this is all very religious.” Izuku suddenly asked, making Katsuki snort.

“I’m not either, so no. I think you can like this religious art shit aesthetically and not care for its actual meaning.” He replied, leaning back on his hands, “‘cause this shit’s impressive. I’d never be able to fucking paint so realistically.”

“Oh yeah, you said you were in art club, right?” Izuku questioned, turning his head to look at Katsuki, who hummed in confirmation, “I’m sure you’re still good though.”

“The fuck? You’ve never even seen any of my work.”

“I just have a feeling.”

“What if I actually sucked though?” He snorted, “you’d see my shitty drawings and have to lie now that you’ve said that. Lying is a sin, Deku, and we’re surrounded by religion right now.”

“I’m also a huge ass homosexual, you think I care?”

Katsuki stared for a second before a burst of laughter sputtered from his mouth. Holy shit, Katsuki was laughing. A hand was clasped over his mouth, trying to stifle himself, but Izuku could still hear him clearly. It was higher than he anticipated and positively contagious.

It was a good fucking sound.

Izuku’s mouth stretched into a bright, happy smile, and he giggled along with Katsuki’s laughter.

“Fuck,” he finally said between his laughter, “we gotta get out of here before god smites us where we stand.”

“What if I want to tempt fate, Kacchan?”

“Deku, what the fuck?”

“Come at me, god!” Izuku cried, lying on his back now, arms outstretched, “I dare you to do it! Strike me down. I betcha can’t. If you can’t kill me, what about Kacchan?”

“Don’t fucking bring me into this you absolute dumba-“

“Do it! He wants you to!”

Katsuki groaned, exasperated, beside him, “I don’t think god’s gonna kill us, but that lady over there might.”

Izuku glanced over to where Katsuki had nodded his head and, sure enough, there was a woman down the hall with her kids, glaring daggers at the two of them. She had her hands pressed over the youngest-looking one’s ears.

“I don’t really know why though,” Katsuki continued, “her kids can’t handle cursing, but they can handle seeing a bunch of naked people? I mean seriously, why are over half the people in these paintings naked?”

Izuku shrugged, “I don’t know. There’s probably some artistic reason. It depicts “the vulnerability of mankind” or some shit like that.”

“Wow, are you an art critic?” Katsuki deadpanned.

“Absolutely, now pay me for my critique.”

“Fuck no, bitch.”

Chapter Text

After an eventful day in Chicago, they continued on the road the next day. They drove ten hours to Nebraska. Nebraska was exactly like what Katsuki imagined it to be.

Deserted.

But Izuku, like always, seemed excited to be there.

It was late, the sun having gone down an hour prior, and they were on some deserted road in the middle of nowhere. Katsuki figured they’d drive for a while more until they found some civilization and a parking lot they could legally park and stay the night at, but then they started slowing down.

And went off the road.

“Fucking- what the hell?!” Katsuki grabbed the armrest, “Deku!”

“Calm down, we just gotta get away from the road a bit.” Izuku said nonchalantly.

“Why?!”

“‘Cause, I don’t want any car headlights messing this up. Y’know- with their light pollution.”

“Light pollution?” Katsuki questioned, exasperated. He should really start asking Izuku about his plans before shit starts happening.

“Stargazing.” Was the response, and Katsuki sighed, still gripping tight to the armrest as the car continued over the uneven terrain, jostling them around.

“You do realize your car isn’t even made for off-roading? Right?”

“It’ll be fi-“

Katsuki slapped a hand over his mouth and Izuku squeaked, “don’t you dare fucking jinx us again, dumbass.”

He felt Izuku’s mouth stretch into a grin beneath his palm, breath tickling his skin. He snatched his hand away.

“Ew.” He said on impulse, his face feeling warm for some reason.

“Ew?!” Izuku laughed, “you’re the one who put your hand on my mouth!”

“You should be thanking me for not letting you jinx us.” Katsuki shot back, folding his arms.

“You’re impossible.”

“And you’re fucking stupid.”

“You’re such a delight to talk to, Kacchan.” Izuku deadpanned.

“Thanks, I know.”

Izuku snorted at that.

They were quiet again as Izuku continued his off-road adventure, finally stopping when he had decided they were far enough away.

“Alright, c’mon!” Izuku said excitedly, hopping out of the car. Katsuki followed suit, stepping out and shutting his door. Izuku was pulling an old blanket out of the trunk and throwing it on the top of the car. Lightning quick, he scrambled onto the top and sat, waving a hand at Katsuki for him to come up as well.

Katsuki grumbled under his breath before hauling himself up, the car rocking a bit as he did.

He lay down, hands resting on his stomach, and looked up at the sky. It was, admittedly, beautiful. He’d never gone stargazing back in Virginia, though to be fair he’d never really had the urge to. He was too focused on other things, like trying to keep his grades up.

Izuku lay down beside him, pressing the sides of their bodies together; from shoulders to thighs. Katsuki instinctually tensed. He figured they were only so close since there was no other option. The roof of the car was pretty small after all.

But he couldn’t relax. Izuku was warm and shifting a bit beside him and Katsuki just wasn’t used to it. His nerves felt exposed at every point of contact and every time he forced his muscles to relax they’d immediately tense again. Would it be weird if he sat up again right after he laid down? Or if he just got off the car completely? Maybe he should just run away? Maybe if he got Izuku distracted he could just slip away unnoticed and-

There was a light kick to his foot.

“What was that for?” He tried to sound irritated, but he sounded more strangled than anything.

“You feel really tense.” Izuku stated bluntly, “are you alright?”

And it must’ve been the softness of the stars shining down on them or maybe his brain was just fried from being so close, but when he opened his mouth to try and deflect, all that came out was-

“I’m just not used to this.”

It was quiet for a while, save for the crickets chirping their nightly tune.

“Not used to what, exactly?” Izuku pressed finally, tone quiet enough to almost be drowned out by the bugs.

“I-“ Katsuki clamped his mouth shut, teeth clicking. He didn’t want to talk about this, so he wasn’t going to.

“Kacchan.” Came the murmur from beside him.

His fragile resolve cracked.

“Being close to someone. People don’t touch me. It’s just… I dunno. It’s fucking stupid.” Katsuki groaned, “it’s whatever, I’m fine, so don’t worry your stupid little head about it.”

“Being close?” Izuku hesitated, “What about your ex? Weren’t you close with him?”

Katsuki sighed.

“No. I honestly shouldn’t even count him as a boyfriend. I feel bad about the whole thing now, but I only dated him to piss off my grandparents, so we didn’t do anything. I held his hand and let him kiss me on the cheek in front of them… but that was it.”

Izuku hummed. “Was that the only partner you’ve had?”

“Yeah.” Katsuki reluctantly answered, before continuing to get the pressure off himself, “what about you? Had any partners in the past?”

Izuku shifted a little.

“You know Shindo?” He questioned, and Katsuki grimaced.

“Deku, please don’t tell me- not that asshole.”

Katsuki had heard some things about him around their school. Namely how fake he was.

“Yeah.” Izuku breathed out, sounding tired, “we dated for six months, and then about two or three months before graduation we broke up.”

“Can I ask why?” Katsuki cautiously pressed a little.

“He- uh… cheated on me,” Izuku let out a strained laugh, “it’s kind of embarrassing actually. I don’t really like telling people that.”

“Embarrassing?” Katsuki narrowed his eyes, confused and also really fucking pissed at Shindo.

“I mean- I’m over it now, I have no feelings for him and I know he’s not really a good person, but there’s a part of me that thinks it’s my fault… like I must’ve messed up somehow if I wasn’t good enough for him to be happy with just me, right?”

“Izuku, what the fuck?” Katsuki hissed, sitting up and looking down at Izuku, “That shit isn’t your fucking fault, alright? Shindo is a fucking asshole and you didn’t do anything wrong. I don’t see how you even could do something wrong. You’re like if sunshine itself became a fucking person. You’re able to put up with my fucked up ass and somehow not want to fucking kick me out of the car and let me walk the rest of the way. Shindo is actually the worst person I’ve ever had the displeasure of meeting!“ Katsuki stopped himself there, turning away.

A tug at the back of his shirt had him laying down again.

“Thanks, Katsuki. That- that means a lot.”

Katsuki couldn’t respond, glaring up at the stars, trying to cool down. God, if he ever saw that bastard again he’d throttle him.

“Y’know… my friends said something similar when I told them what had happened. There was less cursing-“ he chuckled a bit, “but they basically meant the same thing.”

Katsuki frowned. Then why was he still blaming himself for Shindo’s fuck up?

“I didn’t believe them,” Izuku continued, as if he could read Katsuki’s thoughts, “my friends, Iida and Uraraka, are both really nice people, so I thought they were just saying what they thought would make me feel better.”

“But you-“ he hesitated, “I don’t think you’d lie to me. You don’t seem like the type to use kind words just to make someone feel better. And I like that about you. So… really, thank you for saying that.” There was a soft sniffle beside him and Katsuki tensed even more.

“Fuck- are you crying?” He asked, panicked. He didn’t know the first thing about comforting people. Izuku gave a wet laugh.

“Yeah, but don’t worry about it. I’m not sad, not really at least. More like tears of relief I guess,” there was a shakily exhale.

Katsuki’s fingers twitched, uncomfortable. He had said not to worry about it, but crying people still put Katsuki on edge.

He felt Izuku raise his arm, supposedly to wipe some tears off his face and there was a deep sigh.

“Damn, I haven’t cried in a while. It feels good.”

“Good?!” Katsuki exclaimed, incredulous. Katsuki avoided crying at all costs. He hated the puffy and red eyes that came after it and the stuffy nose; the harsh words of his mother to suck it up.

“Yeah. Bottling shit up doesn’t feel good to me, so I’m a big crybaby,” he could hear a smile on Izuku’s voice now, which was a good sign, “you don’t feel better after crying it all out?”

“No.” Katsuki retorted quickly, “I fucking hate it.”

“Really?” Izuku sounded critical now.

“Yes, really,” he snapped back, feeling defensive.

It was quiet again.

He tried to focus on the stars above, but as he did he became angrier. He didn’t like how small they made him feel. He knew that was a reason a lot of people loved the stars (he figured it was a reason Izuku wanted to do this in the first place), but he despised that feeling. He didn’t want to feel small and insignificant. All his goals pushed for him to be strong and big and loud. He had to be. How else would he be important otherwise?.

Izuku moved against his side, pressing closer and distracting him from the anger rising. Katsuki’s mind briefly flashed to his earlier ideas of hopping off the car, but he forced himself to stay. Izuku was solid and alive beside him, a feeling Katsuki was entirely unfamiliar with. It was weird… but as the minutes passed and the feeling of the rise and fall of a chest grounded him, he unconsciously sunk into it. Body finally relaxing, and lungs finally taking a deep breath.

“Can you tell me something?” Izuku questioned after a long while.

“Tell you what?” Katsuki replied.

“Just- I was wondering why you didn’t want to repaint your nails? You seemed to be attached to it.”

Katsuki sighed, brushing a hand through his hair.

“You noticed that?”

“Kinda hard not to.”

Right, he had snapped at him when Izuku had suggested repainting them.

“Mahoro painted them.” He kept his voice low, part of him hoping Izuku maybe didn’t hear and would leave it alone. The other part… the other part kind of wanted Izuku to know. Izuku was the first person in his life to actually listen to him.

“Mahoro?” Izuku repeated back.

“My little sister,” he grumbled, “she liked to paint my nails whenever I visited her. She’d also make me look ridiculous by putting bows and clips on my hair and dressing me up. I’d take all that shit off before I would leave, but leave the nail polish.”

“You’d visit her? Did she not live with you?”

Oh great, he’d said too much.

“Uh- yeah, no. She lives with my grandparents.”

“And you lived with…?” Izuku prompted.

“My parents.”

Fuck, this conversation was quickly going down a rabbit hole Katsuki desperately wanted to avoid.

“Why didn’t you two live together?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” He snapped quickly, tone sharp enough that he felt Izuku flinch.

“Ah, right. Sorry.”

Katsuki grimaced, feeling a little bad.

“So… hair bows, huh?” Izuku teased after an awkward pause.

Katsuki could tell he was forcing the teasing tone, but he took the bait nonetheless to escape the weird atmosphere they’d created.

“I looked fucking great in those you bastard.” Katsuki retorted, “the best looking one at the tea party full of her stuffed animals.”

“I think looking better than some toys isn’t something to brag about.”

“It absolutely is.”

Izuku laughed and Katsuki found himself smiling, letting his head turn to the side to see the other boy’s profile. It was dark, so he was a little hard to see, but by then Katsuki’s eyes had adjusted to the dark. The stars and moon above provided a little light too.

Izuku was smiling, gazing up at the sky.

“Fuck, what I wouldn’t give to see you in whatever Mahoro put you in.” He giggled, clearly amused by the mental image of Katsuki dressed up by a little girl.

Katsuki rolled his eyes, watching Izuku’s eyes snap briefly to him.

“Is it really that funny?” Katsuki raised an eyebrow.

“A little.” Izuku turned his head too, now, so they were looking at each other, “I just think it’s cute.”

“Cute?!” Katsuki practically yelled, which caused Izuku to start laughing again. His eyes crinkled around the corners and shut, mouth open and smiling with laughter.

“You just-“ Izuku took a breath, apparently doing his best to quit his little giggle fit, “you just look like such a scary guy, especially with the things I’ve heard about you at school. Thinking about you entertaining your little sister like that is cute.”

Katsuki scowled, feeling his face heat up.

“Shut the fuck up and look at the stars, Deku.”

Chapter Text

Izuku was worried.

After hearing snippets of Katsuki’s home life throughout their trip, they were slowly starting to piece together. He knew Katsuki’s home situation wasn’t great. What kid in a good home and family would want to leave? But after hearing that his younger sister didn’t even live with him, he felt it was much worse than his original assumption.

It was clear Katsuki cared for Mahoro and wouldn’t have left her if she was in a bad situation, so at least she was okay. But Katsuki on the other hand…

Izuku snuck a glance out of the corner of his eye.

Katsuki was looking out the window, a scowl etched into his face. Katsuki was clearly still dealing with the repercussions of whatever neglect he suffered through.

The sun was already setting outside since they’d gotten a later start than usual. They’d stayed up way too late stargazing, so they hadn’t gotten back on the road until noon that day.

They pulled up to a laundromat, having to do some laundry before they continued on the road. They didn’t have a ton of clothes, Izuku having brought a small suitcase and Katsuki only having his bag, so they’d have to do laundry fairly often unless they wanted to be in dirty clothes.

They grabbed the two plastic bags of clothes and headed inside.

It was pretty empty; An old man folding his laundry at a table, and a man with a little girl in the far corner.

They shuffled in, throwing their collective clothes into one machine and paying to turn it on.

“This is weird,” Izuku commented as they sat down side by side.

“What do you mean weird?” Katsuki frowned and gave him a questioning look.

“I see laundromats in movies, and tv shows all the time, but I’ve never actually been to one.” He replied, looking around.

Katsuki snorted but said nothing otherwise.

They chatted for a bit while they waited. Mainly about skateboarding. Izuku had always wanted to try, and since Katsuki had brought his board, he was trying to convince the boy to teach him. Unfortunately, Katsuki was against the idea after hearing about multiple bone-breaking accidents.

His phone rang just as they were starting to put their clothes in the dryer. He reached for it and answered without checking, assuming it was his mom. She did text and say she was going to call soon after all.

“Hey,” He smiled out of habit, despite it being a phone call.

“Hey there, Izuku.” A familiar voice that was not his mom’s reached him. Damnit- had talking about him yesterday somehow summoned him?!

Izuku froze, hand gripping a wet sock that he was about to throw in the dryer. Katsuki looked over at him, raising a single eyebrow. Izuku could feel that his smile had dropped off his face.

“Izuku? Are you there?”

“Uh- yeah, hi Shindo.”

Katsuki stopped now, too. Glaring over at the phone. Izuku waved him off, gesturing for him to continue. Katsuki’s face didn’t change, but he continued anyway.

“How’ve you been? I haven’t heard from you.”

Izuku was struck speechless. Was he serious?

“Well, yeah. We aren’t together anymore.” Izuku replied, trying to keep it together.

“I thought we could still at least be friends,” Shindo responded as if it was obvious.

“… and why did you think that?”

“Cause we got along well.” Izuku could hear some shuffling on the other side, “besides, I wanted to meet up with you.”

Izuku finally dropped the sock he was holding, eyebrows furrowing.

“I don’t think I’d like that. In fact, I’m kinda busy right now.” He replied shortly, wanting to end the call as soon as possible.

“With what? Don’t tell me you’ve gone off to do something stupid again.”

“It’s not stupid, and I’m with a friend, so seriously I’m busy. Please don’t call me again.”

Izuku heard an exasperated sigh, something Shindo did a lot when he was with Izuku. Izuku forgot how much he hated that sound.

“Seriously? I’m trying to be nice here. I wanted to meet up to apologize, but if you’re going to be an asshole about it…”

Izuku winced, he’d jumped to conclusions.

“Ah, sorry, I just-“

“What the fuck are you apologizing to him for right now?” Katsuki suddenly hissed, cutting him off.

“Don’t worry about it, Kacchan.” Izuku tried to placate, but Shindo spoke again.

“Kacchan?” Shindo questioned.

“Uh, yeah. It’s the friend I’m with.”

“That’s not their name, is it? I’ve never heard you talk about a ‘Kacchan’ before.”

“No, his name is Katsuki.”

“Katsuki… as in Katsuki Bakugou? That douchebag?!”

“Hey!” Izuku snapped back, “don’t call him that!”

Katsuki rolled his eyes beside him, going back to finish putting things in the dryer.

“When did you two become such good friends? First, he’s got some cutesy nickname, and now you’re defending him?”

“Look,” Izuku sighed, “it’s a recent thing, okay? And like I’ve said I’m busy so-“

“Has he hurt you?” Shindo blurted out of nowhere.

“Hurt me?” Izuku parroted back. What was going on? The conversation had quickly spiraled.

“Yeah, he’s aggressive, loud, rude, and- damnit, Izuku, haven’t you heard stuff about him around school?”

“Well, yeah, but he’s not dangerous.”

Katsuki gave him a look over his shoulder.

“You sure about that, Deku?” He leered, and Izuku momentarily forgot about Shindo and laughed.

“Izuku!”

Shit. He sobered up and turned his attention back to the phone.

“Is that all you wanted to say?” He asked sitting down on one of the chairs again as their clothes began to dry.

Katsuki sat next to him, head tilted to try and hear Shindo. Izuku leaned to the side, so their shoulders were pressed together, turning up the volume to let him listen.

“You need to meet up with me now, or at least get away from him. He’s bad news.”

“Did he just say I’m ‘bad news’?” Katsuki whispered, “Fuck, that’s so lame.”

Izuku snorted.

“Is that Katsuki?”

“Uh-“

Katsuki snatched his phone and held it to his own ear.

“Listen, fucker, if you’ve got an issue with me say it to my damn face, don’t go bitching about it to someone else.”

“Katsuki, stay away from him,” Shindo said, tone low.

“That’s rich coming from an asshole like you.” Katsuki retorted.

“Izuku, can you still hear me?” Shindo asked, ignoring Katsuki.

“Yeah,” Izuku replied.

“You need to go home. I’ll meet up with you there later.”

“That’s gonna be difficult,” Katsuki smirked, “we ain’t even in Virginia.”

It was silent for a moment before Shindo started yelling something about going out of state with a stranger and how Izuku needed to come back now, but Katsuki pulled the phone away from his ear with a grimace, hanging up.

“Holy shit, I hate that guy,” Katsuki grumbled, shoving Izuku’s phone back at him.

Izuku couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled up in his chest.

“Thanks for that.” He smiled, and Katsuki frowned.

“Huh?”

“That phone call would’ve been unbearable by myself. You made it… kinda funny.”

“Whatever. That guy’s a joke. The only thing you should be doing is laughing at him,” Katsuki’s lips curled into a smile, and Izuku’s own grew.

“Well, thanks anyway.” He shrugged, his shoulder brushing against Katsuki’s.

It seemed to cause Katsuki to notice they were still leaning into each other because he leaned away. With someone else, Izuku might’ve taken it personally, but he remembered Katsuki had admitted to not being used to casual touch; another fact that had Izuku’s heart twisting uncomfortably. Maybe he’d try to use what time they had left to try and get Katsuki used to some simple touches. Izuku was, after all, a tactile person by nature.

“We should be able to make it to Colorado tonight, and then we’ll find somewhere to park and sleep,” Izuku commented as they made their way back to the car with their stuff.

Katsuki let out a short hum, clambering into the passenger seat, and they were on their way again.

—-

Izuku woke up the next morning, alarm blaring in a way that made him a little irritated. He’d had to choose an annoying sound, or else he wouldn’t wake up.

He turned to rouse Katsuki after shutting it off, as he never heard Izuku’s alarm, tapping his arm a few times. Luckily, Katsuki didn’t startle awake like he normally did. His eyes squinted open before he grumbled a few curses and shut them again.

Izuku chuckled. Katsuki always looked so… soft in the mornings. The sharp lines of his face seemed less so, gentler and rounder somehow. Hair mussed up even more than usual and clothes askew.

Without the impulse control that usually kicked in about ten minutes after he woke up, Izuku reached out and let his fingers brush against Katsuki’s spiky hair.

Katsuki startled and Izuku froze. Red eyes snapped open and tracked Izuku’s arm up to where his hand was still touching his hair, then they narrowed at him. This followed his maybe-plan of getting Katsuki used to people touching him, but he’d figured he would start off a lot smaller; not just straight up sticking his hand in his hair with no warning.

“Ah!” Izuku snatched his hand back, “sorry about that I don’t know why I-“

“Shut the fuck up.” Katsuki sniped, “I can't fucking hear you dumbass, save your rambling for a second.”

Katsuki snagged his hearing aids and put them on, adjusting some things before focusing back on Izuku.

“Alright, what the hell was that about?”

“I don’t really know,” Izuku shrugged with a sheepish smile, “I was just thinking that your hair was messier than normal- I mean obviously because we’ve probably both got bed head- and all of a sudden I was touching your hair.”

Katsuki blinked, face blank.

“Your hair is surprisingly soft.” He blurted out, mouth apparently unable to stay shut.

And- oh, there was a dusting of pink on Katsuki’s cheekbones now. Holy shit, he was embarrassed. At Katsuki’s own expense, Izuku forgot his awkwardness.

“You can't just touch someone’s hair because you feel like it!” Katsuki yelled, his typical scowl contorting his face.

“I like your hair.” Izuku continued, grinning like an idiot, “it kind of makes you look like a tumbleweed… or maybe a…” he considered for a moment,”… a Pomeranian! Holy fuck, you look like a Pomeranian!”

“Deku… I’m going to murder you.” He threatened, tone lower and no longer yelling. The lack of volume was a little concerning.

“You would never,” Izuku shook his head, but at the silence, he continued, “right?”

“They’ll never find your body.”

“Kacchan.”

“I’ll find a pig farm and I’ll let the pigs eat your corpse.”

“Kacchan!”

“I’ll burn your clothes and shoes and all your belongings including this car and then throw the ashes into the ocean.” Katsuki continued, ignoring Izuku

“It’s starting to sound like you’ve had this planned for a while.”

“I’ll disappear into the mountains and live a good, solitary life.”

“I really don’t like this.”

“Well, are you going to take back what you said?” Katsuki retorted, crossing his arms.

Izuku tapped his chin and frowned as if actually considering.

“Nope!” He finally answered, “death is totally worth calling you a Pomeranian.”

“I hate you.”

“Aw, how sweet.”

Katsuki rolled his eyes and turned away, but Izuku caught the little smile before he did. He was glad Katsuki was beginning to smile more, seeing other people happy had always brought him joy.

“What’s on the agenda today?” Katsuki asked when Izuku slid back into the driver’s seat and started the car.

“I figured we’d head up into the mountains and go for a hike.” He looked over to gauge the other boy’s reaction, and to his complete surprise, Katsuki’s eyes were bright and wide. He looked excited.

“A hike?” Katsuki repeated.

“Mhm… you like hiking?” Izuku smiled, soaking up Katsuki’s excitement.

Katsuki opened his mouth with a smile, looking like he was about to agree enthusiastically before he clamped his mouth shut and his face became neutral.

“Yeah, it’s alright.” He muttered and Izuku barely kept himself from laughing.

“You can like doing things, you know. In fact, you can be excited about going hiking if you like it.” Izuku let himself tease the other boy a bit.

Katsuki narrowed his eyes, grumbling out a “Fuck off.”

The drive into the mountains was uneventful. They got breakfast and lunch on the way there and Katsuki was quiet through most of it. Izuku was finding out that Katsuki wasn’t much of a talker.

His initial thought had been that Katsuki just didn’t talk to people he didn’t know, but as the days went by and Katsuki seemed to get more comfortable with him, Izuku figured that was the kind of person he was. Izuku didn’t mind, of course, he had things to talk about for days, and Katsuki didn’t seem to mind listening to him ramble for hours on end. If it bothered him, Katsuki definitely would’ve told him to shut up by then.

He wasn’t one to hold back on saying exactly what annoyed him.

Izuku couldn’t help the chuckle he let out at his thoughts, and Katsuki snorted.

“Fuckin’ weirdo. Quit laughing out of nowhere.”

It was late afternoon when they made it to the parking area of Roxborough State Park. He’d looked up a few different hikes while they’d been eating breakfast that morning, and landed on one called “Fountain Valley Trail”. It seemed easy enough, which he made sure of for himself since Katsuki liked hiking.

There were a few groups there, some coming back from the hike and some just starting. It was mostly small families with young kids who would probably get 5 minutes into the trail before they wanted to turn around, and adults either by themselves or with one other person.

There were a few different trails and Izuku followed Katsuki, who’d snagged a map and was making his way through the parking lot. There were a few different trails, each labeled with a sign, and after a short while, they found the Fountain Valley Trail. It was marked as a relatively short trail compared to the others, so they’d have plenty of time to walk it, hang around for a while, and come back before the park closed at six.

“Did you go hiking a bunch in Virginia?” Izuku asked as they walked, sticking close to Katsuki as a few people passed by on their way back.

Katsuki shrugged with a noncommittal hum, “not as much as I wanted to… but sure, probably more than most people.”

“Did you go by yourself?” Izuku wouldn’t have wanted to go alone, but Katsuki seemed to be the type to.

“Yeah,” he huffed out a humorless laugh, “not like there was anyone to go with.”

“You didn’t ask your friends?” He questioned without really thinking, almost immediately regretting his words.

“You think people stuck around me long enough to be my friend?” He countered incredulously with a sideways glance.

“Ah, well I didn’t know!” Izuku protested, “I think you’re fun to be around, so I figured there was someone else like me who annoyed you enough until you two became friends.”

“Nope, you’re one of a kind, Deku.”

“Aww.” Izuku smiled and Katsuki rolled his eyes.

“It’s not a good thing.”

“You can't brush it off like that!” Izuku protested, grabbing onto Katsuki’s arm, “that was definitely a compliment.”

“It wasn’t.”

“Thanks for the compliment, Kacchan.” Izuku cooed.

“You’re being stupid.” Katsuki groaned, but Izuku caught the slight curve of his mouth. He was fighting a smile.

“I think the stupid one right now is you, but that’s alright cause I like that you’re one of a kind too.” He leaned into the boy still grinning, and Katsuki let out an exasperated groan.

He put his hand on Izuku’s face and tried pushing him away. Izuku giggled and let go.

“Yuck, your hand’s all sweaty.” He laughed, wiping his face with the backs of his hands.

“Like yours are any better,” Katsuki argued and, to Izuku’s surprise, grabbed Izuku’s hand.

He stumbled over his feet a little, but recovered quickly, keeping pace with Katsuki as they walked.

“Yeah, yours are fucking gross too,” Katsuki commented looking down at their hands.

Izuku couldn’t find it in himself to argue, or joke, or… anything really. Despite how Katsuki was right, and his hand was sweaty, and so was the other boy’s, Izuku wasn’t grossed out. He liked having his hand held by Katsuki.

Izuku felt nervous adrenaline surge through him, and he took a deep breath to try and dispel the feeling.

What was going on? The last time he felt like this was-

No. Nope, not happening. That couldn’t be right. He didn’t want to be right. Because if he was, then-

“Deku?” Katsuki’s voice broke through his panicked thoughts. His hand had been let go of and Katsuki was giving him a worried look.

“Huh?” Izuku said, focusing back on him.

“You spaced out and looked… scared or something? I don’t know, just- are you good?”

“Oh, yeah, no I’m totally fine.” Izuku did his best to reassure him while simultaneously trying to ignore how his hand was tingling.

Katsuki narrowed his eyes at him, and Izuku felt like he could see straight through him.

“I don’t like being lied to, fucker.”

“Ah! Sorry, it’s really nothing! Nothing at all.” Izuku tried to placate, but Katsuki’s scowl deepened, “I…could you drop it, please? I promise it’s nothing you need to worry about, and I’m seriously alright.”

Katsuki held his gaze for a second longer before sighing and letting his expression relax, “fine. But if something’s actually wrong you better tell me.”

“Don’t worry, I will.” Izuku gave him a reassuring smile. He absolutely wouldn’t be telling Katsuki what was going on in a million years.

The rest of their walk consisted of Izuku rambling on about things he saw or anything that came to mind. He didn’t want a single second of silence lest his brain go back to what he had been thinking about when Katsuki had taken his hand.

At about the halfway point of the trail, they saw the so-called main attraction of the hike. Huge slabs of red rock stuck out from the ground, shooting up toward the sky.

“Woah! Aren’t those cool, Kacchan?” He grinned over at Katsuki, who was looking at the red rocks with his typical resting bitch face. Katsuki glanced at Izuku from the corner of his eye and hummed noncommittally.

Izuku snorted and grabbed his camera, snapping some pictures of the scenery. He, of course, pointed it at Katsuki too, who quickly turned volatile.

“Why the fuck do you keep taking pictures of me?!” He barked, trying to snag the camera from Izuku’s hands. Izuku dodged, hopping back and away.

“We don’t have much time left together, Kacchan! I’ve gotta have some evidence that we’re friends.” He explained, and, oddly enough, Katsuki stopped in his tracks.

The boy blinked a few times before scowling and looking away, “we ain’t friends.”

“You can’t take that back! You said we’re friends which is legally binding.” Izuku stepped back into his line of sight.

“In what world is that legally binding? Don’t you have to sign something for that?” Katsuki argued, arms crossing over his chest.

“It is to me. If you want to sign a contract I’m sure I could work something out.”

“The only thing I’ll be signing is a restraining order.”

“Kacchan!”

“What? I’m serious. As soon as I get to Oregon that’s what I’m gonna do.”

“But- does that mean I can’t come visit?” Izuku feigned hurt.

“Fuck no.” He answered way too quickly, before dropping his stony persona with a snort, “not like you would actually come all the way from Virginia to visit anyway.”

Izuku cocked his head, “Huh? Who said I wouldn’t? I love traveling, so seeing you in Oregon would be fun.”

Katsuki stilled and stared at Izuku for a long moment. Katsuki’s face remained carefully blank, and Izuku did his best not to melt into a puddle under his intense gaze.

“That’s stupid,” he finally spoke, though his voice sounded oddly quieter than normal, “don’t waste your time visiting me, nerd.”

Izuku had never liked the way Katsuki associated time with him as a waste.

“It’s not a waste of time. I like being with you.” He smiled, bumping their shoulders together, “and I’m gonna miss you when I go back to Virginia.”

Katsuki was quiet, and Izuku kept his eyes fixated on the rock formations in front of them. He was getting better at reading Katsuki, and he was clearly having a hard time either believing Izuku or trying to figure out how to respond.

I’m the end, he deflected.

“Let’s keep walking,” he said as he flicked Izuku on the forehead, “we still have a while to go.”

Izuku winced, expecting it to hurt, but it ended up just feeling like a gentle tap. He looked over at Katsuki, who was watching him with an expression Izuku couldn’t place.

He nodded, and they began walking again.

Chapter Text

Okay, so Izuku’s teeny tiny crush that he had just realized he had in Katsuki, may be more than teeny tiny.

He would usually avoid people he developed crushes on, but this was bad because he wasn’t going to be able to get away from Katsuki any time soon. Then, when he did he knew his heart would hurt.

Because Katsuki would be in Oregon and Izuku would go all the way back to Virginia.

This was bad. Very bad.

Sure, he’d looked at going to some colleges all over the country, including a few in Oregon, but he wasn’t going to pick one there just for the sake of a little crush.

He had started looking at Katsuki differently after they’d gone hiking just the previous day. Izuku knew the guy was attractive, but now… now it was really all he could think about.

He also couldn’t help but reminisce on that night on top of his car, when they’d passed time by looking at the stars and just chatting. Katsuki had talked about his little sister and said he let her dress him up and Izuku felt like he’d melted on top of the car.

He’d always had a soft spot for guys that were good with kids.

Plus he’d gone and said Izuku was “if sunshine had become a person” during his angry rant against Shindo.

How could Izuku not fall for him a little?

They got along well too. Izuku enjoyed their banter and loved how they had nicknames for each other already and, fuck- those red eyes and his shy smile and adorable laugh and-

…Okay, Izuku that’s enough of that, Katsuki is right next to you for fuck’s sake.

He glanced over at Katsuki in the passenger seat, who had found a sharpie and was doodling all over his shoes.

“Deku.”

Izuku practically jumped.

“Wha-what?” He stammered and then had to stop himself from slamming his head into the steering wheel.

Get it together!

“Why do you keep fucking looking at me? It’s weird.”

Ah, right, he should probably stop doing that.

“Sorry, I was just trying to see what you were drawing on your shoes.” He lied.

“Well stop, unless you wanna crash the car and kill us.”

“Right.” Izuku nodded and dutifully set his eyes back on the road ahead, only to look over a second later.

Damnit, Izuku.

He forced himself to focus on driving again, his mind going over his travel plans. Nevada was the next stop, as he figured everyone had to visit Las Vegas at least once in their life, and then Oregon.

Izuku felt his chest squeeze. The selfish part of him wanted to prolong their trip as long as possible, but the other wanted to get Katsuki to his relatives so he could live a good, happy life.

He didn’t want to say goodbye, though. The first time, in Massachusetts, had been easy. He hadn’t known Katsuki well at all, and he had just been content to help out a fellow student. Now though… he peeked over at Katsuki, whose face was lowered and concentrated on his phone rather than his shoes now.

Now he didn’t want to let him go.

It was stupid. He was stupid. This was a guy he’d still only technically met about a week ago, though it felt like longer.

Maybe he could stay in Oregon for a bit and tour some of the colleges he had looked at online…

“Hey, Deku.” Katsuki’s voice cut through his thoughts.

“Hmm?” Izuku hummed.

“There’s a skate park up ahead.” He was pointing at his phone, “still want me to teach you how to skate a bit?”

Izuku’s brain stalled before he mentally kicked it back into gear. It was the first time Katsuki had suggested something for them to do, rather than just going along with whatever Izuku said they were doing. He couldn’t help his smile.

“Hell yeah!” He cheered and asked Katsuki to direct him to the park.

The place was nice, and quite a few people were skating around. Izuku gawked as he watched someone do a crazy-looking trick.

“Am I gonna do that?” He asked, pointing excitedly, but Katsuki scoffed.

“You’ll be lucky if you can even learn how to push off today.”

“Aw, what?!”

Katsuki openly laughed at that and hopped out of the car, grabbing his board from the back.

“C’mon, Deku. I can't wait to watch you fall on your ass.”

“Is that the only reason you wanted to do this?” Izuku grumbled, falling into step beside him.

“Yep.” He smirked, looking far too happy about it.

“You’re an ass.” Izuku quipped and Katsuki chuckled.

They ended up going to the outskirts of the park. Where the concrete was flat and people weren’t flying around.

“We’re gonna start with you just stepping up onto the board,” Katsuki said, setting said board down and stepping onto it himself.

“Sounds easy enough,” Izuku muttered to himself, stepping up to it as Katsuki moved out of the way.

He set one sure foot onto the deck and as he lifted his other, the wheels rolled and the skateboard flew out from under him.

“Eep!” Izuku squawked, hands flying out behind him to try and cushion his inevitable fall. A hand painfully gripped his arm, though, and he was yanked up and back on his feet.

“Fuckin’ hell, Deku, careful.” Katsuki chastised, face pinched into his usual scowl. He pulled his hand away and went to fetch the board. Izuku put a hand over his rapidly beating heart. Holy shit, this was going to be harder than he thought.

“It’s not like hopping up onto a step or something,” he explained as he came back over, “it has wheels, so you can’t expect it to stay. Keep your center of gravity lowered a bit and make sure your feet are under it when stepping on the board.”

Izuku nodded but hesitated.

“I know I’m reckless, but I don’t want to crack my head open on the cement.” He half-joked, looking at Katsuki who was watching with a critical eye.

“I didn’t let you fall before, so I won’t now.” Katsuki snapped as if Izuku being worried was a personal offense.

“I’m a little skeptical about that, but yeah, sure.” Izuku grinned, doing what Katsuki said, and stepped up. His efforts were much more successful this time, as the board didn't try to immediately kill him.

“I did it!” Izuku cheered, turning his head to look at Katsuki who gave a half-smile in response.

“Now get off and do it again.” He replied, and Izuku frowned, “do you want to learn or not, dumbass?! I need to make sure that time wasn’t a fluke and that you can get on and off without busting your ass on the ground!”

Izuku quickly relented at that, and after a few more moments of proving that he could, in fact, step onto the board, Katsuki continued the lesson.

Izuku eyed him as Katsuki walked around and in front of him, arms extending toward him.

“Grab my hands,” Katsuki grunted, eyes fixed on his own hands.

“Uh-“ Izuku‘a fingers twitched and he hoped his face wasn’t turning red. Of course, he wanted to hold Katsuki’s hands… but he also felt like he might combust if he did.

“Just fucking grab them, damnit!” Katsuki snapped, snatching Izuku’s hands and pulling them out in front of him. The board rolled a bit under his feet.

“I need to teach you how to steer and push off so you can move on your own. This-“ he shook their intertwined hands, “-is just to make sure you don’t fucking fall the first few times.”

“Ah- right, okay.” Izuku nodded and did his best not to openly cringe at his tense voice. Much to his dismay, Katsuki seemed to notice his unusual tone and his eyes met Izuku’s, eyebrows furrowing.

“You really scared of skateboarding? What the fuck? You tell me you do all this crazy shit, but this freaks you out?” Katsuki scoffed, tugging at Izuku. Fuck, thank god he didn’t actually know why Izuku was freaking out.

“Uh- yeah, well…” Izuku cleared his throat, trying to find a way to make his lie believable, “I’ve always been scared of falling.”

Yikes, Katsuki wasn’t going to believe that.

A critical eye confirmed his fears, but it seemed the other wasn’t going to pry, “What kind of dumbass fear is that?” Katsuki idly commented, continuing to pull Izuku forward as he backed up.

Izuku didn’t reply, still focused on their intertwined hands. They fit perfectly together, he thought in his totally unbiased opinion. Izuku’s hands and fingers were a bit wider than Katsuki’s own, but shorter overall. His were covered in scars, while Katsuki’s were relatively untouched, other than his callouses. The juxtaposition between them was beautiful in a way.

“Hey, asshat, you listening?”

“Ah, fuck- sorry.” Izuku forced his eyes up and met Katsuki’s irritated glare.

“I’m trying to teach you something here.” He huffed, looking almost disappointed. Was he upset because Izuku didn’t seem interested in learning? Izuku had been on the other end of that many times before when he rambled about things he found fascinating to others. He was well acquainted with the disinterested nods and shifty eyes, trying to find a way to get out of their conversation with Izuku.

Yeah, Izuku could see Katsuki’s crestfallen expression was just masked by anger.

“I’m really sorry!” he frantically tried to placate, “I didn’t mean to get distracted! I promise I’ll listen now.”

Katsuki sighed at that but looked less dejected. Izuku held back his own sigh of relief.

His skateboarding lesson continued, and he kept his promise- listening intently. Katsuki was actually a good teacher if he ignored the little insults Katsuki barked out here and there when he screwed something up. He offered good instructions and insight, which was worded in a way that made it easy to understand. He taught him how to push off and steer. When he let go of Izuku to let him try for himself, Katsuki was always here to steady him before he toppled over.

It was really fun spending time with Katsuki like this. Of course, it may have been because Katsuki had to be unusually handsy, but Izuku was totally fine admitting that to himself.

When he had finally gotten the hang of it, he was all smiles; looking over at Katsuki who had a gentle smile of his own directed right back at Izuku, paired with a nod of approval. A surge of pride had swelled up in his chest then, along with another sweeter, softer feeling that he was quickly becoming used to.

As the sun started slowly down the horizon, and Izuku was tired out from being tensed up and doing his best not to fall, they settled into the grass beside the skatepark.

“I think I’m better than you now, Kacchan.” Izuku jokingly bragged, throwing a confident smile at his friend.

Katsuki rolled his eyes, in what Izuku liked to think was a fond fashion, and deadpanned.

“You suck.”

“You suck more.”

“Wow, real good comeback, Deku.” He snorted, a smile curling at his lips that had Izuku’s heart stuttering in his chest.

“Thank you.” He grinned, flopping down on his back.

Izuku welcomed the quiet that followed, simply listening to the sound of wheels against concrete and shouts of joy and disappointment in the distance. He liked this. The fact that he could just exist with Katsuki and not have to be present all the time. Had he ever felt like that with Shindo?

The answer, he found, came instantly- no. Shindo was constantly pushing for something out of Izuku. Just taking and taking… always taking. While Izuku kept giving whatever he had.

Maybe it wasn’t healthy to compare… but Izuku couldn’t help it. Katsuki didn’t want anything out of Izuku, and it felt good.

“Hey.” Katsuki called, and Izuku’s eyes snapped to him, “what’s going on in that nerd brain of yours? You’re smiling all weird.”

Izuku’s smile grew at that, and before he could filter his words, his mouth was moving, “I like you.”

Izuku’s heart stopped and he jolted upright, anxiety rushing through his veins at an alarming speed.

“HUH?!” Katsuki’s eyes were wide with confusion and his face was quickly flushing.

“Oh- uh, no!” Izuku waved his hands, laughing nervously, “n-not like that! It’s just- we’re friends! And I like all my friends! You and Ochako and Iida and Todoroki- all of whom you’ve never met- but they’re all my friends and I like all of them like I like you!”

Wow… nice save, Izuku.

Izuku tried to ignore the heat radiating off his face, hoping that maybe it would just go away. Maybe the ground would take pity on him and swallow him whole.

Katsuki stared at him, his defensive posture slowly unwinding, “oh.”

“Y-yeah.” Another awkward chuckle. Fuck- someone put him out of his misery. He looked away, unable to meet Katsuki’s eyes anymore, and dug his fingers into the grass, picking blades of it just to have something to do.

He almost jumped out of his skin when a shoe-clad foot bumped against his own and stayed pressed there. Izuku’s heart began working in overdrive again as if it was a life or death situation.

Katsuki had initiated it. Katsuki had purposefully touched their feet together. What the hell? Was Izuku dying? He felt like maybe he was dying.

It probably didn’t mean much, though, Izuku thought to himself, not wanting to get his hopes up. It was most likely just Katsuki doing his best to show his appreciation for their friendship. He wasn’t one for kind words after all, so maybe he thought this would get his message across better.

Well, message received loud and clear, Kacchan. Platonic feelings only- got it.

Izuku did his best to smile normally, “We should probably get going, I’m hungry.”

Katsuki avoided his eyes, but nodded nonetheless and pushed himself to his feet. Izuku followed him back to the car, and they were off again.

Chapter Text

Katsuki wasn’t sure what the hell was wrong with him.

One second, everything was fine and normal and not weird. Then BOOM everything got flipped on its head and scattered around.

He had only taken Izuku to skate, and then he’d mentioned something about liking Katsuki, and Katsuki felt like he’d had a fucking heart attack. Turns out, Izuku hadn’t meant it as he’d assumed, and even though the threat of his heart giving out was gone, he’d had the gall to feel let down?

Why did he feel like that? He didn’t want Izuku to have a crush on him, that’d be ridiculous. He didn’t like Izuku anyway. Sure, they were friends now (he begrudgingly had to admit), but that was enough. It wasn’t like his mind started to race with totally unwanted thoughts of kissing Izuku’s stupid motor mouth that he seemed to have no control over at times. Nope. No thoughts like that. Or whether or not Izuku was a cuddler, or if he’d cuddle with Katsuki. Ew. That would be gross.

His dumbass sunshine smile didn’t do anything to him either, for the record.

Katsuki dropped his head into his hands, suppressing an aggravated groan.

“You alright, Kacchan?” The object of his thoughts piped up.

“I have a headache.” He grumbled out quickly, the lie easily rolling off his tongue.

“Ah, well, I think I’ve got some ibuprofen in my bag if you want to check?”

Fucking thoughtful ass bitch.

“‘M fine.” He softly knocked his lowered head against the window, “just need some quiet for a bit.”

“Alright, no problem. If that doesn’t help, maybe a nap?”

“Hmm.” Katsuki hummed and shut his eyes, trying to think of anything but his confusing feelings for the guy sitting right next to him.

It might be time for him to admit that they weren’t confusing. It was pretty clear that he liked Izuku. Why else would he have bumped their feet together after Izuku’s not-confession? Or why he’d been initiating contact with the other? If he was going to be completely honest with himself, he hadn’t needed to hold Izuku’s hands so much while he’d been teaching him how to skateboard.

It was a weird feeling- to want to hold onto someone. He still wasn’t sure how exactly to do it as easily as Izuku seemed to. Izuku seemed to be a naturally tactile person, something Katsuki hadn’t been jealous of until now.

He sighed, knowing the quiet that he had requested only allowed his thoughts to wander back to Izuku.

“I changed my mind,” He said, shifting in his seat so his back was against the door, and his knees were bent, facing the other boy, “ramble about some of your nerd shit.”

“Huh? Are you sure? You said your head-”

“I know what I said.” He interrupted, “just- talk… please.”

Izuku gave him a curious look at that but began speaking anyway.

“I guess I could tell you where we’re going now,” he shrugged, “Las Vegas isn’t too far away, so that’s our next stop. Have you ever been?”

Katsuki shook his head and did his best not to show displeasure over the destination. From everything he’d heard about the place, it seemed to be the exact opposite of somewhere he’d like to go. There were tons of people, flashing lights, loud noises, and no one ever slept.

“I’m excited, they’ve got this huge ferris wheel they call the High Roller. It takes 30 minutes to go all the way around. Plus there’s a Mob Museum that focuses on organized crime in America, and of course, there are those famous fountains… The Fountains of Bellagio, I think?” He paused for a moment, looking like he was assessing the name, and then nodded, “Yeah, that sounds right. There’s a half-size replica of the Eiffel Tower and a botanical garden that I've seen some pictures of before. All the greenery is so colorful, and there are sculptures and statues of birds and butterflies, and I think I remember seeing foxes. Of course, there are the casinos too, but we can’t do that.” Izuku gave a crooked smile and Katsuki lifted an eyebrow.

“What? You don’t want to gamble, Deku? Lame.”

“Kacchan, you know we’re not old enough.” Izuku retorted, amusement lacing his tone.

“Can’t believe I’m friends with a loser.” Katsuki sighed, looking away like he was disappointed.

“If I’m a loser, you are too.” Izuku laughed, “I actually think you’re more of a loser than me.”

“Nah, you’re a nerd. That automatically makes you lose cool points.”

“Cool points?!” Izuku practically shouts, “The fact that you called them cool points just proves my point.”

“Fuck you.” Katsuki barks out, hand going to cover his grin.

“Hah! I win!” Izuku punches a fist into the air, “I can’t say I blame you for losing, Kacchan. I mean, who could beat this?” With that, Izuku gestures to himself all over.

“You are such a fucking idiot.” Katsuki deadpans, making Izuku giggle.

“At least I’m not a loser.”

“I’ve changed my mind again, shut the fuck up.”

“It’s too late to turn back, Kacchan! I’ve still gotta tell you about the rest of the stuff in Las Vegas.”

“What other shit could you possibly tell me about? And also- how the fuck do you know all this shit off the top of your head.”

“That’s not important,” Izuku waves him off, “Lemme tell you about all the other stuff.”

“Fuckin’ fine, nerd.”

The rest of the car ride was filled with talking. Of course, Katsuki had originally intended to just let Izuku go off about whatever while he’d just listen, but he ended up getting roped into the conversation.

They talked until the sun went down and they parked to lay down and get some rest. Katsuki fell asleep to Izuku’s gentle voice.

—

The next morning, Katsuki was woken up by a few pokes to the side. He sluggishly sat up, feeling his back crack a few times, before reaching for where he typically put his hearing aids in their case. He stopped when he picked them up, eyebrows furrowing. He didn’t remember taking them off last night. He distinctly remembered being able to hear Izuku as he drifted off. He sent a questioning glance over to Izuku as he put his aids in.

“Morning, Kacchan.” He smiled, settling into the driver’s seat, “I noticed you fell asleep with those in, so I took them out. I hope that’s alright.”

Katsuki blinked a few times, “You… took them out?”

“Uh, yeah…” Izuku started to look unsure, “Sorry if I did something wrong. I just know you never wear them to sleep, and when I saw you with them still in… Well, I looked it up on the internet first, and everyone said it’s bad to go to bed with them still in unless it’s an implant, but yours aren’t, so I just figured I could take them out for you. And I know nothing bad would happen if you only did it occasionally, but I read that you could get bad feedback if they rub against something and-” Izuku continued rambling as Katsuki zoned out.

To say Katsuki was stunned would be a bit of an understatement. Not even his own mom had done that for him before. She’d just remind him in the morning that if he had gotten woken up by an ear-splitting screech it was his own fault.

“-earwax build up and I figured you didn’t want that to happen either so-”

“Thanks.” Katsuki cut in, unable to keep a smile off his face, “all that shit you looked up is right.”

“Oh, uh… you’re welcome.” Izuku stuttered out, and they both fell quiet as the car started up.

As they drove, it was quiet for a while. Izuku had made some comments, but Katsuki wasn’t feeling up to talking.

Why was he all bent out of shape over Izuku taking his hearing aids out? It shouldn’t be a big deal, but for some reason it just was. Izuku had noticed Katsuki always took them out, and then he saw he hadn’t last night. He’d taken the time to research and see if they should be left in, and when he found out it wasn’t really the best idea, he took them out for Katsuki. He hadn’t even disturbed or woken him up.

As the desert stretched ahead of them, music filled the silence between them. It had been a few hours, and Katsuki could see Las Vegas in the distance. A tall landmark among the flat desert.

“What shit did you decide we were doing here?” Katsuki finally piped up for the first time in a while.

“I’m not sure, I know I want to go to the Mob Museum, but other than that… what do you think we should do?”

Katsuki frowned, crossing his arms, “This is your trip. Don’t ask my opinion.”
He found it ridiculous that Izuku acted like Katsuki hadn’t just sabotaged his summer plans.

“It’s our trip now,” Izuku emphasized, “Oregon is our next official stop after this, and besides… I want your input.”

Katsuki felt something deflate in his chest at the reminder. After Las Vegas, their destination in Oregon was only 12 hours away. A two days trip at most. He did his best to shrug off the feeling and consider Izuku’s question.

“The gardens sounded nice I guess…” He said, absentmindedly tugging a stray thread at his sleeve.

“They did, didn’t they?” Izuku agreed, that bright smile returning, “alright, we’ll go there too. We could just see how we feel about the other stuff when we get there.”

It was a little past noon when they arrived, Izuku hopped out of the car with his usual enthusiasm, and Katsuki followed slower behind him.

“We’re gonna do the Mob museum first since it’s closer, and then the garden. After that, we’ll just wing it, sound good?”

Katsuki nodded, doing his best not to freeze up when Izuku grabbed his hand. He pulled Katsuki along, mumbling about the best route to get to the museum, how long it would take, and where they could get food after. Katsuki could only partially listen, though, too focused on the whole hand-holding thing. They’d grabbed each other’s hands before, especially during the skate lesson, but this had no obvious purpose like the lesson did. Izuku was just holding his hand like it was the most normal thing to do.

Fuck, what does he do now? His hand was awkwardly limp in Izuku’s grip. Does he hold back? Should he pull away? His mind was practically yelling at him to snatch his hand away, that it was too gentle, too good to be true and he had to make it stop now. But he just… couldn’t. Something in his chest had him intertwining their fingers, despite how it made him feel like he might have a fucking panic attack.

Izuku made no move to signal that he had felt Katsuki finally give in to the hold, but Katsuki was glad he didn’t. The acknowledgment would be too much.

“Ah! We’re here!” Izuku’s cheer was accompanied by an excited tug, pulling him along into the building, “Okay, so, I read that you actually start on the third floor here.”

“That…” Katsuki shook his head, “what the hell? Why?”

“So it’s in chronological order! The main floor is for modern organized crime, but as you go up, stuff gets older.”

“That’s kinda dumb.” Katsuki criticized as they stepped in.

“Hey! Don’t insult the museum before we’ve even seen anything.” Izuku gave a mock glare and Kastuki held his free hand up in surrender.

“Alright, alright. But if it sucks, you’ve gotta eat your words.”

“Deal! But I won’t have to because this place is gonna be awesome.”

Katsuki hated to admit it, but after just the first few minutes in the museum, he knew Izuku was right. The place was actually pretty cool. He wasn’t typically a huge fan of museums, but the place had a lot of interactive exhibits, which had always been his favorite. Izuku’s enthusiasm was also way too contagious, and he found himself beginning to openly enjoy the place.

“Oh shit, the St. Valentine's Day Massacre?” Katsuki murmured as he read the plaque in front of a stone wall. It was old and cracked, marked with dirt and blood.

“It’s a part of the real wall.” Izuku echoed a part of the plaque that Katsuki was just skimming over, “that’s so cool! Did you know that one of the victims was alive when the police arrived? They took him to the hospital and when they asked what happened he told them ‘no one shot me’. That’s kinda crazy, yeah? Saying that after getting lined up and shot 14 times with six other guys. He died a few hours later, though…”

“Can't imagine what being part of something like that would be like, so maybe it’s not so wild that he kept that info to himself.” Katsuki shrugged and he heard Izuku hum in contemplation beside him.

“Yeah, I guess that makes sense.” He idly commented before pulling Katsuki to something else.

Izuku was quite knowledgeable about the mafia and Katsuki found he was learning more from the boy beside him than from the plaques. He would’ve been weirded out if it was someone other than Izuku correcting a few facts listed, but Izuku had been proving that he was oddly smart since they’d first met.

Katsuki was also having a nice time having his hand held while walking around the museum. Something shocking even to himself. He supposed he was just getting used to Izuku’s touch. Plus, whenever they dropped their hands to do something, Izuku would always take his hand again when they were done. Katsuki had to fight an elated smile whenever it happened.

He couldn’t help but focus on how Izuku’s scars felt against his skin. They were only a little rougher than the rest of his hand, but the skin was slightly raised. He had to keep himself from running his fingers along them.

Yeah… nice.

Until someone shot them a disgusted look.

Fear shot through his veins and he snatched his hand away, shoving them in his pockets. The man's eyes were still on them, narrowed coldly.
And then they landed specifically on Katsuki.

He took a half-step back, fists clutching the fabric of his pockets. Breathing stuttering painfully.

“…Kacchan?” Izuku’s worried voice barely cut through the ringing in his ears.

The man took a step forward.

The floorboard creaked under his heavy, angered steps

“Get back here you twisted disgrace of a grandson!” His grandfather roared.

Katsuki frantically shoved through the front door, hoping, praying that his boyfriend’s mom hadn’t driven off yet.

He had invited the boy over to introduce to his grandparents, just to piss them off a little, but this… this wasn’t what he was expecting.

It had been fine. Not great… but fine. They seemed upset, which was a part of the plan, but as soon as the boy’s mother had picked him up, they’d turned on Katsuki.

All his hope was shattered when he saw the driveway empty.

The man was getting closer, mouth open to say something.

No. No. No.

This couldn’t be happening again.

Please. No.

Katsuki spun around, darting for the exit. They were back on the first floor now, so luckily he didn’t have to go far.

He shoved through people, desperate to escape, desperate for a different ending this time.

Katsuki tripped over his feet, landing hard on the gravel driveway. Rocks dug into his skin forcing tears to his eyes.

“You disgusting child!” His grandfather was too close now. Katsuki scrambled against the punishing ground, knees bloody and elbows stinging. His feet tried to push him up and away, but a hand grabbed the back of his shirt.

“No!” Katsuki shouted, tears falling now, “let me go!”

“You need to learn a lesson!” Another harsh tug had him gagging as his collar cut into his windpipe.

He coughed and struggled, yelling in hopes that a neighbor would hear him, tears and snot running down his face.

In the end, the door shut behind him, locking him in with his grandparents.

“Kacchan?”

”Oh man up you crybaby.” His mother scoffed, and there was a harsh slap across his face, “you don’t even look that banged up. He barely even did anything. Quit fucking crying, brat.”

Katsuki felt something inside him crumble, his ribs crying out in protest every time he took a breath, and his left eye swollen shut.

And then… everything went blissfully numb. He felt nothing. No pain. No thoughts.

He sat, watching his mother roll her eyes at him and wave him off to his room.

On autopilot, he walked down the hall to his room, shutting the door and collapsing to the floor. The tears on his face dried up while he lay there.

What was happening to him? Why was he feeling nothing?

“-chan? C’mon, I need you to listen to me.”

Who was talking to him? And why?

His vision focused on the teardrops falling to his shaking hands.

Damnit, his mom was right.

He was a fucking crybaby; an overreacter. Just one big fucking mistake.

“Kacchan.”

Oh, it was Izuku. Izuku was the only one who called him that, but now he’s seen Katsuki crying and he’s going to realize how pathetic Katsuki is. He’ll hate him. He’ll want to hurt him.

So, he waited. Waited for the harsh, biting words he always got when he cried. He waited for the jarring correction by a violent hand.

A gentle hand carded through his hair, accompanied by the equally gentle words, “I’m here, Kacchan.”

The kindness was the opposite of what he expected and everything he didn’t deserve. It gave him whiplash, forcing a sob from his throat. His lungs constricted painfully, trying to expel air that wasn’t there. His mouth gaped open, but his lungs didn’t expand to suck in the oxygen that he suddenly realized he desperately needed.

“Breathe, Kacchan. It’s gonna be alright. Breathe.”

Another hand was on his chest now, fingers prodding at his ribs. The hand in his hair was gone, now against his back and stroking up and down against his spine slowly.

He sucked in a sharp breath that wasn’t nearly enough. Another sob made him involuntarily exhale what little air he managed to get.

“You’re doing good, Kacchan, Do that again.”

God, he was trying so hard. Another sharp breath, another forced exhale.

“There you go. Try to inhale for a little longer, now.”

He didn’t think he could, but he tried anyway. It took him a few more painful moments before he took a full breath.

“Good. Now tell me five things you can see.”

What? What he could see? Katsuki blinked, trying to focus his eyes again, which had been staring blankly at the ground that whole time. His vision was blurry and he blinked hard, squeezing more tears from his eyes. Fuck, what had Izuku asked him again? Oh, right-

“Th- the gro-ground” He managed to stutter out in between the hitches in his breath.

“Yeah? What else?”

“S-shoes.” He continued, seeing his own worn-out shoes on his feet. His eyes continued roaming upwards.

“Uh- you.” Izuku's serious face relaxed a little with a quiet smile. He began to feel the fog in his brain clear a little.

“Right, keep going.”

“Palm trees.”

“That probably counts as more than five, but I’ll allow it.” His light, joking tone made him feel more grounded, “One more.”

“That trash can.”

“Great. Now take another deep breath.”

Katsuki obeyed, relieved to find that he could fill his lungs again without feeling like he was going to suffocate.

It was quiet between them. He took in more of his surroundings, finding that he had gone to the side of the building, hiding in the shrubbery that decorated the outside.

He looked back at Izuku, who had shifted to sit beside him.

“Sorry.” He whispered, voice sounding horribly broken, even to himself.

“It’s alright, don’t apologize.” Izuku replied, his hand was rubbing circles into his back, “let’s go back to the car, yeah?”

Katsuki nodded, allowing Izuku to help him to his feet, finding that all his energy was gone. When they reached the sidewalk, though, he pulled away. He could see the worried expression on Izuku’s face, but he didn’t try to reach out to him again. He trailed along just behind Izuku, who kept looking over his shoulder to check on him. It probably would’ve pissed him off if he wasn’t so exhausted, but he just felt… numb.

He let his mind empty and trusted Izuku to get them back to the car.

Chapter Text

Izuku led Katsuki to the car, mind racing at a million miles an hour. What had set Katsuki off? He hadn’t been paying attention, and then he had pulled his hand away harshly and ran off without another word.

If Izuku was going to be truthful with himself, he was freaked out. It had been a bad panic attack. It had taken him way too long to get Katsuki out of his head and breathing properly. Asking questions afterward had helped, but he was still space-y, feet dragging behind Izuku as he led him back to the car.

Izuku guided him into the passenger seat before getting in himself, going through a mental list of what could help.

Ice had always helped him, but they didn’t have ice… Izuku grasped his green metal water bottle and felt that it was cool to the touch. He pushed it into Katsuki’s hands, watching tensely as Katsuki’s vacant gaze locked onto the bottle. His fingers flexed against the metal, and he blinked a few times, a little light coming back to his face.

Okay, good.

“Kacchan?” Izuku tried, wanting to hug him with relief when Katsuki actually reacted, head turning to him.

“Try to drink some of that, alright?” Izuku pointed to the bottle, and Katsuki blinked down at it.

It was slow going, but he eventually unscrewed the lid and took a sip. Something flickered across his expression before he quickly drank more, probably just realizing how much he needed it.

Izuku turned around, rummaging through some stuff in the backseat, before snagging a packet of tissues.

“Can you look at me?” Izuku asked, seeing as Katsuki was done with the water.

He turned so he was facing Izuku in his seat. Izuku’s hands raised slowly, a tissue in his hand. He hovered over Katsuki’s cheek, eyes questioning, and, when Katsuki didn’t protest, pressed it gently to his face. He began wiping away the tears that had yet to dry.

However, after a few moments, Katsuki’s blank expression crumbled, and more tears began spilling from his eyes. Izuku’s eyes widened in shock.

“I’m- I’m so sorry!” He exclaimed, pulling away quickly, and Katsuki shook his head.

“No, no. You didn’t- it’s not-“ He stuttered, looking more and more upset by the second. He groaned, reaching up to try and scrub the tears away.

Izuku understood at least a little of what he was trying to get at, and nudged his hands out of the way, bringing a fresh tissue to his face.

“I don’t get you.” Katsuki blurted out as Izuku continued his ministrations, “I don’t- you shouldn't be like this with me.”

“What do you mean?” Izuku questioned, lowering his hand again.

“Why are you so nice to me?!” His tone raised, frustration seemingly bubbling up, “I’m an asshole! I freaked out back there because I thought something bad was going to happen and I fucking ran! I ran away again like the coward that I am and I left you there! Something bad could’ve happened to you and I ditched you! I- I left-!” He turned his head away, hands rubbing at his face. His voice was barely a whisper when he spoke again. “I left her too.”

Izuku frowned a bit before something clicked in his head. Mahoro… he was talking about his sister.

Izuku felt as if someone had reached into his chest and was trying to pull his heart out, “Kacchan, you didn’t-“

“No!” Katsuki yelled, “don’t try to make me feel better about this! I’m a selfish prick! I left her all by herself there! With my grandfather who-“ his voice broke, hand reaching up to scrub at his left eye.

It was tense and silent in the car as Izuku waited for Katsuki to continue. Trying to interrupt his self-destructive rant hadn’t worked earlier, so he’d try and wait it out before speaking again.

He heard a deep shaky breath before Katsuki spoke again, “my mom was right. I’m fucking weak.”

And that was it. Izuku waited for a long time to see if Katsuki had anything else to say. He’d gone back to wiping the tears from Katsuki’s face when he spoke up.

“I think… you’re the strongest person I’ve ever met.”

Katsuki tensed up at the words and red eyes met green.

“And taking care of yourself isn’t selfish. I’ve gotten a good idea of the kind of person you are, Kastuki, and I think you leaving was for the best. I also don’t think you’d leave Mahoro in a house with people that would hurt her, right?” He inquired gently.

At that Katsuki slowly nodded, “they- they only hurt me. My grandparents love her, they just hate me.”

Izuku had to fight the urge to start crying right then and there. How many people had hurt Katsuki?

“You’re a good guy, Kacchan. You’re smart and brave, and even kind under that rough exterior. You aren’t a coward and you’re not weak. You say you left me too, but here I am. And I’m alright, aren’t I?”

Katsuki’s eyes darted across his figure before nodding again.

“So right now, everything is okay. Mahoro is with grandparents who love her… I’m here with you- you’re here with me.”

Quiet again.

Izuku stayed still under Katsuki’s gaze. It felt as if he was searching for a lie, waiting for Izuku to take it all back. Izuku wished there was an easy way to get Katsuki to see that everything he’d been told by his parents, grandparents, and anyone else that had hurt him was a lie. He knew there wasn’t, but seeing how truly broken Katsuki was hurt him beyond what he thought was possible. He’d hurt before plenty of times too, whether it was physical or emotional, but this was so much worse… watching someone he cared about struggle like that.

Then Katsuki did the last thing he expected.

His arms reached out, wrapping around Izuku’s torso with care and pulling him in.

Katsuki was hugging him.

He wrapped his arms around the boy’s shoulders as best he could. It was a bit awkward with the console in between them, but he made it work. Katsuki’s hands fisted in the back of his shirt, ever so slightly holding tighter.

“Thank you. You’re too good to me.”

Izuku sighed, a bittersweet smile forming, “I think you deserve some good, Kacchan.”

They stayed like that for a long while, Izuku decidedly not letting go until Katsuki did. So he held on firmly, listening to Katsuki’s ragged breathing even out and feeling him fully relax against Izuku. His arms slid from Izuku’s back, falling freely to rest on the center console.

“Kacchan?” He whispered, seeing that even if Katsuki had let go, he was still leaning heavily into Izuku.

When he got no response, he leaned his head back to get a look at Katsuki’s face. His heart squeezed with affection when he saw that the other had fallen asleep against him. Izuku knew from experience that panic attacks were exhausting, but he hadn’t expected Katsuki to fall asleep in his arms like that.

He let himself hold Katsuki for a little longer, Katsuki’s weight feeling good against him, before shifting him back over to his seat and leaning it all the way back. He carefully removed Katsuki’s hearing aids, setting them to the side. He then settled down in his own seat, laying on his side to watch the steady rise and fall of Katsuki’s chest.

He still had to figure out what set Katsuki off, but at the moment, Izuku felt tired too. Besides, he should probably wait to ask until Katsuki was less worked up about it.

His eyes began to droop, and soon he was fast asleep.

—-

For once, Izuku wasn’t woken up by his alarm.

His eyes blinked open and found the sky was dark. They must’ve slept through the whole day. Izuku turned to look over at Katsuki who was doodling in his sketchbook.

He watched Katsuki work for a while, limbs still heavy and brain clouded with sleep. He liked how concentrated the other got while drawing. While there was a concentrated look on his face, it wasn’t as harsh as a scowl.

Katsuki paused his sketching and looked over. Their eyes met and Katsuki startled a bit, probably having thought Izuku would still be asleep. Izuku gave an amused smile and Katsuki’s expression turned unimpressed.

Izuku stretched out his limbs and yawned, before focusing back on Katsuki who was staring down at his notebook again. He finally sighed and flipped it shut, snagging his hearing aids and putting them in.

“Our sleep schedule is fucked now.” Was the first thing he said, making Izuku snort.

“That’s what you’re worried about? We’re in Vegas! No one ever sleeps here.” Izuku brought his seat back up, eyeing Katsuki’s closed notebook, “what were you drawing?”

And it might’ve been the poor lighting, but Izuku swore Katsuki’s face suddenly tinged pink.

“Fucking- nothing.” He grumbled, turning and shoving the notebook into his bag in the back.

Izuku smiled at his weird behavior and hummed, deciding not to push it. Though there was something else he probably needed to push for soon…

“I do want to talk about what happened earlier at some point if that’s alright?” He said softly, worriedly scratching at the side of his arm, “cause… I’m still not really sure what happened.”

He kept his gaze on Katsuki, who kept his eyes firmly fixed forward, out the windshield. He waited for some kind of resistance, or argument, or even for any kind of panic that he had earlier. Nothing came, though, and Katsuki simply nodded.

“Later.” He replied gruffly and Izuku was quick to agree, “… also, uh… sorry for- y’know. Freaking out.”

“You have nothing to apologize for.” Izuku gave a reassuring smile and shrugged, “sometimes shit just happens and our reactions are out of our control.”

Katsuki hummed and looked at his phone, “well, it’s really late, but since we’ve been asleep most of the day, do you wanna go do something now?”

They agreed to go to the botanical garden next. Izuku figured it would be a nice, relaxing thing to do first. Katsuki had just had a panic attack a few hours prior after all.

They made their way to the gardens, albeit slower than usual. Katsuki’s steps were a little sluggish, and Izuku matched pace with him, not wanting to push. He would’ve liked to insist they stay in the car and get some more rest, but he felt that Katsuki wasn’t the kind of person who would appreciate being told what he should or shouldn’t do.

Izuku tried to keep quiet, hoping a little silent time for Katsuki’s head would help, but Katsuki hadn’t seemed to appreciate it.

“Stop acting fucking weird, Deku. What happened to not being able to shut up?” He had suddenly snapped about halfway to the gardens, and Izuku had quickly begun talking about the latest All Might movie that had come out.

Katsuki looked a little more himself when they arrived. Apparently talking about All Might and arguing about what movies were best had cheered him up. Izuku was relieved to see Katsuki’s smirk make its return when he’d made a terrible joke.

“Deku, look,” Katsuki pointed into a huge bed of greenery, “you see that little bush in the middle?”

Izuku peered into the forage, spotting the little ragged green shrub there, almost unnoticeable. It seemed to have been accidentally skipped over on the latest trimming day.

“It looks like your hair,” Katsuki commented and Izuku sighed dramatically

“Haha, Kacchan, very funny and very original of you,” he ruffled his own messy hair, “I’m a bush, broccoli, grass, pom pom- go ahead, I’ve heard them all.”

“Jeez, struck a nerve there, did I?” Katsuki snorted at Izuku’s expense, who really wasn’t all that upset.

The gardens were nice, especially late at night since no one was there. The place was open 24/7, but in Vegas, there were more exciting things to do at night than seeing some plants.

“I think it’s kinda dumb that they’d grow flowers into the shape of a bigger flower,” Katsuki announced after they both were inspecting the giant amalgamation of a flower.

“I think it’s fun.” Izuku retorted, just for the sake of being difficult.

“Of course you think that.”

“What does that mean?!”

Katsuki stared at him for a moment, letting a mischievous smile form, “nothing.”

“Tell me!”

“Nah.”

Katsuki turned away and began walking to another part of the gardens. Izuku smiled, trailing along behind him, glad to see he was feeling like himself again.

They wandered around for hours, taking their time enjoying the scenery. It was a lovely place after all, and a nice reset after earlier. Katsuki seemed to forget about it too, making quips and commentary as usual.

After the gardens, they made their way to Bellagio Fountain. Again, it was less busy than it would’ve been during the day, so Katsuki and Izuku sat down in front of them, marveling at how the geysers of water popped up, forming intriguing patterns. Lights right beneath the spouts lit up each spout of water, making it easy to see in the night.

Izuku’s eyes cut to Katsuki who was sitting cross-legged next to him, elbows on his knees and chin in his palms. His stomach fluttered seeing how the soft lights illuminated the planes of his face. It softened out the edges of his face, matching well with his lax expression.

He truly was beautiful.

“Deku?” Katsuki murmured softly, keeping his eyes on the fountain.

“Yeah?”

“There was a guy… at the museum. He saw us holding hands and he looked- looked disgusted.”

Izuku blinked, confused for a moment before it clicked. He was telling him what happened.

“And then he started coming towards us and I couldn’t help but remember what happened last time… when I came out to my grandparents. My grandfather beat me up.” Katsuki sighed, running a hand down his face as if that situation was just annoying rather than traumatic, “So I panicked and ran.”

He was quiet for a moment, though Izuku didn’t speak up yet, just waiting.

“The memories just kept flashing in my head and then I couldn’t breathe. I remembered the kind of people I left my sister with… the kind of person I had just left you with.”

Izuku watched him, feeling something painful in his chest as he took in Katsuki’s forlorn expression.

“Speaking of that guy,” Katsuki finally met his eyes, “he didn’t say or do anything to you did he?”

At that Izuku shook his head, “no. I didn’t even know a guy was coming up to us honestly. I was more focused on you.”

Katsuki nodded, shoulders sagging a little. They were quiet again for a while, idly watching the fountain.

“I’m sorry that shit happened to you,” Izuku murmured, knowing there really wasn’t anything to say that would make him feel better.

Katsuki shrugged, a half-hearted smile on his face, “it’s whatever, I guess. It happened… and now it’s not happening anymore. I’ve felt better recently than I have in years, and even though earlier was fucking awful, I know things are gonna start looking up eventually.”

Izuku couldn’t help but smile at that, “when’d you become the optimistic one?”

“When I met you,” Katsuki answered bluntly, not averting his gaze.

The honesty had Izuku’s breathing stuttering for a moment. He hadn’t ever looked at Izuku like that before. There was something painfully affectionate in his gaze and Izuku tried to soak it up while he could, wanting to feel like Katsuki wanted him the same way he did.

“It sucks that I flipped at the museum, though.” Katsuki started again, quietly, everting his eyes, “I actually like holding your hand.”

Izuku felt a rush of heat in his face.

“Y-you do?” He stuttered out before he could stop his motor mouth.

At that, Katsuki clammed up, eyes widening a fraction as if he hadn’t meant to say that. If Izuku knew him well enough, he probably hadn’t.

“Well- uh…” Katsuki turned his head away, so Izuku could only see the back of his head, shoulders hunched up to his ears.

Again, seeing Katsuki’s nerves soothed Izuku’s own just enough to say, “I like holding yours.”

Even though Izuku’s face was on fire, he had to suppress a giggle as Katsuki let out a short cough.

“…cool.”

It was awkwardly silent after that, but Izuku couldn’t help his excited fidgeting. Admitting something like that wasn’t a sure sign Katsuki felt the same, but Izuku thought it was at least a step in the same direction.

“Y’know what… fuck this,” Suddenly, Katsuki turned, seemingly a different person from just two seconds ago. He still looked uncomfortable, sure, but now there was a look of steely determination in his eyes.

“Uh, Kacchan-?”

“I don’t just like holding your hand.” He blurted out, and Izuku tilted his head questioningly.

“Oh, uh… okay?” Izuku wasn’t really sure what to do with that.

“I-“ Katsuki hesitated before plowing onward, “I like you…. Like in general.”

He… What?!

“I wasn’t going to tell you but I’m fucking tired and I don’t have a filter anymore apparently so- I like you and your dumbass face. And- I even like your rambling for some reason. You know I usually hate it when people talk all the time? But for some reason, my brain can’t get with the fucking memo when it comes to you and I want to hear you talk endlessly. I like your freckles and your hair cause even though you can’t style it to save your life, somehow it looks good on you. You’re kind and witty and fuckin’ full of life. Every time I see you smile it makes me feel weird but like- a good weird.”

“People that contradict me usually piss me off and yet you’re the total opposite of me and I like it. How is that even fucking possible? You’re annoying but endearing? It’s like I’m wired to like everything you do and I’ve never felt like that before so I’m really fucking lost right now cause all I wanna do is kiss your stupid face and just be able to hold you. How dumb is that? I can barely stand it when other people get near me, but close with you isn’t nearly enough.”

Izuku blinked rapidly, trying to keep up with Katsuki’s rambled confession. As he spoke, Izuku’s heart swelled until he feared it might pop. He had wanted to reach out and stop Kastuki at many points, to assure him that things were mutual. But the other selfish part of him waited. He waited to see what Katsuki had to say… to see just exactly what Katsuki thought of him, and he wasn’t disappointed.

So, when it seemed Katsuki had come to the end of his confession, he reached out and took his hand gingerly. Katsuki practically jumped, having not been looking over at Izuku to see what he was going to do.

Katsuki stared at him wide-eyed, before quickly looking around them. Izuku had already checked, and there was no one around.

“You’re stubborn and kind of an asshole, but you’re also incredibly sweet and I know you care about me… Just like I care about you,” Izuku let himself push a little further, his free hand slowly coming up to Katsuki’s face.

Katsuki eyed it warily, before just barely tilting his head in acceptance. Izuku smiled, pressing his palm to the side of his face and just cradling. He could feel the intense heat radiating off his face.

“I really like you too, Katsuki.”

Katsuki blinked. Once. Twice. And then-

“You- you’re not joking… right?” Katsuki questioned

“What? No! Why would I be joking right now?” He let his hand drop from his face.

“I don’t know! I just wanted to make sure!” Katsuki argued.

“I wouldn’t joke about this!” Izuku defended himself.

“I know I’m just nervous!”

They both stopped, realizing they’d started yelling for some stupid reason. Izuku’s heart was pounding and he felt like he might just shake out of his skin.

“Uh… okay, great,” Katsuki began, and Izuku could see just how red his face was even in the low light, “… glad we’re on the same page…”

“…yeah.”

Damnit, it was really awkward. Why was it awkward? They both liked each other, they’d both said it out loud… so what the fuck was going on? They were at some weird standstill, just watching each other and not moving an inch.

And then, Katsuki, being the angel that he was, snorted and started to laugh, breaking the awful silent moment. Not just a quiet one either, no. It was a full-belly, doubled-over laugh. Izuku wasn’t really sure what he was laughing about, but he was glad to hear it.

“Fucking hell!” He wheezed out, “I’ve never seen you so uncomfortable!”

Izuku felt a relieved smile stretch across his face and he giggled along, “I’m just not sure what to do!”

Katsuki laughed harder at that, leaning in towards him and letting his head bump into Izuku’s shoulder.

“Are you seriously laughing at me right now?” Izuku elbowed him in mock offense.

“You’re very fun to laugh at, sorry.” Katsuki chuckled, catching his breath.

Izuku smiled down at him and let Katsuki’s happiness fill him up. Before he realized what he was doing, he’d wrapped his arms around Katsuki’s neck and pulled him in for a hug. Katsuki let out a grunt of surprise but wrapped strong arms around his back.

“You like me,” Izuku murmured, feeling Katsuki’s hair tickle the side of his face.

“Mhm.” Katsuki hummed, and Izuku squeezed him tight.

“You like me.” He repeated, “holy shit you like me.”

“I do.” Katsuki agreed, and Izuku was ecstatic to hear the smile in his voice.

“And I like you.” He continued.

“Yeah.”

He quickly looked around, seeing there was still no one around them, and pulled Katsuki impossibly closer. He turned his head, smushing his nose into Katsuki’s temple, and kissed his cheek. He felt Katsuki’s chest jump against his own, breathing stuttering.

“Sorry, I should’ve asked first,” Izuku winced a bit, “was that okay?”

“Uh- there’s no one around, right?” And Izuku nodded, “it was fine, I guess… and maybe I, uh- wouldn’t mind if you did it again.”

Izuku grinned and kissed him again. And then again, and as many times as he could all over Katsuki’s face. He avoided his mouth, not really sure if Katsuki was alright with that so soon. At the moment, however, Izuku was content to place little affectionate pecks all over Katsuki’s beet-red face.

“Jeez, Deku! When I said ‘again’ I didn’t mean as many times as you wanted!” Katsuki complained, but he was wearing a wide blissful smile that crinkled the corners of his eyes. Fuck, he had a pretty smile.

“It’s too late!” Izuku was now holding the sides of Katsuki’s head, and kissed him right in between his eyebrows, “you said it was fine and I’ve been holding back.”

“Fuckin’ hell, hang on,” Katsuki put his hand over Izuku’s mouth to stop him before leaning in. Despite Izuku’s previous attack, Katsuki looked hesitant as he paused just before his lips made contact with his cheek. There was another anxious look around them before Katsuki finally kissed him. And much like Izuku had done, another followed. Katsuki’s weren’t rushed like Izuku’s though. He took his time and trailed down to where his hand was still over Izuku’s mouth. It slowly slid away and cradled his jaw instead as Katsuki left an achingly sweet kiss on the corner of his mouth. Izuku felt like he was in a dream. Kissing Katsuki had been wonderful, of course, but being on the receiving end left him reeling.

“That’s- uh… that’s all I think I can do for now,” Katsuki admitted, looking sheepish.

Izuku smiled and hugged him again, “that’s perfectly fine. I’m going to be happy with whatever you give me.”

“Stop being so fucking cheesy,” Katsuki grumbled, doing a poor job of trying to wiggle out of Izuku’s hug.

“You should’ve known this would happen. Now I’m going to be disgustingly sappy.”

“Yuck.”

The smile on Katsuki’s face, though, told Izuku everything he needed to know.

Chapter Text

“What happens when we get there?”

Izuku’s eyes darted over to Katsuki for a second, taking in his nervous expression.

“Well… we show them the postcard and ask them if your family lives nearby,” Izuku replied, folding his sun visor down against the sun.

“‘M’kay.” Katsuki nodded, knee bouncing, “and what then? We just… go there?”

Izuku tapped his fingers on the steering wheel, giving Katsuki a hopefully reassuring smile, “Yeah. We’ll go to them and explain your situation.”

Katsuki nodded again, and Izuku did his best to stay calm for the other. The Katsuki at the beginning of their trip, and the one he was seeing now were very different. Katsuki trusted him enough now to show how he was actually feeling, instead of just the front of anger he put up. And what he was seeing now was that Katsuki was terribly anxious.

They were very close to their destination, and Izuku watched as Katsuki’s knee bouncing increased speed as they got closer.

Izuku gave Katsuki a reassuring smile when he pulled into the driveway of the postcard sender’s home.

“Okay, ready, Kacchan?” Izuku asked, cutting the engine.

“No, but let’s do it anyway,” Katsuki mumbled, shakily getting out of the car. They walked side by side to the front door, Izuku clutching the postcard.

When a short-ish man with black hair opened the door, Izuku spoke. He explained what was going on, excluding any personal details about Katsuki’s situation, and showed him the card.

To his relief, the man was kind and happily pointed just down the road to a cozy-looking home. They made their way over, Izuku rambling a bit to hopefully distract Katsuki, though he was sure it wasn’t working.

When they pulled into a driveway for the second time, Izuku reached over and squeezed Katsuki’s hand.

“It’s going to be alright. If this doesn’t work, we’ll figure something out, okay?” He spoke and Katsuki shook his head.

“This is it for me, Izuku, I’ve got no family in America except for these guys and the ones in Virginia.” He swallowed, and Izuku felt his heart clench as Katsuki’s hand shook in his own.

“I’m not just going to ditch you here, Katsuki.” Izuku protested and Katsuki’s head snapped to him, eyeing him warily.

“I don’t want you to have to go out of your way to… help me again.” He replied stiffly, and Izuku huffed.

“For the last time, helping you isn’t bothersome. I care about you, and I just want you to be happy.” Izuku argued back with a smile. He watched Katsuki sigh with a tiny smile curling on his lips.

“You’re one stubborn motherfucker.” He huffed fondly, and Izuku’s smile widened.

“Thank you, I’ve been told it’s one of my worst traits.”

Katsuki chuckled and squeezed Izuku’s hand back, “Okay, let fuckin’ do this I guess.”

Izuku stepped out of the car as Katsuki did, expecting to walk up to the front door and have to explain Katsuki’s situation all over again.

What he didn’t expect, was a blonde woman to burst from the house in a fury. Fiery red eyes fixated solely on Katsuki.

“You fucking brat!” She practically roared, storming to Katsuki who Izuku saw take a few frantic steps back.

“How fucking dare you leave without a word! Do you know how much your sister has been whining to your grandparents?! They’ve been complaining to me all fucking week and I am sick of it!”

Izuku wasn’t sure what to do, eyes flickering from the woman to Katsuki, to the house where a man and woman stood at the front door, looking worried.

Were those people his relatives? And if Katsuki’s grandparents were complaining to that blonde lady then that meant…

“You couldn’t even tell your own mother you were leaving?! How selfish can you be?!” Her hand lifted and Izuku reacted much too late, unable to do anything as Katsuki was smacked right across the face in front of him.

The sound was sickening, and Katsuki reached up, covering his head as she lifted her hand again.

Izuku, luckily, jolted out of his daze and rushed over, grabbing her wrist and pulling her away. He put himself in between mother and son, sure his expression was furious.

“Who the fuck are you?” She questioned with a dangerous glint in her eyes.

“I’m his friend,” Izuku ground out from behind his clenched teeth.

To Izuku’s growing fury, she laughed, “A friend? Seriously? Who would wanna be friends with someone like him?”

“I would.” Izuku countered quickly, eyes tracking the people who were now quickly approaching Katsuki’s mother.

“Mitsuki!” The woman, probably Katsuki’s aunt, hissed, “what the hell was that?!”

“The hell was what?” She snapped back, looking genuinely confused.

“You just hit your own kid!” His aunt yelled, and ‘Mitsuki’ began arguing back. His uncle pulled at her arm, practically dragging her away from Katsuki and Izuku.

While she was distracted, Izuku spun around, seeing Katsuki staring at the ground, whole body shaking.

“Kacchan?” Izuku went up to him, extending his hand hesitantly, wincing as Katsuki jerked away, head snapping up to stare wide-eyed at Izuku.

“Deku.” He breathed out, shoulders slightly drooping.

“I’m so sorry, Kacchan. I didn’t know she was going to do that.” He spared a glance back, seeing the adults were still arguing on the other side of the yard now.

“S’fine. I’m used to it.” He murmured, gaze vacant.

“Doesn’t matter. It’s still horrible.” Izuku turned him so he wouldn’t see his mom, trusting Katsuki’s relatives to keep Mitsuki away. Katsuki’s hand reached out and found Izuku’s, holding tight.

“What's going on?” Katsuki asked tentatively, trying to look behind him.

“Your aunt and uncle are dealing with her. They seem pissed, and rightfully so,” Izuku slowly reached up to Katsuki’s face with his free hand, running a soothing palm against the red mark she left on him, “shit… this is so fucked.” Izuku breathed out. He could feel the heat radiating from where her slap had hit, which further solidified the hate that burned deep in his gut for her.

“They can’t…” Katsuki was suddenly shaking his head, and turning back around, “I need to do this.”

“Kacchan, what?” Izuku caught up to him as he began walking across the lawn.

“I’m fucking sick of her pushing me around.” He spat out, anger replacing the fear in his eyes. Izuku worriedly trailed after him, watching as the small group turned and looked as they strode up.

“Hag.” Katsuki snapped, and Mitsuki glared at him.

“How long are you going to continue being disrespectful?”

“As long as I want considering you have no place to tell me how to act.” He stopped in front of them and Izuku eyed Mitsuki warily.

“I’m 18 now so you have no authority over me,” Katsuki continued, and Izuku could just make out how his voice shook, “You’re going to leave me the fuck alone now… and if you don’t I’m going to get a restraining order.”

Mitsuki rolled her eyes at this, sighing as if Katsuki was being stupid, “You can’t be seriou-“

“I’m serious.” Katsuki cut in, tone cold, “leave.”

She looked as though she was going to argue, but Katsuki’s uncle stepped in.

“You’re leaving. Now.” The man practically growled, grabbing her arm and dragging her off to what Izuku assumed was her own car.

“I am so sorry, Katsuki.” His aunt hurried over to his side, “she said you had suddenly disappeared and she was worried about you. She told us she had been tracking your phone and it looked like you were coming up to us, so we let her come over to take you back home. I swear we wouldn’t have let her over if we had known she was like this. We truly believed it when she told us you were just being rebellious by leaving.”

Katsuki answered in a faraway tone, eyes fixed on his mom being forced into her car, “it’s fine, Auntie.”

His aunt glanced worriedly at Izuku who gave a small smile, “Just give him a moment.”

She nodded, before returning the smile, “Thank you for bringing him here, uh-“

“Izuku is fine.” He offered up his name.

“-Izuku. And if you don’t mind me asking, who are you? Do you know each other from school, sports, or…?”

“Oh-! Well, we kinda knew each other from school. We became friends over our trip over here though, so-“

“He’s my boyfriend.” Katsuki supplied, mind clearly still somewhere else.

“Ah! How wonderful.” She smiled at them both and Izuku felt his face flush. Well, at least they were supportive unlike some people, “would you like to stay for a while, Izuku? I think Katsuki might like having you around while he settles in.”

Izuku looked over to Katsuki, who was staring blankly at the place his mother’s car had been. He seemed totally out of it.

“Yeah, I can stay for a while.

Makoto, Katsuki’s aunt, and Asa, his uncle, showed Izuku and Kastuki into the house. Luckily, they had assessed Katsuki’s state and simply led them to the guest room, whispering to Izuku that he could come get them if they needed anything. Izuku had thanked them and the bedroom door shut softly, leaving Katsuki and Izuku alone.

“Hey, Kacchan?” Izuku stepped up beside him.

“Do you think it’s over?” Katsuki blurted out, voice hushed.

Izuku threaded their fingers together, “I wish I could say for certain… but at least for now it is.”

Katsuki sighed and Izuku watched as exhaustion practically rolled off him in waves.

“You should rest, Kacchan. It’s been… a stressful day.”

Katsuki looked over at him, blinking slowly in a way that had Izuku wondering if he was just going to fall asleep standing up, “Yeah. Sleep sounds good.”

Izuku pulled Katsuki over to the bed, pulling the sheets back that were tucked in pristinely, and gently nudging the other boy into it. Katsuki reached up as he lay down, tugging Izuku down into bed with him. Izuku happily snuggled into his side, melting into Katsuki’s warm embrace.

“Hey, Deku?” Katsuki murmured, and Izuku felt his face muzzle into his hair. He hummed in acknowledgment, “I- uh… sorry for saying you were my boyfriend earlier. I wasn’t really thinking straight, and we hadn’t even talked about shit after yesterday.”

“It’s alright, Kacchan, I don’t mind,” he tipped his head up to press a soft kiss to Katsuki’s jaw, “we can talk about it tomorrow when we’ve both slept and you have a clearer head.”

“Okay,” Katsuki’s arms tightened around him, pulling him even closer somehow, “‘night.”

“Goodnight, Kacchan.”

Chapter Text

Katsuki slept like the dead, which Izuku was glad for.

He’d gone down for breakfast briefly, greeting Makoto and Asa before taking something up for whenever Katsuki awoke. However, it had turned noon already and Katsuki was showing no signs of stirring.

Izuku really couldn’t blame him. The previous day had been a lot and had no doubt drained the guy.

Heading back down the stairs with the small tray of food, Asa took it for him while Makoto waved him over to the living room.

“So, Izuku,” She started, smiling kindly as Izuku settled into a plush chair across from her, “if it’s alright I just wanted to ask some-“

“Who are you?!” A little boy exclaimed loudly, pointing at Izuku with a little hand.

“Uh-“

“This is Izuku, he came here with Katsuki. You remember me telling you about your cousin, right?”

The little boy gasped, eyes sparkling, “He’s here? Where?” And with that he spun around and sped toward the stairs, presumably to find Katsuki.

Asa swooped in and snagged him, tsking at his son, “Katsuki is sleeping. You wouldn’t want to wake him would you?”

“But I wanna see him!” He frowned and Asa snorted.

“You can see him when he wakes up.”

Asa hoisted his son up into his arms and made his way back into the kitchen.

“Sorry about him,” Makoto smiled fondly after the two, “Ichiro can be pretty loud sometimes.”

“No worries,” Izuku assured her, “he seems like he has quite the spirit.”

Makoto huffed, amused, and nodded, “he sure does… Now, I don’t want to pry about Katsuki behind his back, so you don’t have to answer any of these questions… but we just want to be able to help him the best we can, and I feel like the only way we can do that is if we know what’s happened.” Her kind smile turned sad, “I know Katsuki has always been a private person, and I have a feeling if I asked him about it he wouldn’t tell me or Asa. So, I was hoping you could give me a little insight here.”

Izuku intertwined his fingers together, anxiously glancing at the staircase. He really didn’t want to break Katsuki’s trust by saying anything, but at the same time, he knew Makoto was right.

He sighed, scratching at the side of his neck. Maybe he could just say a little bit… stuff they kind of already knew. They saw Mitsuki hit Katsuki yesterday, after all, and he’d already accidentally outed himself to Makoto when he was out of it.

“Katsuki… he left because of what you saw Mitsuki do to him yesterday,” He started slowly, and Makoto winced, nodding, “he would’ve gone to his grandparents, with his sister, but they aren’t exactly supportive of him, y’know… being gay.”

Makoto sighed sadly, looking away, “shit.”

“…yeah.”

Izuku glanced back at the stairs, jolting when he saw Katsuki sitting there. Katsuki snorted and stood, walking over to them, “you just giving away my life story there, Deku?”

“Ah- Kacchan! I'm sorry! I didn’t say much but-“

“Calm down, it’s whatever. They were gonna find out eventually.” A rough hand was plopped onto his head, ruffling up his hair.

“Sorry for asking about you behind your back, Katsuki. We just wanted to know what exactly was going on, so we can help.” Makoto explained and Katsuki sat beside Izuku with a huff.

“Yeah, I get it. You guys saw that shit show yesterday, so it makes sense.” He waved her apology off.

“Would you mind telling me more?” She questioned, and Katsuki hesitated, “you don’t have to now if you don’t want.”

“Not now.”

She gave a gentle smile and stood, “Well, whenever you’re ready. Doesn’t matter if it’s tomorrow or in a few years. Asa and I will listen whenever you’re willing to share.”

Katsuki blinked at her, a bewildered look on his face as she left them to head into the kitchen.

“I thought she’d try harder to fight for the details.” He muttered, eyes directed at where she’d turned the corner.

Izuku intertwined their fingers, directing Katsuki’s attention back to him.

“Like you.” He accused, an amused look in his eyes.

“Me?!” Izuku exclaimed, pressing his free hand dramatically over his heart.

“Yeah, you. I remember you fucking rambling and annoying me until I told you shit.”

“That was only for your last name!” Izuku defended himself.

“And for why I was going to Massachusetts and who was up there.” He went on.

“I feel like those are normal things to ask!” Izuku turned, pushing at him with his feet while Katsuki chuckled.

“No, you’re just nosy-“

“Katsuki!!” Ichiro burst into the room, scrambling over to Katsuki, “we have the same color hair!”

Katsuki blinked at him once, twice, and then snorted, “we do, don’t we?” He reached down, hoisting Ichiro up onto the couch between them.

“Mama told me a bunch about you!” Ichiro spoke rapidly, “I knew you when I was a baby, but I’m not a baby anymore so I don’t remember. I’m five,” he paused for a moment to hold up five fingers, “years old which means I’m a big kid now.”

“It does,” Katsuki nodded seriously at him, “five years is a lot.”

“Mhm!” Ichiro nodded frantically and then spun around to face Izuku, “did you know I’m five years old?”

“Well, I do now,” Izuku smiled at the excited child, who spun immediately back around to Katsuki.

“Mama said you’re going to be here for a while, is that true?”

“Well, I’m not sure for how long exactly, but yeah.” Katsuki nodded and Ichiro bounced off his lap.

“Okay! That means you get to play dinosaurs with me, but right now dad says I have to clean up my room, so we can’t right now. But you will play with me, right?” The words tumbled out of Ichiro’s mouth quickly, and he stumbled over a few.

“Yeah, sure I will kid.” Katsuki nodded and Ichiro ran off with a grin.

“Holy hell he’s got a lot of energy,” Izuku muttered to Katsuki who just laughed.

“What? You think you’re any better?”

“Hey!” He jammed his finger into Katsuki’s side, making him jolt and squirm away.

“Fucker,” he narrowed his eyes and Izuku just smiled.

They sat quietly, listening to the soft murmur of voices and the clattering of dishes coming from the kitchen. The house was cozy, full of warm colors. The couch was plush and comfortable under him. Window curtains were open to show the vast forest that was their backyard.

“Hey, you wanna go for a little walk? Talk about some things?” Izuku questioned, turning to see Katsuki nodding.

They headed out, after letting Asa and Makoto know where they were going. The neighborhood was quiet, as most people were probably already at work or enjoying the summer by sleeping in.

They walked in silence for a little while, taking in the neighborhood. The street was wide, with bike lanes on either side along with well-kept sidewalks. Most of the houses were cottage-y, and Izuku smiled to himself upon seeing a few with pride flags hanging outside. Maybe it would help Katsuki to see that not everyone was an old traditional asshole, and being on the west coast would definitely help with that.

“You don’t have to stay ‘cause of me,” Katsuki suddenly spoke up and Izuku turned to look at him, frowning in confusion.

“What do you mean?”

“If you want to leave now, you can. I don’t- I don’t want to force you to stay here longer than you have to.” He kicked at a pebble on the ground without meeting Izuku’s eyes, sending it flying out in front of them.

Izuku stopped, reaching out and grasping Katsuki’s wrist to halt him too.

“Why do you think like that?” Izuku asked, squeezing his wrist as Katsuki kept his gaze averted, “you tell me these things all the time. That I should go, that I should just leave you and you can ‘figure it out’ yourself. You’ve accused yourself of ruining my trip multiple times now despite how I’ve told you otherwise.”

Katsuki said nothing, and as a car came around the bend he wrenched his arm out of Izuku’s grasp hastily. Izuku couldn’t help the pang of hurt in his chest at the action. Logically he knew why Katsuki had done it. He had a lot of trauma he was dealing with and Izuku completely understood that… but a tiny, insecure part of him had to wonder-

“Do you even want me here?”

Katsuki whirled on him at that, eyes uncharacteristically wide.

“What? Of cour-“

“I mean, I’d totally understand if that is the case. I talk a lot and I can be loud and that’s annoying for people-“

“-Deku.”

“-and if you changed your mind about liking me it’s fine, but if you could just tell me now so I know-“

“Izuku!”

He snapped his mouth shut, face flushing as he realized he had just started blurting out his insecurities.

Katsuki stepped up closer to him, reaching out and holding his hand again, “I didn’t mean it like that.”

Izuku took a shaky breath in, nodding once.

“I keep asking if you wanna leave because you’ve already done so much, and I’ve done nothing for you. I don’t want you to stay and then start resenting me… I just-“ He sighed, “-I dunno.”

They stood quietly for a while; Izuku running through what he should say. He knew he was going to have to leave at some point, despite how much he wanted to be with Katsuki. Leaving sooner rather than later was probably the best idea because he had a feeling that if he stayed too long leaving would be harder. He could always go to college in Oregon, as he had already been looking at a university there, but he wanted to make sure his school decision was based on what was best for him academically, not on Katsuki.

Izuku squeezed Katsuki’s hand, eyes stinging, “I know I’m going to have to leave you, Kacchan. I’ve been thinking about it for days now, but not because I want to get rid of you, or because you ruined my summer. I don’t want to go back to Virginia and know you’re on the other side of the country. I don’t want to have to call to hear you or video call to see you. I don’t want to know I can’t even kiss you or hold you because you’re thousands of miles away. I don’t want this to feel like a definite goodbye.”

He rubbed at his eyes with his free hand, trying to forcefully keep the tears at bay

“Hey, hey,” Katsuki cooed all too gently, pulling him into a hug. That was all it took for the tears to start falling.

He hated the feeling under his ribs- like someone had dug their hand into his chest and was trying to pull his heart out.

“Fuck, this sucks,” Katsuki murmured against him, “I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault,” Izuku managed to choke out, arms squeezing around Katsuki’s waist.

They stood, wrapped in each other’s arms for a moment before Katsuki began speaking again.

“You said it yourself… that you’d visit, right? This isn’t some final goodbye as long as we both don’t want it to be. I definitely don’t want it to… and you don’t either, yeah?”

Izuku nodded into his shoulder.

“Exactly. I’ve learned you’re one persistent motherfucker, too… this isn’t the last we’ll see each other.”

Izuku squeezed him tighter just for a second more before letting go and rubbing at his eyes.

They started walking again, and eventually, Izuku began talking about college, and about how he might go look at one nearby. He also explained his reservations about picking a school just to be near Katsuki, and much to Izuku’s relief, he completely understood.

“Head back out on your trip and take time to think about it,” Katsuki had advised, “even if you decided not to come back here for school, we’ll make it work.”

Back at the house, they were dragged up to Ichiro’s room to play dinosaurs. Izuku was apparently no good at roaring like a dinosaur, so Ichiro made Katsuki do the roars for himself and Izuku. It was sweet to see how Katsuki melted to any whims his little cousin had, making up stupid voices and going along with the- quite frankly- absurd storyline Ichiro had come up with.

“-and then the princess dino killed all the other Dino’s 'cause she didn’t like them. And that’s why there are no more dinosaurs anymore. The end!” Ichiro cheered to himself, shoving his hands into the multitude of figurines he had and knocking them all over.

“And what about the princess dino? Huh? What happened to her?” Katsuki questioned.

“She lives in a volcano,” Ichiro answered seriously with a single nod of his head.

“Ah, of course.”

They spent the rest of the day entertaining Ichiro until he was dragged off to bed at eight. He’d thrown a little fit about it, demanding he get to stay up with Katsuki and Izuku. In the end, Asa wrangled the yelling kid under his arm and marched him up the stairs. Izuku watched with amusement as Ichiro’s eyelids drooped on the way up.

Izuku and Katsuki followed Ichiro’s lead not too long after. They were both tired as well, and Izuku could tell Katsuki was a little drained from interacting with his aunt and uncle through the latter half of the day and during dinner. They’d had a lot of questions about school and what they’d done during their road trip. Makoto had tried inquiring about Izuku and Katsuki’s relationship, but luckily Asa steered the conversation away from that pretty quickly. Izuku had watched as Katsuki’s eyes darted nervously around, unconsciously leaning toward Izuku.

It was something they still had yet to talk about. Izuku had meant to bring it up during their walk earlier, but things had gotten emotional pretty quickly and he had forgotten.

He shut the bedroom door behind him with a soft thump, turning to see Katsuki rubbing his hair with a towel. It was damp, as he’d apparently just gotten out of the shower. Izuku frowned a bit at the action.

“You’re gonna get knots in your hair,” He commented, sitting on the edge of the bed and gesturing for Katsuki. He grumbled a bit but settled on the floor between Izuku’s legs, his back against the bed frame. Izuku smiled as Katsuki let him pat his hair dry with the towel and run his fingers through the blonde spikes.

“You wanna talk about the whole boyfriend thing now?” He questioned, combing through a small knot.

Katsuki didn’t respond right away, and Izuku kept his mouth shut, focusing on his hair instead. He knew it was a sensitive topic, so he’d wait for however long it took for Katsuki to speak up.

“…maybe.”

Izuku smiled, “was that a ‘yes maybe’ or a ‘no maybe’?”

“Yes… I guess.” His shoulders were hunched defensively.

“Well I don’t want to push you to do anything you don’t want to, or put a label on something you’re not ready for… but I’d love to be your boyfriend,” Izuku said, picking up a brush and running it through Katsuki’s hair, though he was interrupted when Katsuki turned around with wide eyes.

“You-“ He swallowed, “-you would?”

Izuku smiled at him, “Course I would, Kacchan. You thought I wouldn’t?”

“I thought that when you said we’d talk about it that you were gonna let me down easy or something.” He admitted.

“You couldn’t have been more wrong.”

“Well fuck you too, Deku.”

“Kacchan!” Izuku laughed, “is it a bad thing that you were wrong?”

“No, but you didn’t have to say it like that.” He harrumphed, turning to bodily face Izuku now, sitting crisscrossed between his legs.

Izuku’s smile widened when Katsuki tilted his head, resting his cheek on Izuku’s knee, “You’re so cute, Kacchan.”

“The fuck? No, I’m not.” He scowled (in what Izuku thought was a very cute way).

“You are.”

“I’ll kill you, fucker.”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

And then Katsuki was jumping up and tackled Izuku back onto the bed.

“Ah! Kacchan!” Izuku laughed, trying to wiggle away to no avail.

“Sorry, Deku, your time is up,” Katsuki said with a dramatic sigh.

“I’m still alive and kicking!”

“Not for long. This is what happens when you say stupid shit. I’m sorry it had to end like this for you.”

“Kacc- mmph!” The air was pushed out of his lungs as Katsuki collapsed on top of him, “Heavy- Kacchan-!”

He could feel Katsuki shake with laughter, like suffocating Izuku was hilarious.

Idiot. Izuku smiled, finally giving up on breaking free.

It was strange… but he kind of liked feeling Katsuki’s weight on top of him, being pressed down into the mattress. Maybe it was the same concept as a weighted blanket. When he stayed at a friend's house a while back, they’d had one and Izuku had never slept better.

As he was formulating a plan on how to get Katsuki to stay like that through the night, Katsuki propped himself up on his elbows.

“You’re not actually dead, are you?” He quirked an eyebrow down at Izuku.

“No, it’s nice, actually,” Izuku admitted with a grin that had Katsuki making a weird face.

“The hell? You’re fucking weird.”

“Oh yeah? Well, I’m also your boyfriend so who’s dating my weird ass? Hmm?” Izuku retorted and Katsuki rolled his eyes with a sigh.

There was, however, a small, pleased smile on his face though.

Izuku wrapped his arms around Katsuki's neck and pulled him down again to kiss his forehead. A pretty blush made its home on Katsuki’s face, and his boyfriend’s (boyfriend!!) eyes were darting around his face. They landed on his mouth.

“I… kinda want to kiss you right now.” The words were quiet- whispered into the space between them like a secret.

“Oh yeah?” Izuku smiled, “You can if you want.”

Katsuki hummed with a short nod, eyes darting up to meet Izuku’s for a moment. It was a confused look like he didn’t know what to do exactly, and maybe he didn’t. This was, Izuku supposed, his first actual kiss. Unless he’d kissed someone random, but Katsuki didn’t seem the type to do that.

“C’mere,” Izuku brought a hand to the nape of his neck, pulling him down so their foreheads were pressed together, “Do you want me to-?”

“Yes,” Katsuki answered quickly, shutting his eyes tight.

Izuku huffed out a laugh, cradling Katsuki’s face with his free hand. Fuck, he couldn’t believe he got to hold Katsuki like this. He still remembers the first time he got really close to Katsuki, up on the top of his car. He’d been incredibly uncomfortable, stiff as a board beside Izuku. Now, despite the anticipatory tension he so obviously held, he was fully on top of Izuku- limbs relaxed against him.

Izuku leaned in, kissing the corner of Katsuki’s mouth first, resting the waters, “Is this alright?”

“Yes, fucker, now kiss me before I explode or something.” Katsuki grit out between his teeth.

Not like Izuku had to be told twice.

He pressed his mouth gently against Katsuki’s and could feel him startle a little at the action. He didn’t pull away though, so Izuku took that as a good sign. He kept it light and sweet. Rubbing his thumb along Katsuki's cheekbone, he tilted his head the other way and kissed him again. Katsuki hesitantly pressed back, his movements unsure. Izuku did his best to suppress a smile, but clearly Katsuki felt it as he pulled away quickly.

“You laughing at me, asshole?” He scowled, face almost red, though Izuku’s was probably the same.

“No, Kacchan,” Izuku let his smile through fully now, “I’m just happy is all.”

“Can't you wait to be happy till after our mouths aren’t on each other?”

“That’s quite the roundabout way of saying we were kissing.”

Katsuki groaned and dropped his head to bury his face into the crook of Izuku’s neck. Izuku giggled, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend’s waist and squeezing.

“I’m really gonna miss you when I leave,” Izuku said softly.

“Oi quit thinking about that shit right now, you’re not gone yet.” Katsuki reached up and flicked Izuku’s forehead.

“I know… I just- can’t help but think about it.” Izuku smiled sadly, fingers going back to brushing through Katsuki’s hair.

“Jeez, seems all you ever do is think with that nerd brain of yours,” He grumbled.

“What? You don’t think with your brain? No wonder- ack!”

Katsuki had jabbed him in the sides with his fingers, cutting him off.

“Fucker,” Katsuki huffed, “just sleep, okay? I’m fucking tired.”

“Alright, Kacchan… goodnight.”

“Night nerd.”

Chapter Text

Izuku was leaving.

The thought had Katsuki’s stomach twisted into knots as he watched Izuku eat breakfast next to him.

He felt bad for wasting a perfectly good meal that Asa had made for him unprompted, but he couldn’t stomach any food. He knew Izuku had to leave- he wasn’t stupid. They’d talked about it at length after spending a week at his Aunt and Uncle’s house.

Letting Izuku go, however, almost felt like letting him go forever. His time with Izuku had always felt like sand slipping through his fingers. Their road trip was finite, and it had come to an end… Where Katsuki would stay, and Izuku would go back across the country.

He was trying to look at the positives, though, like Izuku had suggested. Izuku would come to visit, as he’d promised hundreds of times by then, and Izuku had toured a college nearby during his week and had really liked it. It didn’t mean he was going there yet, necessarily, but the chances were a little higher now.

Katsuki also figured some time away would do him some good. He could use it to better himself for Izuku’s sake. He’d seen the look on Izuku’s face when he’d pulled his hand away on their second day in Oregon. He knew he’d unintentionally hurt his boyfriend’s feelings and he hated himself for it. Makoto had been talking to him privately about therapy, and even though the idea made him nauseous with anxiety, if he’d be able to get over himself enough to hold Izuku’s hand in public then so be it.

It wasn’t easy, saying goodbye. Izuku was crying, of course, and Katsuki wasn’t because they couldn’t both be blubbering messes. There were lots of promises and kisses and even more snot from Izuku- which was gross, but Katsuki would let it slide. They’d finally exchanged phone numbers, which made Izuku take a break from his sorrow just to laugh at the fact that they were dating and hadn’t had each other’s contact info.

One last final goodbye and then Katsuki was waving Izuku off as he drove away.

It felt… weird to be without him after spending all of their time together over the trip. There were things he immediately missed. Like how Izuku always had some sort of crazy story to tell and a quick comeback to whatever Katsuki was teasing him about. He missed the calming effect Izuku’s presence had on him and kisses on the forehead. There was something so sweetly intimate about it that he missed. The way Izuku’s eyes would soften like he was looking at someone precious, and then his hand would come up and push Katsuki’s hair back to press his lips there.

He felt a little out of place with Izuku gone. Like he was missing a limb. Or like being at a party without knowing a single person. Not having that specific someone he could fit in beside to escape the awakes feeling, knowing his presence was welcome and wanted. It was objectively ridiculous because he’d only technically spent a few weeks with him. He never thought he’d forge a connection with someone like that ever, let alone in a few weeks time.

So, he distracted himself from the fact, hanging out with Ichiro and helping Makoto cook. Asa had invited Katsuki to join him in fixing up an old car he was repairing, which Katsuki quickly found he enjoyed. He liked being able to do something with his hands and then get a good end result. Like having the old clunker finally start up after they’d tinkered around for a few days.

Of course, he and Izuku called each other a lot. They hadn’t at first, both of them feeling like they were being too clingy or something. When Izuku finally caved first and called, Katsuki couldn’t put down his phone even if he wanted to. They talked for an absurdly long time. Izuku was just driving that day, no sightseeing, so Katsuki stayed up in his room the whole day to talk with him. It almost felt like he was back there with Izuku, sitting in the passenger seat that was slightly caved in from use.

Izuku had finally sheepishly admitted that he’d wanted to call Katsuki almost as soon as he’d left, and had been keeping himself from doing so in case Katsuki thought he was being clingy.

Okay, well maybe he was, but Katsuki wanted him to be clingy

They talked about it and cleared everything up. Izuku would send pictures of all the places he was visiting, lots of them being selfies. Katsuki would send back his own pictures of him and Ichiro because Ichiro demanded he be in them too (not like Katsuki or Izuku minded).

The weeks stretched on and turned to months.

Katsuki forced himself into therapy and immediately hated it. He didn’t like the way the guy spoke to him or the way he asked a million questions. Makoto had finally asked about how it was going and Katsuki had admitted as much. She’d instantly gone to work on fixing it.

Who knew you could just switch therapists like that?

His next therapist was good. He still asked questions, of course, but not stupid ones. He spoke to Katsuki like he was an adult and not some child that needed coddling even if the truth hurt a lot of the time. He’d actually bothered to remember the name of his therapist that time- Aizawa.

Like the universe was trying to apologize to him for the shit show that had been his life thus far- Makoto managed to get Mahoro’s phone number from his grandparents. The phone was new, obviously, since he would’ve had his sister’s number if she’d already had one, and maybe he thought she was a little young for one still it wasn’t like he was going to complain. The pink nail polish had long worn off despite his best efforts and he felt like the last thing that connected them was washed away with it.

Needless to say, he immediately called her.

He knew she had a right to be upset, but when she realized it was him, yelled at him for leaving, and then promptly hung up it still felt like a punch to the gut.

She was a little like him in that aspect. When her feelings were hurt, she got angry.

She called back almost immediately, though, crying then as she asked why he’d left and why he hadn’t even said goodbye. The whole thing had him crying along with her as he explained, apologizing over and over again.

Once everything had been explained to her, Katsuki was relieved that she understood and didn’t hold any resentment toward him.

When the school year started, Katsuki went to the college Izuku had toured at during the summer. Izuku had decidedly not gone to Oregon for school because he’d gotten a scholarship to one in Virginia, and out-of-state tuition was ridiculously expensive. He’d informed Katsuki that one of his friends was going there, however, and encouraged him to meet up with him. Shouto Todoroki was his name, and even though they didn’t even know each other, they applied to be each other’s roommates. Katsuki figured being roommates with a friend of Izuku’s was better than being stuck with a total stranger.

He almost regretted his choice when Todoroki made his appearance on move-in day.

The idiot’s first words to him hadn’t been anything normal like “hello” or “nice to meet you”- no. They had been “do you like cats?”

He had a nasty scar on the left side of his face with red and white hair split perfectly down the middle. Two different colored eyes, too. Katsuki had misread his blank expression and flat tone and instantly thought Shouto was going to be a stuck-up asshole.

He dutifully ignored him for the first few days, until freshman orientation day, where Shouto trailed after him like a lost puppy.

“The fuck are you following me for, Halfie?” He snapped finally when Shouto had accidentally bumped into his back after having to make an abrupt stop.

“I wanted to. And I don’t know anyone else here.” He replied, face still betraying very little of what he was feeling, “also, Izuku told me to.”

“Hah? Told you to?” Katsuki twisted his face into a scowl. Why the fuck had Izuku done that?

“He said that if I’m not persistent we’ll never be friends,” He said, nodding to himself, “And I’d like to be friends.”

Fucking of course.

But maybe it wasn’t a bad thing. Aizawa had said he needed some friends, and if Izuku was friends with Shouto he at least knew the guy wasn’t a bad person.

“Whatever, idiot, let’s just go.” He rolled his eyes beckoning for Shouto to follow. Shouto followed along with what Katsuki eventually learned to recognize as a happy expression.

Izuku was practically ecstatic when Katsuki had called him that night and told him how he’d graciously let Shouto stick around.

It didn’t take long for Katsuki to learn that Shouto had a fucked up family too, and Katsuki idly wondered if Izuku just attracted traumatized people to himself like a magnet. And he might’ve opened up to Shouto too after that because if anyone could relate to him, it would be that half-and-half bastard.

With Shouto firmly fixed as his best friend (Shouto’s words, not his), he somehow ended up having a gaggle of idiots that had just shown up one day and then never stopped badgering him. Eijiro, Denki, Mina, and Hanta were their names. There were two others- Momo and Kyoka- but he wouldn’t classify them as idiots since they didn’t bother him as much.

Katsuki had firmly told Izuku that they weren’t his friends but Izuku had already started crying and babbling on about how he was happy Katsuki was getting along with people and had friends. He complained about how patronizing that was later, but at that moment he had just let Izuku snot all over himself.

God- he still couldn’t believe he loved that nerd.

Long distance ended up being hard, of course, though not for the same reasons it was for most couples. Katsuki never had the fear that Izuku would cheat on him and they understood that when the other got busy with exams, they wouldn’t be able to call for a couple days.

Izuku, being the idiot that he was, had tried breaking up with Katsuki after their first year long-distance because he thought he was holding Katsuki back from finding someone else.

“Deku, you’re a fucking dumbass, but I love you and you’re it for me, got it? I don’t wanna be with anyone else.” Katsuki had told him, which resulted in tears on Izuku’s end and apologies for even bringing up the idea of breaking up.

They did their best to visit each other on holidays and got to spend summers together, though, which Katsuki was grateful for. Izuku usually ended up going to Oregon because Shouto was there too and Katsuki knew he missed his friend too.

Those times when he finally got to have Izuku with him- within arms reach and firm beneath his hands- were what made him long for the days that they didn’t have to spend months apart…

—-

“Kacchan?” Izuku called out into the apartment, shucking his shoes off and shoving them against the wall, next to where Katsuki’s were neatly placed.

Soft footsteps had him turning his head and smiling at his boyfriend.

A lot had happened since they’d gone to Oregon together.

Izuku had graduated from University two years ago having taken up journalism and moved out to Oregon. Which was mainly to finally be with Katsuki, but he’d also been searching for a job over there and had gotten a good one.

Katsuki was getting his Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology and still had a year to go, but was progressing really well.

They’d moved in together once Izuku had gotten there, not even realizing how big a step that usually was for couples until after their friends made a huge deal out of it. Izuku supposed it was, but nothing about it had felt nerve-wracking or “too much” at once. Being with Katsuki just felt- right. It always had.

Izuku stepped up to Katsuki and stood on his tiptoes to kiss his cheek. He looked exhausted, eyebags prominent and round-wire glasses (which Izuku thought made him look unfairly attractive- even more than he already was) slightly askew like he’d been rubbing at his face.

“Deku.” He groaned, leaning all his body weight onto Izuku, who had to hurriedly drop his bag to hold the man.

“That good a day, huh?” Izuku questioned, his smile sympathetic.

“Fuckin’ hate exams. My brain hurts. And my eyes hurt. What’s gonna happen when my eyes give out too? You’re gonna have a deaf and blind boyfriend.” Katsuki grumbled, heavy against Izuku.

“Then I’d just have to bundle you up and take care of you. We could cuddle all the time, and you’d never have to do another exam ever again.” Izuku replied, struggling to drag Katsuki into their room.

“hmn- yeah… that sounds nice,” Katsuki mumbled, finally helping Izuku move him by shuffling his feet along. It was a testament to how tired Katsuki was that he was even entertaining the made up idea that Izuku would coddle and take care of him, because in reality even if his sight when too, he’d still find a way to get his Ph.D.

They collapsed onto the bed in a tangle of limbs. Katsuki looked like he was about to fall asleep right then.

“You have anything else you have to do today before you sleep?” Izuku made himself question. Despite how much he wanted to just let Katsuki conk out right then and there, Katsuki would be incredibly upset if he didn’t do everything he needed to be done before tomorrow.

“‘M all done.” He huffed, squirming so Izuku was crushed under him, and then frowned. He swatted at his ears, “take ‘em out.”

“Alright, Kacchan, I’ve got it.” He gingerly took Katsuki’s hearing aids out and got a kiss on the cheek as thanks.

Izuku smiled fondly, thinking back to when they’d first met. Katsuki would’ve never asked anything from Izuku then, even something as simple as taking his hearing aids out. He sure as hell wouldn’t have bodily forced Izuku down just so he could sleep on top of him. He was still very much the same- brash, stubborn, and foul-mouthed, while also being unbelievably thoughtful and sweet- but he’d healed in the years away from his family. He’d stopped avoiding being vulnerable like the plague and almost took it as a challenge now, because of course he would.

Oh, how he was so proud of his boyfriend.

He felt Katsuki’s arms extract themselves from under him and watched as Katsuki signed at him.

”The fuck are you crying about?”

Izuku smiled, scrubbing at the tears he hadn’t even realized he’d produced.

”I’m just so proud of you.”

Katsuki rolled his eyes, though Izuku easily spotted how fond his expression was, ”Not this shit again.”

Izuku laughed, combing his fingers through Katsuki’s hair as he got settled again after berating Izuku. His movements were much more sluggish now, probably just barely hanging on to wakefulness. Izuku felt Kastuki’s hand slide up his arm and gently hold his wrist.

Tap, tap, tap.

Katsuki’s index finger tapped Izuku’s palm three times.

Izuku smiled, holding Katsuki tight. It was their own little made-up sign. Something for just the two of them.

He tapped back.

I love you.