Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Checking his watch, Izuku walked toward the kitchen shouting out to his roommate, “Starting coffee.” Gazing up at the top shelf, he scowled at the barely visible coffee can, pushed almost entirely out of sight to the short guy. “Stop putting the coffee so high up,” he growled in his raspy morning voice, climbing onto the counter to reach. “You know I can’t reach the top shelf,” his voice thick with venom although he knew Mina couldn’t hear him from the bathroom.

“Oh, sorry. That was me.” A voice said startling him and causing him to slip from the counter, sending his ugly bunny slippers flying as Mina’s boyfriend, Kirishima, caught him. “I forget you are fun sized,” he admitted with a smile, placing him back on the kitchen floor to resume his task.

Kirishima was incredibly nice but equally clueless, it was an endearing combo that made it impossible for Izuku to be upset with him for any of his flubs, he knew he genuinely didn’t do these things to annoy him. “Opening today?” Kiri asked with a gentle head tilt reminding him of a lost puppy, “Hopefully we get some new people at work soon, it seems like we live at work anymore.” This was the truest thing he had heard in ages, the restaurant needed new faces to fill the empty spots badly. The kitchen was short-staffed which caused it to back up nightly, in return the customers gave the wait staff a hard time blaming them for the delays and ultimately cutting into their tips.

“No kidding,” Izuku said, “I wouldn’t be shocked to get mail there with how much time I spend there.” he joked, but he saw immediately that the humor was lost on Kirishima as the joke sailed over his head.

“Wow, wonder if I will get mail too?” He asked with all seriousness. Izuku turned quickly, grabbing a coffee mug to conceal the smile on his face; sometimes his naivety was too much. Laughing at the poor guy would only confuse him more, it never seemed to hurt his feelings, it just left him wondering what was funny and requiring a long explanation that took entirely too much time and effort.
“I’ll let you know if you do.” Izuku chuckled, pouring his coffee and heading off in search of his keys thrown somewhere on the messy coffee table. He began shuffling through papers and takeout remnants before finally snagging the faded lanyard that held his salvation. He knew that his boss wouldn’t be angry or give him any trouble once he arrived, but this wasn’t something he wanted to make a habit of. Rushing out the door he grabbed his bag, hopping through the overgrown grass to his battered blue sedan. The driver’s side door hesitated when he attempted to open it, throwing his weight back he did his best to wrench the stubborn door open. Within moments, he was weaving his way through the sparse traffic of town toward The Clover, the small sports bar at the center of it all. Windows down, his curly hair fluttered around his face and the radio pumped music over the sounds of the cars outside. Arriving in the dusty parking lot, he saw an empty picnic table indicating that the kitchen crew were on time and already inside. Pulling into his usual spot beside the magnolia tree, he took a few deep breaths before getting out and trotting across the lot to the side of the building. Once inside, he greeted Yagi, the old man waved with his arms full of folders, smiling his famous toothy grin as he announced, “We’ve got some new blood coming in here today, be prepared to train the clueless fools when they arrive.” He laughed at the tenacious old man as he rounded the corner where Denki waited with a fierce hug.

Denki bounded forward snatching Izuku in his arms, taking him a few inches off the ground and spinning him around enthusiastically, “My big brother is starting work here today!” he announced with a wide smile, Izuku didn’t remember too much about Denki’s older brother, but he knew that they both relocated here after some trouble in their hometown.

“I can’t wait to meet him, Denki,” he said with a polite smile, “You seem so excited.” That was the understatement of the century, the guy was practically vibrating with glee. Izuku loved seeing Denki’s reactions to things, he seemed to experience emotions to an extreme, often dragging those around him into the emotional bubble and giving them a pseudo contact high that was off the charts. Today, the cute blonde’s trembling in excitement reminded Izuku of a scared Chihuahua and the mental image made him smile.

Denki nodded in his usual energetic fashion and said, “He needs to get out more, he’s been driving me nuts sulking around, he has almost no life outside of the apartment.” For being such a negative comment, he made it sound like a chipper piece of information he just threw in casually. “Where’s Miss Mina?” Denki questioned as he wiped down the hostess podium, “I thought she was opening with us today, I feel like I never see her anymore.”

“Oh, you know, Kirishima stayed over again, and she runs on ‘Mina Time’ so she’ll probably be about thirty minutes late.” Izuku knew that Mina was only on time for work about once a month besides payday, and that was usually when she thought she worked an hour earlier. Being a beautiful girl with a ton of charisma she seemed to have everything handed to her and was given an amazing amount of slack that allowed her to get away with things the others would never attempt, Izuku often wondered if he were not around to keep her out of trouble and chase the admirers away if Mina would even be able to function in the real world.

“Heh, oh well, I will keep an eye out,” Denki said with a giggle, seemingly unbothered that they were left to pick up the slack and got little to no credit for the extra work they put in.
Just then a surly looking individual walked in, his body cast a shadow that darkened the doorway and Izuku noticed that his size easily blocked the light as he entered. He had large tattoos running down both arms and up his neck, and a mop of spiky blonde hair that managed to look put together while still looking messy. Izuku felt nervous just looking at him, but Denki flung himself into his chest with an attempted hug, but his arms barely made it around his sides, hands nowhere close to touching. “Katsuki! You’re here! I was worried that you wouldn’t come.” The entirety of his greeting registered a decibel higher than his already perky voice and seemed so cartoony compared to the gruff looking figure standing before him.

“Yea, I’m here, now let me go, dunce,” He said, glancing off to the side with feigned disinterest. “Where’s the old man I need to talk to?”

Denki turned and said, “Oh you can talk to Yagi in a minute, first you need to meet my friend Izuku, you’ve heard me talk about him and he’s easily the best server here.” He gushed, “Izuku, this is my brother Katsuki.”

Izuku felt his mouth drop slightly open as he looked him up and down with curiosity. How was this giant, mean-mugged thug Denki’s brother? He and Denki were aesthetically polar opposites and also sounded nothing alike. Izuku gulped audibly and finally stammered, “Hey, Yea, Um, I can take you back to Yagi if you want.” He studied him a bit more as he watched him try and fail to wrench Denki off his waist. He wore a dark hooded sweatshirt with pushed up sleeves and a broken zipper, hanging open enough for him to see his white tank under it clinging a bit to his chest showing his muscles, his jeans were ripped at the knees and his battered black motorcycle boots looked like they weighed a ton.

“Yea, sure, whatever,” Katsuki mumbled, finally pushing Denki off of him and into a booth. Izuku walked slowly as he rounded the counter to follow him to the back, he saw his shadow cast over him and felt him towering behind him, he was so much taller than him it was quite intimidating causing a chill to run its way down his spine .

“Yagi!” Izuku called as they approached the office, “One of your new hires is here, it’s Denki’s brother, Katsuki.” He heard the statement fall out of his mouth sounding like more of a question than he had intended, but it got the job done. He still had a hard time wrapping his mind around this tattooed giant being sweet little Denki’s brother, this simply seemed impossible, how could the same household churn out two people so drastically different?

Yagi looked pleased and waved Katsuki into his office wearing his signature smile and Izuku realized there was nothing that could phase the jolly old man, “There should be another newbie here for the afternoon shift, could you just come get me when he gets here?” he asked, watching him nod and closed the door behind them. Izuku immediately turned on the spot and retreated to the dining room to find Denki. This was sure to be an interesting shift to say the least.

“Denki, how in the world is that guy your brother?” Izuku blurted letting the words tumble out of his mouth without any of her usual tact. “You two seem absolutely nothing alike.” Izuku flinched back thinking that this guy was going to be a tough pill to swallow. They dealt with annoying coworkers, but this guy looked like he was going to rob the joint.

Denki gave a cheeky smile and said, “Well he’s my half-brother, his mom was my dad’s first attempt at snagging a lady and mine was the second, I guess we both take after our moms.” The story passed his lips as if he had told it a million times, and with differences like those Izuku bet he probably had recited it a time or two. “He’s really a teddy bear when you get to know him, he just doesn’t know how to talk to people without coming off a bit rough around the edges. If I know you like I think I do, you’ll learn to love him.” Denki’s sweet smile was definitely good at motivating him to buy into his unusual promises. Izuku grabbed some supplies from under the server station and started off to make his rounds, “Well, I will have to get to know him a bit more I guess, but I am going to get to work for now.” He was eager to get some distance between himself and Katsuki for the time being, he definitely put off a harsh vibe and it made him nervous.

Almost forty-five minutes later Izuku saw his roommate Mina saunter through the door in her work uniform, heavily adorned with jewelry and more makeup than a day shift called for. She looked severely out of place. “I’m here!” She called as a few regulars welcomed her. Izuku hoped she realized how lucky she was that Yagi was lenient with her frequent tardiness, as usual he felt slightly annoyed that they had been without a hostess while Mina took her sweet time. “So, have we been busy?” the blonde asked nonchalantly.

“Well, you aren’t part of the WE when I say yes, WE have been pretty busy.” Izuku quipped, throwing his rag into the basin.

“Hey, don’t be like that, you are so uptight sometimes, you are turning into a real bitch lately,” Mina chided, “relax, I am here now.” Everything she said came out with a calm soothing tone, she somehow could take the edge of a situation and turn it around in her favor, Izuku rolled his eyes, no wonder the girl was regularly late and still had a job. With a wink and a nudge, she mentioned, “A little action might loosen up that tension if you get what I am saying.”

“Don’t say that in here,” Izuku looked around to see if anyone was listening, “these people don’t need to know my personal business.” He sulked a bit, deciding to quickly change the subject he threw out the first thing that popped into his head, “The new kitchen worker is in the back on the line, turns out he is Denki’s big brother.” He had to admit the kitchen was running smoothly with his help, so despite his grumpy demeanor he was a decent worker and managed to mesh right in with the other staff in the back. Anytime Izuku found himself in the kitchen, he would hear him calling orders and he had even found time to stop and admire his knife skills for a few moments before going back into the fray.

“Oh, this I have got to see,” Mina remarked as she ran back to the kitchen, deserting her post mere seconds after it and doing absolutely zero work. Izuku heard the telltale squeak of a startled Mina, she must have found him, he thought to himself as he snorted and laughed, continuing to wipe down the bar.

A bell chimed as the front door opened to reveal a pale young guy walking in, he looked a bit lost and Izuku immediately thought he looked extremely out of place, with his messy purple hair and handsome tired eyes, he looked somber as he glanced around the dining room. “Table for one, or would you like to sit at the bar?” Izuku asked as he approached him looking around.
“Uh. Neither, I guess. I am looking for the owner.” Izuku shifted his weight and fidgeted a bit as he realized he was likely talking to the second new employee Yagi had mentioned. What was with these new people, where did the old man find these recruits? They were nothing like the average joes that normally worked in this place, Mina’s boyfriend Kirishima was the most impressive looking out of all of the usual crew and the poor guy didn’t seem to have two brain cells to rub together, now suddenly Rex hires a man-beast and a sleep deprived male model?

“I can grab him from the back for you,” Denki meekly said with his cheeks in a full blush as he quickly disappeared into the back, knocking a few things over with a clatter as he passed through the kitchen, resulting in grumbles from the kitchen staff and loud teasing from his brother.

“Have a seat by the bar and he’ll be out in a few,” Izuku suggested, “I am gonna check on my tables.” He excused himself, but felt his eyes on him as he awkwardly fled back to the area he’d been cleaning earlier. Why did both of the new employees have to be guys, he asked himself in disbelief, this place was already full of testosterone in the kitchen. Mina had been the only female worker for the last year or so and the number of drunken cougars trying to hook up with the male staff was already way out of hand. He still had the image burned in her memory of the heavily intoxicated woman that showed the whole place her boob job one evening.

Yagi emerged from the back with a red-faced Denki right on his heels. “You must be Shinso, come with me, my boy.” He gestured toward the back and Shinso followed him completely oblivious to Denki’s love struck expression and deep blush. At least this would be entertaining to watch, Izuku scoffed to himself.

At the end of his shift Izuku tossed his apron on the table in the tiny room they used as the employee lounge, it was basically a glorified storage room mostly filled with boxes and milk crates on rickety shelving. It had been a hell of a night with a large bachelorette party taking up half his tables and leaving him short on tips. He sat in the closest chair and threw his feet up on one across from him to count his earnings. “Dang. $35? That’s crap.” He complained aloud to no one in particular.

A deep voice came from behind him, making him jump in surprise. “Sounds like a shitty night, small fry.” He chuckled, “no big tips for the shorty, eh?” Katsuki leaned against the doorframe and crossed his arms looking down at him, he suddenly felt like a mouse under the watchful eye of a cat. Goosebumps spread across his skin as he wondered how he hadn’t noticed him, he stayed put with his eyes locked on him wearing a cocky smile. Usually, he wouldn’t be bothered due to most of the staff leaving him alone as much as possible when he worked, mainly because he was such a stickler for the rules and would always be the first one to point out that someone wasn’t doing everything they needed to be doing for their job, but Katsuki showed no signs of wanting to avoid him and Izuku found it unsettling.

He did his best to shrug off his comments as he rolled his eyes but judging by Katsuki’s face, he thought it had been pretty amusing. “You know, I would have made a lot more in tips if I hadn’t been playing babysitter for the trainee all night.” He pocketed his cash and quickly got up, wanting to storm out of the room, but Katsuki blocked most of the doorway, forcing him to slide awkwardly past him causing his chest to rub against Katsuki’s pecs. Damn, he is really buff, he thought as he slid by. “I’m out of here, I never get off this early, so I’m going to enjoy it.”

A smirk slowly spread across Katsuki's face as he whispered at him, “I don’t get off early either, but I don’t think we are talking about the same thing.” He winked and followed him as he escaped out the back door. He passed him since each of his steps equaled about four of Izuku’s and hopped on a black motorcycle at the end of the parking lot, he sped off while Izuku still fumbled with his keys dropping them multiple times before getting a grip on them and trying unsuccessfully to unlock the doors to his car.

The back door slammed again as Mina came out, she crossed the road and laughed saying, “Um, did you hit your head, Zuzu? That key is not going to work no matter how hard you try.”
Izuku looked down and realized he was trying to use his house key to get into his car, realizing his mistake he blushed and quickly unlocked the door, shooting a look around the dark parking lot, “Denki’s stupid brother was saying stuff,” he said narrowing his eyes, “But if you want a ride, I wouldn’t make fun of the driver if I were you.” Sticking his tongue out at Mina and getting an extended middle finger in return. “Lovely Mina, I am going to tell your dad what a proper lady you turned out to be.” She tossed her bag haphazardly into the car and sat with a plop in the passenger seat, waving a mock royal wave, smirking until Izuku punched her hard on the arm.

“Ow, yea? What was the big brute saying?” she asked with a note of concern in her voice, “Don’t tell me he’s going to be another Dabi.” Izuku’s eyes rolled hard at the memory; Dabi had been the worst co-worker he had ever worked with. He regularly stole tips off of the other server’s tables and made comments about how he would siphon gas out of the customer’s cars. He was a complete jerk and got fired within two weeks when he finally got caught in the act of stealing gas from an off-duty police deputy’s car. Most of the kitchen staff had the photos on their phone to commemorate the special occasion and resulting arrest.

“No, he just made a comment about my height,” he spat, deciding to keep everything else to himself, trying to convince himself that he misunderstood the perceived innuendo since no one ever hit on him at work anymore and he wasn’t sure it had been anything more than him trying to annoy him. “Besides he can run the line pretty well, don’t need to get him fired and end up short-handed again.” Izuku got in his car and sighed, putting his head on his friend’s shoulder briefly before righting himself and heading home.

Izuku was ready to relax but opened the door to find that Kirishima was passed out on the sofa with bad internet videos playing on the game system. “Does he live here now?” he asked Mina, “because he could totally feel free to pay a bill or two.” Seeing Mina’s embarrassed expression Izuku gently touched her arm, “It’s not like that, He can stay with us, but he needs to follow the house rules and do stuff the way we normally do it, like leave the coffee on a lower shelf where I can actually reach it” he added with a serious look as he turned to go to bed, tomorrow was a rare day off and he was not going to let a strange night ruin it.

Chapter Text

A chorus of blaring car alarms and loud radios with bass woke Izuku at 9am. He didn’t even know that you could bump a car stereo system to ice cream truck music, but his neighbors had found a way. He was happy to have slept in at all, but he would have gone until well after noon if he could have, part of living in a decent sized house with a financially insecure roommate on a server’s income was living in the rougher part of town. He dared not go out and try to quiet the neighbors, learning last time when the police ended up out there with no solution because it was well within the noise ordinance hours. The neighbors still glared Izuku’s way every time they saw him outside, he just learned to accept the annoyances for the time being.

The house was quiet inside, this meant either Mina and Kirishima were asleep or at his place, it was far more likely they were asleep since he had four roommates in a two-bedroom place and his bed was the futon sofa so he couldn’t blame him for staying with Mina so much. He smacked into a resistant door face first when he tried to push into the bathroom, he stepped back dizzily and tried to figure out why it wasn’t opening jiggling the doorknob ensuring it was unlocked. He padded out his bedroom door to the hall entrance to the bathroom and went in the long way, he suddenly saw the problem. Kirishima and Mina had left a pile of clothing and towels against his door and on top of the pile was a wadded-up condom like a gross little Christmas tree topper. Izuku cringed and grabbed a few squares of toilet paper to pick the condom up with, tossing it in the trash and doing a strange little dance to shake the gross factor away. He was very well aware that his friend was sexually active, but he did not need to be involved in any part of the process. He kicked the pile of towels and clothes into the laundry room, having to detangle Mina’s panties from his foot, and swiftly retreated to take his shower.

Mindlessly lathering shampoo in his hair, he let his thoughts wander to possibilities for his day off, he wanted to drive out to the river and take some pictures to use as inspiration for his novel, he liked to take snapshots of different locations and pin them to his cork board in his room to have around when he hit a bout of writer’s block. He headed to quickly get dressed so he could get the day started.
His car rattled a bit when he started it, not being too well versed in automotive issues, he couldn’t decide if this was the same noise it usually made or a variation, his rusty but trusty car wasn’t exactly in perfect form and was known to squeak, squall, and thump as he drove. He glanced at the lights on the dashboard, seeing his usual “check oil” light on he shrugged it off, he only worried when that particular light went off, it had been lit since he got the car besides the last time his car broke down. He made it all the way across town and a few miles from the river trail’s entrance when he heard a sickening squeal followed by a knocking sound and all of the warning lights came on his dash at the same time in a stomach-wrenching light show. Startled, he pulled off to the shoulder of the road to investigate and it was a fortunate choice as the little car gave its last few knocks before stalling out completely. Panic hit hard as he repeatedly attempted to start the car but was met with failure and disappointment; the key wouldn’t even turn in the ignition, no matter how much he pleaded with the old vehicle.

Grabbing his cell phone out of his bag she scrolled to Mina’s number but it went straight to a recording saying the voicemail still had not been set up, resulting in him sending a bitchy text message instead. Kirishima’s phone rang and rang but went to the world’s longest guitar solo in place of a voicemail recording, Izuku drummed his fingers on the steering while waiting to leave a message “Hey Kirishima, it’s Izuku, I can’t get Mina on her phone so I tried you, my car stalled out on the old highway by the trails, call me if you get this.” He rested his head back against the seat and tried to think of who else to call, his parents were no longer living nearby so that wasn’t an option, next he dialed Denki.

“Hey Hey Hey!” Denki answered in a sing-song voice, “What’s going on?”

Relief flooded through his veins like a wave washing over him, “Oh thank goodness Denki, I had started to worry no one was ever going to answer, I am broken down over on highway 9 by the trails, can you come pick me up?”

“Oh no, I have to leave for work soon, but hold on,” Izuku heard a rustling sound and some murmurs before Denki came back on the line and said, “I got you covered, stay where you are and it’ll be like five minutes.” With that Denki hung up.

Izuku stared at the flashing ‘call ended’ screen for a few seconds before putting his phone on his lap. That guy is so strange, he thought, but at least he can help me out when I need him. Izuku scowled a bit wondering if Mina was still sleeping away with no idea he was stuck on the edge of town feeling annoyed and a little freaked out. He sat waiting for rescue watching each car that drove by, he figured Denki would have his little blue VW bug, so every flash of blue was a ray of hope followed by repeated disappointment. After a few minutes he fought the temptation to listen to music on his phone, knowing he would drain the battery and then have no means of communication in that situation, he resumed watching the passing cars for his rescuer. A roar of an engine came up behind him, causing a chill to run down his spine when he saw none other than Denki’s brother, Katsuki, pull up in the rearview mirror on a large black motorcycle. Izuku felt his face flush deep scarlet with embarrassment; it was one thing to have one of his friends or Kirishima bail him out, but this guy was almost a complete stranger, and he was already mortified to be in the predicament he found himself in.

Izuku watched as he pulled his helmet off and squinted in the direction of his car, squinting into the sun as he walked forward while shielding his eyes with his hand. He lightly rapped his knuckles on the window, and he opened the door feeling flustered and embarrassed. “Need some help there, short stuff?” he said grinning, reaching in the door to pop the hood, gently nudging his leg out of the way to reach the switch. “Let’s take a look to see if there’s anything I can do, if not I’ll give you a lift back home.”

Izuku glanced back at the motorcycle and his eyes grew wide, he had never been on one and was not in a hurry to scratch that off his bucket list. He silently began pleading with the universe to let his car be fixable here on the roadside. He got out of the seat watching Katsuki poke and prod at the different components under the hood for a few minutes and then he walked back to sit in the driver’s seat shaking his head and then pulling the lever to position it all the way back before to accommodate his long legs. He attempted to start the car but could not even get the key to turn, looking at Izuku and made an odd face, “Your starter locked up for one thing, I can’t do much until we replace that” he took a staggered breath, “We could run out to the auto parts store but even after fixing the starter it still might not run.” He ran his hand over his hair and looked a bit worried when his eyes came to rest on him.

“I guess you can just give me a ride back, I just don’t want to be stuck here anymore, I’ll figure out what to do with the car later.” he said, getting a nod, but Izuku still felt a sick feeling churning in his stomach.

“If you want, I can have a buddy of mine tow it somewhere for you to save a few bucks, he owes me.” Katsuki said, he noticed his voice softened for the first time, “it aint gonna make it too long out here before someone messes with it, probably take the tires and anything else they could move.”

Izuku’s stomach did a flip, he definitely couldn’t afford to put it in the shop right now, but he wasn’t ready to take the hit to his wallet putting it into the shop, “I guess he could take it back to my house, I can’t really do much right now to fix it,” he admitted timidly, warm tears brimming in his eyes.

“No big deal,” he shrugged, “I can do a little work on it given more time, I bet I could get it running in a week or so if you want me to try.” He pulled out his phone and called someone. “Hey man, yeah I know what time it is, no no, listen...” Izuku strained to hear his side of the banter and watched quietly, “I got a little blue Bonneville over here on highway 9 about two miles from the depot, I need you to move it to.” he paused and whispered to Izuku “Address?”

“Oh, um, 312 Rugby court” he said quickly.

“Take it to 312 Rugby court, No it aint mine but it’s for a friend of my brother, he said I can move it. No. I don’t do that shit anymore Inasa, you know that.” Katsuki looked annoyed with a scowl on his face and finally said “later,” and hung up. “See, it should be there later this afternoon, he’s got a few jobs to do first but he’s good for it.” He chuckled a bit, “Now, tell me, what in the hell were you doing out here anyway?”

Izuku flushed. “I was going to hike the trail and take some pictures, I need them for something I am working on,'' he felt his face get warm and knew he was blushing, he didn’t like to talk about his hobbies because most people thought it was a waste of time. “But looks like that’s not going to happen now,” he scraped the toe of his shoe against sandy dirt on the side of the road.
“Nah, we can pop up there for a bit, Denki already drug me out of bed before noon, might as well do something while I am out here.” He stretched and arched an eyebrow as he offered, “Let’s ride up to the trail and take those pictures,” he tried to hand Izuku his helmet, and he knew he must be wearing an expression of pure terror. “Now come on Deku, don’t tell me you’re scared of me and the big bad bike?” he teased.

Izuku managed to coax his brain into working again and grabbed his bag, checked the car for anything he might need, and somehow made it over to Katsuki without tripping over his dragging feet. He pushed the helmet over Izuku’s head and gave it a light smack before patting the seat behind him with a grin. He climbed on awkwardly and held Katsuki’s body loosely, noticing the smell of his earthy cologne tickling his senses. “you’re probably gonna wanna hold tighter than that,” he said with a chuckle as he revved the engine. Izuku felt the bike lurch forward as it began to move and his arms instinctively tightened around his torso, as far as they could reach, that is. Katsuki was definitely large and muscular and at least twice as wide as him at his smallest point. The engine was loud and Izuku felt the vibrations through his bones as they rode.

They pulled down the dirt road to the trails a few minutes later and he cut the engine, although things got quiet, but Izuku’s arms did not loosen, “You okay back there, Deku?” Izuku snapped out of his daze and he pulled himself away from Katsuki, he stood and lifted Izuku off the seat laughing, “first timer, huh?” He watched as he pulled the helmet off and handed it to Katsuki, his hair full of static wisping off the top of his head as he nodded, and a pink hue gathered in his cheeks and his face grew hot. Katsuki gave a reassuring smile and asked, “where to?”
Izuku pointed toward one of the trails, “Let’s go up that way, it has the tall ledge overlooking the river, I want a few pictures of that particular spot.” He walked shakily toward the hilly trail with Katsuki just behind him, and started up a steep incline. As Izuku’s steps faltered, the blonde’s warm hand reached out to support his weight before he could tip over, pushing him up the hill onto the flatter land. “Oh, sorry, I guess I am a bit off after that ride,” he stammered in a nervous apology.

“No worries.” Katsuki laughed, continuing to follow him in silence until they reached a rocky cliff. Izuku stopped and pulled a camera out of his bag to start lining up shots and taking photos. Katsuki took a seat on a decent sized boulder near the edge of the cliff, staring out at the river as he clicked away beside him.

Izuku lowered the camera for a moment before raising it again and began snapping shots of Katsuki with a cheeky smile spreading across his face. Katsuki turned to see Izuku looking at him with his camera poised for a shot while wearing a thoughtful expression and suddenly he wondered what the blonde was thinking. They locked eyes for a few moments before Izuku broke the silence with a quiet remark, “well I guess I have what I need, we can head out now.” Turning to head back the way they came and Katsuki caught his wrist, gently tugging him back to him and pointing past his face, almost brushing against his cheek as he did so.

“What is over the other way? Where does this let out?” He asked, Izuku turned his head to look and shifted on the spot.

“Um, I don’t usually walk the full trail but if I remember right, it circles back to the road eventually.” he explained with a shrug. Katsuki stood up shaking the dust off his ripped jeans, and nodded gently before remarking, “Let’s finish the trail then, I ain’t never been up here, it’s kinda nice.”

After a moment of hesitation, Izuku put his camera back in his bag and nodded, “Okay, why not?” Katsuki took a few steps and looked back, waiting for him to catch up before walking down the trail by his side.

They paused every few minutes to observe different things, some of them never coming to Izuku’s attention until Katsuki pointed them out, like the small cave off in a ravine or the dried creek bed full of sparkling rocks. He stopped at each of these new discoveries to take a few pictures of the locations. Roughly an hour later, they exited the path to the dusty dirt parking lot, laughing as they picked leaves and twigs from Izuku’s tangled mess of hair. “I didn’t expect that tree branch to attack me,” he giggled.

“You do realize it was hanging incredibly low for it to even get you, how did you not see it?” Katsuki teased “As my dad would say; if it were a snake it’d have bit ya”. Izuku had been looking at Katsuki when he smacked his head on the branch, causing his hair to wrap around the thin twigs and dried leaves resulting in him having a very convincing bird’s nest by the time he was loose from the branch’s hold. Katsuki had been talking about the teeth marks on the trees beyond the trail, guessing they were from beavers and questioning where their lodge was, then the branch took Izuku down and he thought would die of embarrassment as Katsuki helped him up. The entire trip seemed to have been pretty enjoyable for both of them, and Katsuki seemed almost reluctant to leave when they approached his motorcycle. The blonde handed over the helmet, “Let’s go Deku, I’m hungry.” Izuki placed the helmet on his head and joined him on the bike, wrapping his arms around him once more, and scowling at the nickname he picked up along the way.

They were approaching the main strip of town when Katsuki slowed, veering into a parking spot outside a café and hopped off, “Let’s get food, maybe if someone feeds you something, you’ll grow a bit.”
Izuku swung his leg over the seat and stood, quite a bit less shakily than after his last ride. He placed the helmet in Katsuki’s hands and was taken by surprise when he stepped over and smoothed Izuku’s hair down, attempting to tame the mess. “Thanks,” Izuku blushed as Katsuki turned, grabbing his hand and leading him toward the café and holding the door open for the greenette to enter before him, his hand on the other’s back as he entered. Izuku began to wonder how they were suddenly both so comfortable with this contact.

Once inside, they found a booth near a window facing the street and began pouring over the menu. It had been a long time since Izuku had eaten out and this place had some pricey items on the menu. Izuku peeked into his wallet before reading the menu again, “Let’s get this, we can share it,” Katsuki said pointing at a sampler plate, “This will keep me from struggling to decide, it’s a little bit of everything.”

“Oh, that does look good,” he said “And I need a coffee, badly” Katsuki laughed at him and nodded, waving an elderly waitress over.

Katsuki began their order, “We’ll take the sampler and two coffees,” he turned to Izuku, “How do you take it?”

“Black.” Izuku replied and he nodded.

“Black on both.” He finished up the order and they watched the waitress walk away. “So, you have officially impressed me with not drinking your coffee tainted with all that frou-frou crap in it,” he looked around the quaint little diner, “did you ever eat here before?”

“Not in a while, I really don’t go out much, except for the occasional drive thru joint,” he admitted. Izuku’s phone chimed rapidly in his bag and he pulled it out to check her messages.

Mina: Hey where are you?
Mina: There is a large man with your car in the driveway!
Mina: Kirishima said you left a message for him too, are you okay?!
Mina: WHERE ARE YOU?!
Mina: Message me back RIGHT NOW or I am calling the police.
“ugh, I need to answer these or Mina is going to end up getting the national guard involved.” He joked, making a goofy face.
Izuku: I am fine, got a ride and went out for lunch, be back soon
Mina: Wait, who are you with?
Izuku:Called Denki for rescue and his brother is who showed up. Gonna talk to you later, being rude and ignoring him to text you.
Mina: Wait, What?

“Sorry about that, my roommate finally woke up and said there was a strange man dropping my car off.” He giggled, “probably the most exciting thing that has ever happened concerning me. She’s always the one with all of the crazy drama.

“Yea, Inasa is a bit scary if you don’t know him,” he said with a nod, “we go way back so it doesn’t faze me anymore, but the first time I met him I thought I was gonna get mugged.” Katsuki stared toward the kitchen, tilting and craning his head as if he were checking for their order in the window.

“I must have been out of range for a while, I got all of her messages at once, I probably should have messaged her when you showed up so she knew I wasn’t sitting on the side of the road, guess I am lucky she slept until now and didn’t worry much.”

“Nah, let her worry,” he joked, “that girl seems like a piece of work from what I saw. Startled her pretty good yesterday at work, she just about slammed into me and would have fallen in the dirty mop bucket had I not caught her.”

Izuku laughed uncontrollably for a few minutes causing Katsuki to smile, he finally calmed enough to say, “That would have been great, she spent so long getting ready before work and it would have been for nothing.”

“Oh, you got a dark side eh? Didn’t expect that one” he chided, “Thought you were a goody-goody there, Deku.” Their food arrived and Katsuki thanked the server with his polite yet gruff demeanor and began to eat.

“You don’t get it, I have known Mina since high school, she has always been late to everything and lately it’s been irking me. Not too much fun with already being short handed in the kitchen, and then having no hostess until she decides to show up. Yagi just always lets her walk in whenever, it is pretty infuriating at times.” He chewed his food and spoke again, “I love her, I really do, but she can drive me nuts sometimes, like today.”

“What happened today?” he asked, seeming genuinely interested.

“Well her boyfriend practically lives with us, that’s fine I guess because we have the space, but they ransacked the bathroom last night and left me a disgusting mess to clean up. I mean, really stuff I didn’t want to mess with. If I complain and ask her to keep their mess under control, she just rolls her eyes and says I wouldn’t feel the same way if I had a boyfriend.”
“Shit. That sucks,” Katsuki said, stretching back in his seat.

They continued to talk as they ate, finding it was relatively easy to carry on a conversation despite their early reservations about each other. They spent over an hour in the café before Katsuki insisted he cover the tab and they headed out. Speeding down the road, they eventually pulled into Izuku’s driveway and stood in the yard awkwardly, not knowing how to end the strange adventure they had been on. Izuku eventually leaned forward and gave Katsuki a friendly hug, “Thanks for everything today, it actually was a pretty nice day despite how it started.”

He patted the back of his head, “No problem Deku, anytime.” They pulled apart and he turned to go inside and Katsuki shouted, “Wait!” he walked forward and grabbed Izuku’s phone out of his hand, put his number in it and said, “Don’t hesitate to call me.” He turned and swung his leg over his bike and gave him a small wave as he rode off.

Izuku walked through the front door and thumped into a waiting Mina. “What was that all about?” she blurted, Kirishima sat on the sofa behind her playing some obnoxiously loud game on his cell phone obviously not interested in the gossip of the house.

Izuku shrugged, “I couldn’t get anyone to come help me out there, so Denki sent Katsuki to pick me up. We made a pit stop for lunch and he brought me home.” He had purposefully tried to downplay it as much as possible, because he wondered what had transpired himself. Was he just being polite or were they actually going to end up being friends after this?

Mina was not satisfied with his answer and started to nag for more information “I get the part where he picked your sorry butt up from the side of the road, but what in the world happened between you two on that hike and you went out to lunch?” she asked exasperated. “Then you hugged him on the front lawn like you’ve known him forever, are you guys dating or something?”

Izuku opened his mouth to find no sound coming out, he didn’t know why any of the events occurred, but like a blessing from above, Kirishima stood up and said, “We’re supposed to meet up with my mates and we’re already an hour late, babe.”

Mina scowled in frustration at Izuku, “This is so not over.” She grabbed her jacket and purse and followed Kirishima out the door, gesturing in an ‘I’m watching you’ fashion, peeking back in the house for a moment to make her point.

Izuku was thankful that the heated interrogation was over for now, but he knew that it would resume the minute Mina returned, unless she got completely drunk again, so admittedly there was a 50-50 shot it wouldn’t continue. Izuku settled on his bed and opened his laptop to type, instead he found himself staring at his phone and the number on the screen K. Hm. He wouldn’t have pegged him for shortening to K, but Izuku had ideas of his own, editing the contact to read Kacchan. He sat as if he turned to stone for about fifteen minutes before he regained his movements with a loud gulp and typed a message, all the while cursing himself for doing it.

Izuku: Hey, it’s Izuku, Thanks again for everything.

He stared at his phone after he hit send, it was done. Sent, can’t be unsent.

Chapter Text

The apartment was empty when Katsuki arrived home. Denki would be at work for another few hours and he found that he needed the silence to help him sort out what had just transpired. He had somehow gone from not interacting with anyone besides his brother and Inasa to having an all-day expedition with Deku. He made his way into his room and flopped lazily across the bed as his phone alerted him to a text from Izuku.

Hey, it’s Izuku, thanks again for everything.

He let a smirk drift over his lips, that didn’t take long. He thought for a few moments before responding, he could already picture the look on Izuku’s face before he sent his message.

Katsuki: Hey Deku, happy to help, Denki kept insisting I saved your life so I guess that means you are indebted to me forever. It’s like an unspoken code or something, pretty sure there’s a rule book on how to repay your debt.

He didn’t mind the idea of the greenette asking him for a favor or two, he’d definitely made an impression on him.

Izuku: Good to know, I shall pay my debt. Try to keep your return favor between sun up and sundown, consider it business hours.

He let a soft laugh escape as he texted back.

Katsuki: Will do.

Pulling himself from the mattress, he decided to make lunch instead of trying to go back to sleep, the day had already shown too much promise to go back to hibernating. Grabbing items from the fridge and cabinets he assembled a sandwich and sat in front of the television to eat when the sound of text messages began.

Izuku: Hey guys! My car bit the dust today, can anyone help me get to work for the time being??
Mina: Have your boyfriend take you.
Kirishima: HE has a boyfriend? Since when?
He sighed, someone had added him to a group text. Suddenly everyone from The Clover joined in the conversation.
Mineta: What shifts you got?
Izuku: I am evenings 2-10 the next week
Mineta: Dang, I’m open to close, sorry kid.
Hanta: No Bueno, I am taking the bus. Got a stop near your place?
Izuku: No, unfortunately.
Denki: I open-close most days but I can try.
Katsuki grinned, taking a bite and texting a reply, it was time to be a hero again.
Katsuki: I got this covered, racking up the favors like a boss. Text me Deku.
Mina: See? He’s got this. It’s fine everyone, lol.
Denki: Oh, yay It’s my big brother guys.
Mineta: Oh. Cool.
Hanta: see you later
Izuku: Thanks, everyone.

His phone rang a few minutes later, he took a deep breath and answered, speaking with a cocky tone, “so I’m your boyfriend now eh? You could do worse.” Izuku stammered on the other end of the line but didn’t manage to make any real words. “It’s okay Deku, just giving you trouble, be by tomorrow at ten to check out your car, will you be home?”

“Yeah, I really can’t leave without the car running,” he said, stating the obvious.

“Yea I guess that’s true, have your keys ready for me and I will see if we can figure out what it needs before work.” He said, stretching out on the sofa, “I gotta finish eating and grab a shower before Denki gets back. He gets in there and never comes out, talk to you later Deku.” He hung up quickly and sat in the quiet once more.

###
A firm smack to the face woke Katsuki and he shook his head looking up only to be hit with the throw pillow four more times as Denki giggled, “rise and shine brother bear.”

“What the hell?” he scowled at him, smacking the pillow out of his grasp, “I help you out today and this is how you repay me?”

“Oh! How did that go, is Zuku okay?” Denki asked, plopping down on the sofa next to him.

“He's fine, but that car has seen better days for sure,” he shook his head, “I got him home safely though.”

“Good!” Denki grinned, “thank you, Kats.”

“So, what’s the story on that one?” he asked trying his best to sound casual, he wanted to know if Izuku was as innocent as he seemed or if he was the type to manipulate and work him over, he had been played by one of those for too long and was not eager to do it again.

“Izuku?” Denki asked with a raised eyebrow, “he’s sweet. He was my first friend when I started work, he was always willing to help me out if I needed it and eventually, I made friends with his roommate, but I have to admit I am not as close with Mina.”

“So, uh,” he stuttered a bit, “he got a boyfriend that is gonna get mad I gave him a ride or what?”

Denki laughed, “No, not a chance, I haven’t seen him with anyone the entire time I have known him. Why? Are you interested?” he gave an over-the-top wink.

“No, just wanting to avoid trouble, I don’t need some punk showing up to work and starting shit with me,” he said, frowning. He found himself annoyed that he was actually fishing for information with his brother. “I need to keep this job.”

“Yeah, okay, if you say so,” Denki said with a knowing smile as he hopped up and headed toward the bathroom, “I am going to leave you to pine over Zuku while I get a shower.”

“Hey, let me get in there first, you take forever,” he yelled, hurrying after him.

“No,” he shouted back, “you’ve had all afternoon to get in there and you slept on the couch instead!” he slammed the door in his face.

“One day, Denki!” he shouted, banging a fist on the door, “one day you will regret being a brat.”

The next morning, Katsuki unleashed a loud knock on Izuku’s front door that rattled the metal flap of the mail slot. Within moments he flung the door open to see him standing stifling a smile. “Rise and shine small fry.”

“Oh no, I overslept, let me go get my keys,” he said, opening the door the rest of the way. He followed him in and admired the tousled hair, black tank top, and shorts that clung across the butt; the guy was a sight to see in the morning and he drank it in. He ran off to fetch his keys and Katsuki looked around the living room; it was neat but very eclectic, there were posters from plays and vivid tapestries hanging on the walls and pictures of friends all around the room, an oversized bean bag chair on the floor and a fluffy sectional sofa that took up over half the living room. He was amused with the hero action figures on the mantle like some sort of crazy art display, he would have imagined the roommates having something more traditional for décor, and there was not a floral pillow to be seen. Izuku slid back into the living room using his socks like ice skates, “Here ya go, Kacchan!” he sang. Katsuki shook his head at him and fought back a smile. “I am going to make coffee,” Izuku announced, “Do you want some?”

“Sure thing, Deku.” He said as he walked out to the car.

He unlocked the car and got to work checking out the basics while Izuku was inside, making a mental list of things that he needed to test or replace altogether. Before long Izuku emerged holding two steaming cups of coffee in decorative mugs, “Coffee, black,” he said as he handed him a superhero mug.

He wiped some oily residue from his hands down the front of his pants, “You don’t want me touching that, it’ll get nasty, the heroes deserve better.” He shrugged and forced the cup into Katsuki’s hand and took a sip of his own. He was impressed that he was a fan, but the décor inside had tipped him off that he was a person with quirky taste. Izuku stepped forward to peer under the open hood.

“So far I have noticed a few things that need to be replaced on the car, but Inasa is going to take a look at it later, he knows more than me and has the equipment to test some of this stuff.” Izuku turned to look at Katsuki as he asked with a thick tone of sarcasm “So do you ever maintain this thing?”

Izuku shrank a bit “Probably not like I should, I really don’t know anything about cars, and my dad used to take care of it before they left town, and by taking care of it I mean he would take it to the shop for me.” He must have seen the question flash over his face because he answered it before he had time to form the words, “He and my mom did that crazy thing older people do where they sell their house and buy an RV to travel the country, I really don’t see them anymore, but they send postcards because they don’t understand text messages, or pretty much any form of technology.”

Katsuki nodded thoughtfully, “Bet that makes for some interesting stories. Listen, I am gonna leave your keys under the floor mat for Inasa, it’s not like anyone is gonna steal the car they can’t move. It’s almost noon and I gotta get back to get ready for work if I want to make it back here to get you there on time. I brought stuff just in case I had to leave from here but I am covered in oil”

Izuku blurted, “Well you can get ready here if you want,”

“Sweet, that’ll save time,” he said, clearly surprising the greenette by accepting the offer, grabbing a small bag of clothes out of the saddle bag on the back of his motorcycle as he stood beside him “lead the way small fry.”

He led him inside and through the house and opened the hall door to the bathroom and pointed to the shower, “There’s plenty of guy stuff in here between me and Kirishima if you want to use it, towels are in the door there, and the door to the left is to my room if you need anything.” Katsuki walked in the bathroom and looked around before starting the shower. He used the supplies belonging to the friend’s boyfriend and hurried to finish his shower. Throwing on clean clothes, he hung the towel on a hook and cleaned the shower out as best he could, not wanting to leave a mess. Finally satisfied with everything he opened the door into Izuku’s room and saw him lying on his bed reading. “What's the book about?” he asked, flopping down next to him.

He let out a startled yelp and broke into a fit of giggles, “Crap, you scared me, Kacchan.” Izuku rolled onto his back and said, “It’s shojo, mushy stuff, nothing too deep.” With that he sat up, marked his page with a postcard and put the book on the stack next to his bed. “Guess I should get ready now, you can hang in here if you want, or I can turn something on the tv.”

“Here’s fine.” He said with a look around and a pat to the bed. “It looks cozy.”

Fifteen minutes later Izuku emerged from the bathroom showered and was ready to go. “Hey, you didn’t lose my spot, did you?” he asked with a blunt tone.
“Naw, wouldn’t tamper with your precious progress there, bookworm,” he said flipping the pages, “But you gotta explain this to me, if the girl didn’t know that this guy was her boss’s son, why didn’t she say something when she found out?” He pointed at the pages as he asked his questions.

“Oh you were actually reading that? Well, I guess they were playing on the part where she didn’t want to get fired for breaking the company dating policy. But books like that aren’t usually too deep though, it is more about the love story than the subplot.” he explained.

“Well, will ya let me know how it ends?” he asked. “We should get going, though.” They headed outside and he tucked his stuff in the storage of his saddlebag. Izuku sat behind him and held loosely but as they pulled out of the driveway. He felt Izuku snuggle a little closer to his back holding tight, and he swore he had to be doing it on purpose. He couldn’t deny that he was growing accustomed to having Izuku around in just two short days and felt hopeful when he began to think about the possibilities.
They walked into complete and utter chaos at work. Yagi was loudly shouting orders from the window to the flustered cooks, poor Denki looked as though he had cried a few times and was likely to burst into tears again any moment. Shinso was trying his best to help Denki catch up on tables while customers sat looking irritated at the wait time, but it was clear that many of the female customers were ogling the new server’s good looks and giving him a lot more patience than poor Denki received. Before Katsuki could say anything, Izuku shouted “Clock me in!” and shot off into the dining room to bail his friends out, snagging an apron as he passed and tossing it around his waist tying it in a swift motion that was clearly muscle memory, immediately grabbing menus and seating two tables, then getting a status report from Denki before sending him on a much needed break.

Katsuki joined the kitchen staff and did his best to catch them up on orders. Mineta, the main line cook, had been skipping parts of orders on tickets and got them in the weeds, but he still managed to get them out in about thirty minutes with some hard work and a bit of cursing. Izuku would run back and pop up in the window throughout the night shouting orders to see what the kitchen was up to. “I need three specials, two medium, one well, four fish plates all day.” With that, he seamlessly turned to the dining room with his sweet ‘service voice’ and tended to his customers.

Nearing ten, the staff dropped to just two cooks and Shinso, they were closing bare bones since it was a weekday night and not expected to be busy. When Katsuki finished up, Denki and Izuku were already waiting outside for him, having wrapped up their nightly work earlier. Katsuki flung the heavy back door open causing Izuku and Denki to jump with a yelp and turn around looking guilty.

“What’s so funny?” He asked.

Izuku started to speak but looked at Denki before he finally said, “None of your business,” and stuck his tongue out. “Let’s get out of here and let Denki run to the store, he insisted he sit with me until you got out here.”

“Thanks Dunce.” Katsuki said tousling Denki’s hair as he handed Izuku the helmet, “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you are using me for my sexy ride, Deku.”
Izuku winked and said, “you’re on to me, I am just in it for the speed” quickly closing the distance between them, “is that a problem?” he grinned and hopped on the bike. Katsuki gave a cocky smirk before joining him.

Arriving at his house, the whole place was dark, “looks like it’s gonna be just me tonight,” he said softly.

“You gonna be okay by yourself short stack?” Katsuki asked with a raised eyebrow. “You need me to check for monsters under your bed? I bet I am scarier than anything they got.”

“I’m good,” he said with a smile, Izuku leaned forward hugging him loosely around the waist, catching him off guard, “I’ll see you tomorrow before work then?”

“Yep, text ya then, don’t sleep in tomorrow, unless you are gonna wear those shorts again” He winked and threw his helmet on speeding off into the dark.
Izuku’s jaw dropped as he watched the taillight disappear around a corner, did he dare wear those shorts again knowing Kacchan’s reaction to them?

Chapter Text

Izuku set multiple alarms and made sure he woke up with plenty of time to be ready before Katsuki showed up to work on his car again. He had thrown on his pre-work clothes, jean shorts and a tie-dye shirt, and his hair was held back by a headband to keep it out of his face.

He had already made coffee and had some toast before he settled at the kitchen table with his phone to text Denki.

Izuku: Hey, before your brother gets here, how about you tell me what I am allowed to say, you gave me a very clear shut up look last night at work
Denki: He does not like me dating after the last guy. I’d rather not listen to the speech again, so please don’t mention that I like Shinso.
Izuku: What? That’s ridiculous but ok. Your secret is safe with me.
Denki: My brother may be getting a bit distracted though, I think he likes you
Izuku: Now THAT is crazy. You’re joking, right?
Denki: Nope, he keeps talking about you randomly, he’s trying to be coy and get info but since we don’t talk that much he is totally obvious. So now I have to ask, do you have a thing for my brother? You’ve been shooting him some looks that I have seen.
Izuku: Maybe. I don’t know, I never talk to guys so I have no idea what I am doing
Denki: Just give him a chance, please. He tends to scare guys off with this whole ‘tough guy’ thing, then he wonders why they all hide from him.
Izuku: I promise I will.

Katsuki rolled up, engine roaring, at ten in the morning. Izuku smiled thinking that the neighbors usually made all this noise but now had to listen to a motorcycle coming and going at all hours. He walked out the front door with a hop to meet him with coffees in hand and waved cheerily at the neighbor lady peeking out her door at Katsuki.

Katsuki wore a sleeveless red flannel and black jeans with his usual heavy-looking boots. He pulled the scuffed helmet from his head and shook out his hair, it was spiky as ever today, and Izuku found himself wanting to touch it to see if it was as soft as it looked. He turned and smirked, gesturing at his neighbor, he said, “There goes the neighborhood, bet they weren’t expecting me again.” Katsuki took his coffee from Izuku, taking a long drink before pulling a small white box out of his saddle bag, “Grabbed that starter for ya, now we can at least try to listen for the problem, Inasa said he saw some issues but wanted to see if the car would start with this replaced. He had to run out of here early yesterday to deal with the shop drama and didn’t get it switched out” Izuku sat back and let Katsuki replace the starter, watching him work with his hands he wished he knew more about cars so he could at least talk with him about what he was doing. He put the keys in the ignition and turned and was rewarded with a clunk and rattle and finally the sound of a running car. “Damn that sounds rough,” he flinched.

Izuku heard his phone ringing from his pocket, he looked to see that it was work, “Hey Yagi,” he greeted merrily.

“Hello Dear, do you think you can do me a huge favor and come help Denki run the dining room? We are packed from the events at the high school today, people are in from all the surrounding schools too and the poor thing is drowning in tables.” Yagi was always so nice about things that Izuku didn’t think he had ever said no to him.

“I don’t have a car, if I can get a ride in I will be there.” he said, hanging up quickly to figure out his transportation. “Yagi needs me to help Denki, think you can take me in now? I will still get off at the same time as you.”

“No problem short stack, get dressed and I can drop you off and take care of a few things before work.” He started to wipe the grime from his hands as he rushed inside to throw his work uniform on. In record time, he was jumping from his bike and waving bye as he headed in the back door at The Clover.

Yagi hadn’t been kidding, the dining room was completely packed. Denki looked like a deer in the headlights trying to help everyone at once, and a small crowd waited for tables. Izuku darted up behind him and pointed to the right side of the dining room, “I’ll take right, you take left.” Denki’s face relaxed a bit as Izuku took off to handle their side of things.

After almost three hours the evening shift started to arrive and Katsuki gave a short wave to the guys who were leaning on the side of the building talking as he pulled in, they knew it was only a matter of time until the next rush hit so they were trying to enjoy a break while they could. “Afternoon,” he said with a smile, ruffling Denki’s hair as he passed “how’s it been?”

Denki laughed nervously, “It was awful, I almost quit before Zuku showed up and it's already time to go back in.” The three headed inside slowly, gathered their energy and drifted to their respective areas to handle things.

The evening shift was a disaster through and through. Orders were coming out of the kitchen jumbled and out of order, there were things missing and plain wrong on half of Izuku’s tickets and when he confronted the kitchen about it, Mineta cussed at him in his frustration leaving him in a foul mood. Izuku had two large tables with checks that would easily be over $70 each, and if they tipped well he could add it to his $120 from the earlier shift and pay for repairs on his car but, it became clear that he would not be getting any good tips from these tables. One particular woman was so angry that she filed a complaint with Yagi because she claimed Izuku was an incompetent server and was ignoring them completely on purpose. When the woman’s table left, Izuku went to grab their payment and noticed that they had stiffed him completely, drawing a frowny face on the ticket walking out on a $82 check. Unfortunately, The Clover’s policy was to pay for these kinds of things out of your own money after people had taken advantage of Yagi comping them by having friends come and walk out getting free meals.

Izuku tried his best to recover his cheerful server persona after the hit to his earlier tips. He focused on the second large party hoping to make up lost ground with this group. He was happy to see they paid their check when they left but did not leave a dime for the tip with a note scribbled on the check, long wait, poor service. Seeing this, Izuku broke down, this was the last straw with his string of bad tables for the night. He had ten minutes left on his shift and tossed his apron on the counter walking outside. Letting the heavy door smack closed behind him, he sat on the stack of crates by the dumpster crying into his hands. Fifteen minutes later, Denki joined him, “I clocked you out and called Mina, we’re taking you out tonight, you need some fun to make up for this string of bad luck.” He said, “I already told Kats I will drive you home, he doesn’t need to know we are going out first.”

“That sounds nice. But I can’t go out in my uniform and I am sure you don’t want to either.” Izuku attempted to wipe his face, “So what’s the plan?”

“Mina is bringing us clothes, she’s ready, we can change at a gas station and do our makeup there too.” He seemed to have it all planned out and just then Kirishima dropped Mina in the parking lot with a large duffel bag.

Mina struck a provocative pose in her leopard print tube dress, dropping the bag and saying, “Are we doing this, bitches?” in the sassiest tone she had. Denki handed Mina the keys and hopped in the backseat of his own car with Izuku. They dug through the bag, Mina had packed the nicest things from Izuku’s closet. The trio entered a nearby gas station, shuffling in on a mission. Denki and Izuku pulled on their clothes and shoes Mina provided, doing their best to destroy all evidence of work clinging to them. Denki wore a dark gray loose silk shirt with tight black jeans, Izuku reluctantly wore a thin deep v neck shirt and a pair of leather pants he was almost positive he had thrown out at one point. “Damn Mina I am smaller than you and this barely fits me, why do you have it?” Mina just smiled and laughed an evil sounding laugh with an over the top wink.

Mina applied her makeup in the grimy mirrors of the gas station restroom as popped back and forth between her friends giving them beauty advice and, in the end, both Izuku and Denki ended up with eyeliner and lip gloss. The trio admired their reflections and stuffed their work clothes into the now empty duffel and filed out of the bathroom only to receive wolf whistles and catcalls from the two guys working at the counter. They loaded back in the car, threw the duffel into the back seat roughly and hit a bar that Mina always went to with Kirishima. Izuku was surprised that they didn’t have to wait in the line out front, Mina walked straight to the front of the line and whispered something to the bouncer getting them in and clearly angering the people waiting in line. Mina immediately popped off to the bar where Kirishima waited, Izuku figured he must have headed straight over after dropping her off to get ready. Izuku and Denki looked at each other nervously for a moment before Izuku said, “Let’s get a drink before I lose my nerve and leave.” Denki nodded vigorously. They approached the crowded bar and waved to get the attention of the bartender. After a few minutes he came to take their order, Izuku asked for two martinis not knowing what else to get. They managed to find a tall table in the corner that was no bigger than a hubcap with no chairs. They stood and sipped their drinks slowly, neither one of them having much experience with bars they nervously watched the grinding bodies around them. Mina and Kirishima walked over with hands full of shots, she raised her arms and shouted “FIREBALL!” over the sound of the music and nodded for the guys to have one too. The hot cinnamon flavor stung his throat in comparison to his smooth drink before it; he was not usually one to drink but Izuku figured after the night he had experienced at work he deserved to blow off some steam with his friends….and Kirishima apparently.

After ordering more shots a half dozen more times Izuku was regretting downing so much alcohol with his low tolerance and small frame, he felt woozy and was now alone. Mina and Kirishima had disappeared toward the billiards tables to hustle some college kids, and Denki was dancing with a good-looking ginger in a suit that for some reason wore sunglasses in the dark bar. A handsome stranger startled Izuku, seemingly coming out of nowhere, he was tall and built with black hair, his collar was popped up and he wore a tailored blazer over it, he leaned so close to his ear he could feel his lips brushing his ear, “Hey I’m Shindo, how about a dance, beautiful?” he looked at Izuku, his eyebrows raised and his hand outstretched waiting for a response. Izuku shook his head yes, mainly because he hated telling people no, Shindo took his hand leading him to the far edge of the dance floor and pulled him in close, placing his hands directly on his hips and pressing his fingertips decisively into the clingy fabric of Izuku’s pants.

Izuku immediately regretted dancing with him, reminding himself over and over in his head that it was only a dance and it would be over soon. The swaying motion was beginning to make him feel sick and Shindo had his hands firmly on his hips squeezing a bit not allowing him to move away and making him regret coming out in the first place. He kept pulling Izuku closer until he could feel their bodies touching in the most intimate areas and his instincts told him to get away.

Izuku pulled his head back and looked around for his friends, Denki wasn’t far from them but was not paying attention, focused on the ginger whispering in his ear while he blushed deeply. “Let me go,” he said as loudly as he could, the last shots were kicking in, his arms and legs felt heavier, and his eyes wanted to close. His back pressed against the wall, the rough texture bit into his back and Shindo pressed his crotch into him as he moved his mouth to nibble his neck, Izuku shifted to get away from him and Shindo crashed his lips on his forcing his tongue in his mouth and he wanted to scream. The music was so loud it pulsed in his ears causing tremors of blurred vision to hit his eyes, Shindo’s hands slid over the roundness of his butt and one hand popped under his shirt and his fingertips brushed his abs, a deep cringe overtook his body as he tried to use his weight to shift from the eager hands roaming his body. He fought the feeling of a blackout rolling over him as he attempted to pull away from him with little to no success, the moment he would begin to move from him his grip would tighten, and his heavy limbs would give in. Minutes felt like hours as his hands explored Izuku’s body as he tried to make his body respond to his brain’s orders, he began to cry silent tears as he heard Denki’s voice and felt a tugging on his arm. “I need my friend, it’s time for us to go,” he pleaded. Izuku was glad Denki noticed his predicament and started to pull away, but his legs trembled, and Shindo’s grip was contracting, his muscles ached as he twisted in his grasp.

“Nah, I’ll get him home, don’t worry,” he said with a cocky tone jerking Izuku back, he went tumbling into his arms, “We’re having fun here.” He pulled Izuku with him and he reluctantly followed stumbling down the hallway toward the side exit trying in vain to regain his balance to get away from him as Denki attempted to grab his arm once more. Izuku’s heart raced, he tried to talk but his stomach lurched, and he fought back the vomit stinging the back of his throat. He looked at Denki, but things were going dark but something in the darkness was moving, and fast.

Chapter Text

“Denki, you best go get your ass in your car and lock the doors until I get out there,” Katsuki’s voice boomed over the music and he took off quickly and obediently toward the doors. “Hey buddy, I think you have something that belongs to me,” Shindo turned to argue but when he met Katsuki’s steely glare, he let go of Izuku who dropped like a ragdoll into Katsuki’s outstretched arms. “You ok, short stack? Can you hear me?” he lightly tapped his cheek, but the greentette’s eyes were glazed over as his gaze drifted past him, “Shit, don’t black out on me.”

“Izuku, can you look at me? Open your eyes,” he demanded, pulling touseled green hair from his face, “can you hear me, Deku?” His eyes were closed as he relaxed into the blonde’s hold. Katsuki brushed the green curls from his face again as he looked Deku over, a small red mark on his neck made him bristle as he remembered seeing that jerk kissing and biting the flesh as he tried to get away..

“You’re damn lucky I got here when I did,” he scolded his brother as he placed Izuku on the back seat, “This could have been so much worse than this drunken stupidity. What would you have done when that asshole managed to leave with Deku, did you even think of that? No one would have known where the hell he was.” Rage flowed through him, Denki never thought about the consequences of his actions and this time he had pulled somebody else into his dumb decisions.
Denki cried, “I don’t know, I didn’t think it would happen!” He looked at Izuku laid across the back seat, “how did you find us?”
“There aren’t any secrets at work, Mineta gossips worse than you. He told me you three went out for a drink with Kirishima and there’s only four bars in town. Just had to find your car in the parking lot of one.” He explained. “Does he have a bag?”

Denki searched the car, throwing items around frantically, but came up empty handed, “I can’t find one,” he finally announced.
“Damn it. Alright, it is what it is” he mustered, a softness breaking through the anger in his voice, “Looks like he’s coming to crash at our place then.” The car started and he drove them across town muttering under his breath and checking the rearview frequently to make sure Izuku was safe in the backseat.

Throwing the car in park, Katsuki quickly made his way around to the back door and pulled Izuku into his arms once again, walking up the stairs of their building and nodding at a neighbor. He prayed that no one assumed anything bad as he held the smaller man close and waited for Denki to unlock their door. Once inside he firmly said, “Go the fuck to bedi,” sending him quickly retreating to his room. Katsuki walked further down a hall and nudged the door open wider as he took Deku into a dark room. The greenette pulled his eyes open and wiggled, trying to sit up as Katsuki flicked the light on. “Nope. Lay down,” he said gruffly, gently laying him on a bed pulling a trashcan closer in case he vomited. “You are drunk and need to sleep.” Katsuki looked down at the tight outfit the other wore and tried to ignore how form fitting and uncomfortable everything looked with him laid out on the bed. He reached behind him and grabbed a t-shirt, pushing it towards Izuku with a stern, “Put this on.”
Izuku sat up with a wobble, his eyes rolled back as he fell backwards onto the pillow, his hands shot out grabbing the blankets. “Help,” he mumbled weakly.

“Shit, short stack,” he tried to look away but gave in, knowing the disoriented man couldn’t change on his own. So, he yanked the shoes from limp feet, letting them fall with a thump. Then, he pulled the tight shirt over the green nest of curls, tossing it onto the floor. He pulled the oversized shirt to replace the one on the floor and Deku limply pushed his hands up through the sleeves before falling back, barely being caught by Katsuki’s quick reflexes before he smacked into the headboard. Izuku began to unbutton the tight leather pants and tried to shimmy out of them, Katsuki rolled his eyes and tugged them down past his thick thighs and off onto the floor. Once he was settled, Katsuki pulled the blankets over Izuku and sighed.

Izuku gripped his forearms and whispered to him, “Don’t leave.”

He sighed deeply, and explained, “I’ll be on the couch if you need me, just through that door,” he pulled his arm away and pointed.
“No.” he pleaded with his emerald eyes brimming with tears, he attempted to sit up and crawl toward him which resulted in him becoming a tangled mess of limbs. The blonde hung his head slightly and roughly ran a hand over his face before finally helping him back into a comfortable position. Katsuki took his own pants off and laid on the other side of the bed, keeping on his boxers and shirt, trying to give Deku as much room as he could considering his much larger size. Within minutes, Izuku’s breathing shifted into soft snores indicating he had fallen asleep.

Katsuki woke up to the clattering sounds and delicious smells of Denki making breakfast in the other room. He started to sit up and felt the resistance of an unfamiliar weight on him. He glanced over to find Izuku with his arms around his waist, resting on his chest. Katsuki felt fuzzy legs touching his own and remembering that he wore nothing but his shirt and a pair of boxers, he groaned and tried to push the sultry image from his brain when he felt his boxers starting to tighten. Izuku snuggled against him and his eyes slowly opened, a smile creeped across the freckled face and he moved, pressing his lips to Katsuk’s, causing his erection to twitch and his eyebrows to raise. “Mmm g’morning,” Deku said in a raspy voice.

“Hey short stack, you don’t seem alarmed waking up in a guy’s bed, you do this often?” He questioned, not wanting to hear that answer fearing that he had a promiscuous side.

Izuku blinked a few times and squeaked in embarrassment before his face turned several shades of red. “No, not at all. I thought I was dreaming,” he admitted.
“So you would kiss me in your dreams, then?” he questioned, looking at the shorter male, who was sinking into the blankets timidly. He wrapped his arms around the small body and pulled him in closer, kissing Izuku deeply. A small moan escaped and the greenette was left stunned, “there, now we’re even.” Katsuki begged his body to reroute blood flow so he could get out of the bed without an obvious hard-on, but he worried it wouldn’t happen with Izuku looking at him with half lidded eyes like that.
Denki knocked and stuck his head in, “Good, you’re awake! Pancakes are ready!” he announced and ducked back out of the room just as quickly as he had entered. Izuku swung his legs out of the bed and stood looking around before walking out the door, wearing just Katsuki’s shirt, giving the bigger man quite the view of amazing bare legs. Katsuki took that moment to think of every sad and unsexy thought he could think of to convince his body to work with him so he could leave the room with his pride intact. After a few minutes, he threw on sweats and headed to the kitchen, seeing Izuku had added a pair of Denki’s shorts to his outfit, pouring coffee into a hero mug.

“Sorry for leaving you alone last night,” Denki said to Izuku. “I really wasn’t thinking about how much you had been drinking.” He frowned and handed Izuku a plate. “We were supposed to take you out for a good time, and you ended up being groped and almost taken home by that jerk.”

Izuku grimaced, “It’s over now, no worries. Kacchan showed up and saved the day.” He said, adding an obviously fake smile.

Katsuki sat down and loaded his plate, “I’d say the morning more than made up for the night, eh short stack?” he teased and Deku’s face molded into a look of embarrassment. Denki’s eyes snapped over and he stared with a look of curiosity but didn’t ask what had happened before he walked in, choosing life instead of death this morning. The three ate breakfast with no one speaking again until Katsuki cleared the table, “Everybody has to work today, so we need to get moving, I need a ride to get my bike and Deku needs to get home to get ready.”

The trio loaded into Denki’s car and set off on their task. They decided to drop Izuku off first, pulling off to the side of the road near his house as he scrambled from the back seat as Katsuki exited the passenger side. “I want to make sure you get inside, we didn’t find your bag last night so we don’t have your keys, unless they’re in that mess.” He motioned at Denki’s car as he protested with a scoff. Katsuki followed him to the door but there was no answer when he knocked. Izuku furrowed his brow and went to a window and knocked loudly, the curtains were drawn so there was no way to know if anyone was inside. Katsuki went to three different windows and pushed before one slid open, “You need to check all the windows after this and lock them,” he stated. “I’ll give you a boost,” He lifted Izuku into the open window and waved gently, “I’ll leave you to it, gotta grab my bike and get some stuff done before work, pick you up before I head in.”

Katsuki got back into the car with Denki, “let’s go get my bike,” he said, glancing back at the house as they pulled away.

Twenty minutes before their shift started Katsuki arrived with his usual revving engine outside. Izuku flung the door open and raced toward him, Katsuki held a powder blue helmet in his hands, “I got you one of your own,” he said with a slight hint of embarrassment feeling the warmth on his cheeks as Deku smiled.
“I love it!” he squealed, “It’s so cute! And look…you stuck a pancake sticker on it!” He laughed and hugged him.

“I had to buy a coloring book just to get that damned sticker,” he snickered, “I wanted to customize it for ya, short stack” Izuku pushed the helmet on his head and Katsuki knocked on the top, “Looks like it fits pretty well, now you’re safe and stylish.”

Mineta was outside smoking when the two pulled into the parking lot and immediately he began to heckle Katsuki, “Hey man, what’s all this? You guys look like biker Barbie and Ken with that cutesy helmet on.” Katsuki flipped him off and gave him a sneer.

“Don’t be jealous, we can get you a pretty purple one if you want, man.” Katsuki opened the door for Izuku and they headed inside. Yagi was sitting in his office on the phone, waving as he saw the group pass by, and Denki was in the dining room clearing a table. Katsuki suddenly grabbed Izuku’s hand, pulling him aside and into the walk-in freezer, leaning down until their foreheads lightly touched. “Listen, I want to talk about this morning. I realize it may be kinda fast and a little out of left field, but I want to take you on a date, like a real one. Not just food after a roadside rescue. I like you and figured I better put up some effort to show it before you end up at another bar without me.”

“Yes!” Izuku said loudly, he smiled and grabbed his arms, “I’d like that.” Katsuki looked down into those green eyes and instinctively entwined his hand into the emerald curls and kissed Izuku right as Denki opened the door and let out a squeak, closing it quickly. The two laughed before exiting the walk-in and heading their separate ways, knowing that Denki had probably told half the staff what he had seen the second he walked away.

Katsuki watched from the kitchen as Mina waltzed in a remarkable two minutes early, swinging Izuku’s bag on her finger as she sang, “My little baby is all grown up and not coming home at night.” She gave a mischievous smile and asked, “so, what happened?”

Izuku scowled and grabbed his bag, “It wasn’t a good night for me, I got felt up by some handsy idiot and had to stay at Denki’s place because my keys were in this,” he said, thrusting his bag in her face. “Never again, Mina.”

“I didn’t know,” Mina said sadly, as the other staff members watched the exchange. “I saw you dancing and then you were gone, I assumed you hooked up with that guy.”
“I love you, but no, that was awful. Let’s just get to work.” Izuku shoved his bag into a cubby and headed into the dining room with a small smile thrown back in Katsuki’s direction. The shift went smoothly with everyone there on time and working in sync.

Yagi emerged from his office that evening, giving the crew their quarterly reviews. Everyone got positive notes for the most part, Mineta scowled when Yagi mentioned his tendency to skip over items on tickets, but praised him on his ability to always show up on time for all of his shifts. Izuku did a dance of happiness when he heard he had four customers give high praise, and only the one crazy lady from a few nights ago, to complain. Katsuki was shocked when asked to join Yagi in his office and shot a confused look to Izuku, not having worked there that long he really didn’t know what there was to talk about.

When Katsuki emerged from the office, he had a bewildered expression. He went to find Izuku, who was filling salt and pepper shakers for his nightly side work. “He wants me to be the head cook,” the blonde blurted. Izuku’s mouth dropped open as he grabbed his arm and grinned.

“We haven’t had a real head cook since Tetsu left.” he stated, “this is big! Oh, but Mineta is not going to be too happy.” Izuku gave a tremendous smile and said, “You are going to do it, right?”

“I guess.” He stammered. “I never had something like this offered to me before, usually they stick a guy like me in a position that goes nowhere, assuming I’ll quit or to keep me out of the way.”

“Yagi is a good boss though, he sees what I see, you always pull that kitchen out of chaos,” Izuku replied, “that’s probably why he wants you in charge, things have definitely been better since you started here.” He got up from the table and took the containers of salt and pepper back into the kitchen and headed to his cubby, “I’m off finally and can leave anytime, let me know when you are ready.”

“I’m off too. Let’s get out of here, I told the old man that I’d get back to him tomorrow, but I’m pretty sure I’m gonna do it.” Katsuki said, walking to the back and pushing the door open. It had cooled off quite a bit during their shift and Izuku shivered. Katsuki opened the saddle bag and tossed the greenette a well worn black hoodie and held his helmet while he put the jacket on, completely enveloping his body and looking like a dress on his small frame. “Ready?” Katsuki asked.

Once home, Izuku unlocked the front door and Katsuki stood beside him, “Guess I’ll see you tomorrow then?” he said but before he could walk away Izuku threw his arms around his waist and hugged him. He softened and stroked green curls as Katsuki hugged him back. When he pulled back Izuku closed the space between them and kissed him hungrily, heat building between them. Izuku pushed hard against him begging for more, letting out a low moan he melted in his arms. Warning bells went off in Katsuki’s head; he didn’t want to move too fast, especially after the creep last night having his hands all over Deku. He pulled back and he tried to relax his staggered breathing.

“Wow, I got carried away there.” Katsuki looked down and shifted his weight from foot to foot. “See you tomorrow.” He saw a flash of hurt on Izuku’s face as he walked away, mentally kicking himself for the entire situation. That short stack had sent him into overdrive with that kiss, he wasn’t prepared for it and damn near lost control, he wasn’t about to do all the things he wanted the night after that prick tried to take advantage of him.

Chapter Text

Chapter Six
Izuku’s phone pinged repeatedly and vibrated off his side table falling into the trashcan below. He stretched off the edge of the bed and retrieved it as it continued to ping. There was a massive group text going, he opened it and attempted to read the rapidly arriving messages but only catching a few.

Mineta: FIRE at work
Hanta: For real?
Denki: Were you there?
Mineta: There right now. In flames.
Kirishima: What happened?
Mineta: No idea. Fire trucks are here now.
Denki: Where’s Yagi?
Mina: Is it bad?
Mineta: Pretty bad
Izuku: OMG.

After a quick reply, he heard loud knocking at the door and ran in to answer it, Mina beat him to it. “Izuku, it’s for you.” She shouted as she walked away from the open door toward her room.

Katsuki stood on the other side of the door wearing his usual sleeveless shirt and ripped jeans, “Did you hear about work?” Izuku asked.

“Just saw the group chat, you should know I hate those fuckin’ things, I can never keep up. Get dressed, I want to go check things out before I get to work on the car.” Izuku led him in and headed to his room. Katsuki took a seat on the bed and started reading the titles in his book pile, flipping through the one on top.

“I just got the group text before you knocked, Mineta says it’s pretty bad.” Izuku called from the closet, picking some clothes to throw on. “I think he’s the only one there, but he lives one street over, he may have seen it first.” He tossed a plain blue top on with jeans, and sat on the end of the bed to put his socks on as Katsuki rubbed his back, standing he quickly slid running shoes on his feet. “Let's go.”

They made good time through town to The Clover and saw three fire trucks spraying in the doors and windows with a haze of smoke all around. Soot covered the parking lot and the ground was soggy from the water. The main walls crumbled inward and the entire inside of the building was black and smoldering. “Shit.” Katsuki muttered under his breath, “that ain't good.” He draped an arm over Izuku’s shoulders as they assessed the scene before them.

Mineta spotted them after finishing up talking to the fire chief and walked over to the pair, “They said the building didn’t have a proper sprinkler system and they think the fire was electrical.” He shook his head, “Yagi is on his way in, he was at his sister’s place across the river when I managed to get him on the phone.”

“I’m so glad no one was hurt, that could have happened with any of us inside last night or today…” Izuku slowly said, eyes panning the ruined building with a frown. “Looks like I’m out of a job.” Izuku was barely making rent payments as it was, now he wasn’t going to be able to work and the thought caused his stomach to seize up.
“I didn’t even get that far in my head honestly,” Mineta admitted, “They definitely can’t fix this, the fire chief said something about it being a tear down.” They stood for a while watching the firemen finish up, eventually packing up their trucks and clearing out, leaving just the three curious employees, a spattering of pedestrians watching across the street, and the fire chief waiting in the parking lot when Yagi arrived.

“Son of a birch bark canoe,” he cursed when he hopped out of his car. ”The whole damned place is gone.” He stared in disbelief, “I’d been planning on moving across town to a bigger location, but this is not the motivation I was looking for.”

“What are you gonna do boss man?” Mineta asked sympathetically, following him around the parking lot like a lost puppy.

“Guess I’m gonna put a bid in on the other building and see if I can fast track this deal, can’t be without my place; I’ll lose my staff if I can’t get it running soon.” He kicked at the ground, “I’ll pay the staff for two weeks, and hopefully we can figure something else out by then.”

“Can you afford to do that?!” Izuku shouted at the stubborn old man. He wondered if guy was in shock, making decisions like that at the drop of a hat.

“Let me worry about the finances and you guys just resist the urge to run off to another place and leave me understaffed again.” He patted Izuku’s shoulder, “We’ll make it work my boy. Now get out of here before I change my mind.” He waved them off with a flick of his wrist as he went to talk with the fire chief.

Back at the house, Izuku headed inside saying that he would get lunch for them and Mina took this opportunity to storm over to Katsuki as he popped the hood of the car. “Hey. I got a problem with you, biker boy,” she snapped. “What’s going on with you and Izuku?”

He looked up from under the hood of the car and scowled at her, “You got a problem with me? Who the hell are you, his mommy?” He gave a cocky half smile and tossed the dirty rag at her feet.

“You didn’t see him last night,” Mina snapped, putting her hands on her hips, “He was all upset because he made a move, which is a friggen miracle, and you walked away leaving him regretting it.” She pointed at him, “you better not be messing with his feelings.”

“Listen, bitch,” he snapped, causing her to gasp, “I actually like your friend, don’t go prying in my business.”

“Okay, first of all I am not a bitch,” head bobbing in full sass mode, “Second I don’t want him getting hurt.” The two locked eyes and shot fierce looks at one another, neither one wanting to back down.

“I’m not going to hurt him, so back the hell off.” He slammed the hood closed, wiped his hands on his jeans and walked around to the driver’s side door, starting the car with ease. “I wouldn’t be here fixing his car if I was using him.”

Mina shrugged with a pissed off look plastered on her face and reluctantly accepted his answer, storming back in the house past Izuku who was coming out with plates of food. “What was that all about?” he asked, handing Katsuki a plate.

“Your friend just gave the third degree about us.” He bit into his sandwich and chewed, after a few moments he swallowed the bite and set his plate on the hood of the car. “Let me clarify something, I am not trying to waste your time, fuck, I actually like spending time with you and want to see where this goes, I just don’t want to rush things.” He tugged Izuku’s belt loop, pulling him to stand between long his legs. The blonde placed a large hand on his butt and kissed him. When he released the other man, he motioned behind him, “I fixed your car.”

Izuku jumped on him with an energetic hug and a squeal. “Thank you!” he pressed his lips to the taller man’s, wrapping arms around his neck. Then, deciding he better take it down a notch, Izuku slid down the toned torso until he could reach the ground once more. Izuku casually sat next to Katsuki to finish eating the lunch he had made. Both of their phones sent notifications at the same time, Katsuki opened his message first and rotated the screen for Izuku to see.

Denki: Let’s make the best of paid time off, bonfire at the beach! Meet on the Pointer’s Bridge access. BYOB.
“Shall we, short stuff?” He asked. “Might as well go to make sure Denki stays out of trouble.”

“Let’s go have a good time,” Izuku said, jabbing his shoulder firmly with a finger, “Denki has learned his lesson.” The greenette pulled him by his arm, forcing him to stand, “Let’s pack some stuff and we’ll head out. We’ll take the car!”

“I don’t know if I trust that thing, the guy that fixed it works in a kitchen,” he said leaning into Izuku. “seems shady if you ask me.” He watched Izuku take a wicker picnic basket out of a closet and begin filling it, “Why exactly do you own a picnic basket?”

“For all my picnics, duh,” he said with a goofy face. “My parents left me a bunch of random stuff when they started the whole ‘RVing across the country’ thing. I also have a snow blower.”

He chuckled, “I cannot picture you attempting to use a snow blower, it’s probably bigger than you are, don’t try it.” Izuku grabbed an armful of thin blankets and threw them at other. “Are we bringing all this, short stuff?”

“Yep, a quick stop for drinks and snacks and we are ready to go!” he chirped. Izuku took the blankets once more and put them on the basket he carried, “You’re driving.”
Mina emerged from her room with Kirishima trailing behind her in usual fashion, “Hey quit getting handsy with my best friend!” she said with a wicked smile.

“I am a good five feet away from him, my arms are long but not that long,” Katsuki said back to her, putting his hands in the air to show his innocence.

“Well, he’s got an oily handprint on his ass,” Mina broke into a fit of giggles as Izuku craned behind her to see that he did in fact have a black handprint on his right back pocket. “Guess you guys are good now, jeez your face is priceless Izuku.” She slumped over cradling her sides laughing, “I take it you guys are headed out to the bonfire then?”

“We’re leaving soon, but apparently, I need to change my pants” Izuku muttered heading toward his room. Trying to stomp and look mad but coming off more like a cranky toddler.

“Nah, I like it, shows you’re taken,” Katsuki joked from the living room. “We should do it to all your pants, keep the guys off ya.” Kirishima joined in laughing this time, clearly unsure what he was laughing at. Izuku came out wearing different jeans and long-sleeved white top. He suddenly opened the closet again and grabbed a large gray bundle and tossed it on the floor, “What’s that?” Katsuki asked.

“A tent.” he pointed out, “If we’re going to be drinking we are better off not driving back, cops like to stake out those back roads for drunk drivers. There’s a nice sized campsite at that beach anyway.”

“Good thinking,” he nodded with appreciation, “Don’t need to wreck that rust bucket right after I got it running, anyway.” Izuku punched him lightly on the shoulder and headed out the door with the basket, leaving him to grab the tent.

Kirishima and Mina were loading up Kirishima’s van with their supplies, and Katsuki saw that they too had decided to bring a tent. He’d never gone to one of the bonfires Denki went to, but it seemed like this crew was prepared for it.

They left Mina and Kirishima in the driveway, shouting that they’d meet up soon. They stopped at a convenience store on the way out of town to get snacks and drinks, Izuku grabbed a case of soda and some chips while Katsuki picked up a case of beer and some daiquiris. “Gotta get you lightweights some fruity nonsense,” he teased. “Just promise me you aren’t going to get shitfaced on me again.”

“Definitely not.” Izuku felt queasy just thinking about the last time. “It’ll be more fun this time all around.” They paid for their purchases and loaded them into the car. Izuku sat in the passenger’s seat looking out the window as they drove out of town toward the beach, Katsuki pulled his hand into his lap and held it in his own, squeezing it slightly.

“So what’s the deal with your roommate and her boyfriend? They seem like a lot of work.” Katsuki said with curiosity.

“That feels like a massive understatement,” Izuku sighed, “I have known Mina since we were seven, we went to the same elementary school and did scouts together, I spent a lot of time at her house until my parents got it in their head that her parents were not the kind of people they wanted me around, then it switched and Mina spent a lot of time at my house.” he explained.

“Ah, so your parents liked her but not her family?” he questioned.

“To be honest, they didn’t like her much either, but they did their best to not outright say it. They would make all kinds of snide comments that were aimed at her parents and then cover it up by saying that they meant people in general instead of them directly.” Izuku rolled her eyes, “I was probably thirteen when I caught on, they hated her family for being on food stamps and state assistance, my parents said people that needed that just weren’t working hard enough, but they were just wrong.” Izuku looked sad as he fiddled with a string hanging from his sleeve. “My parents had money they just didn’t understand.”

“Damn Deku, I hate to think what they’d say about me and Denki.” He snorted, “We were on all kinds of state assistance as kids, my dad wasn’t married to my mom, then didn’t get married to Denki's mom either. People used to call him every name in the book for that, but damn that man is tough, made sure we had what we needed and got us the hell out of there when shit went south.”

Katsuki thought about how his dad looked the night he took Denki out of there for good. He had cried watching them leave, but he’d also been the one to suggest that they leave to keep them safe from the trouble. Had they not left that night Katsuki surely would have been in the round of arrests the next day, but that of course was all a big coincidence.

He broke from his thoughts and noticed Izuku looking at him with a flicker of concern in green eyes. “Are you ready for this little shindig?” he asked with a soft smile.
“I guess, it’s high time to show off my cute new boyfriend after all,” he said with a smirk, “let the guys know you’re off the market.” Izuku laughed as Katsuki put on a pair of Mina’s large black bejeweled sunglasses and was peering at him over the frames, batting his eyelashes playfully.

“Ha, that’s funny,” Izuku scoffed, “I don’t recall any of them paying me the least bit of attention anyway, most of them are too busy waiting to see if Mina dumps Kirishima.” He shook her head, “That girl gets all the attention.”

“Not mine.” He looked serious. “You’re a different type of person, that’s for sure.” Katsuki let go of his hand to push the radio buttons, making flinching faces with each of the stations that came on. “You need a little classic rock in your life, short stuff,” he said, changing the station manually and singing along with the ACDC song that played.

Chapter Text

It took about forty minutes of driving down winding back roads to get to the spot Denki picked to meet. Pointer’s Bridge was old and needed to be torn down, people used this spot for camping and swimming and brave souls would jump off the bridge into the water below. There was a small camping area to the side with water spigots and a set of porta-potties, but most of the lot was a sandy area that allowed for hoards of people to hang out. Katuki pulled the car into one of the spots next to the camping lots, figuring it was easier to do it now rather than later. They stepped out of the vehicle and saw a group of about two dozen people dragging logs onto the beach, some for seating and some for the fire. They unloaded their supplies and Katsuki set the tent up while Izuku greeted his friends. Denki did one of his excited hugs, spinning Izuku around on the spot. “I am so glad you came!” he squealed.

“Me too,” Izuku replied. “I needed to get out for a while, I haven’t been out here in months.” The girls flocked together and gossiped about anything and everything while the guys attempted to get the fire as big as they could. One guy threw an aerosol can in causing an explosion that made the girls scream and shriek obscenities at him. Katsuki sat back on the hood of the car watching the groups do their thing and wondered how often Izuku hung out with these people when he wasn’t buried in work. The greenette never spoke about anything other than work and what happened at his house, so he doubted that he was too close with any of these folks.

Katsuki was pulled from his thoughts when he heard a loud splash and saw Mineta tossing girls into the water, he reached toward Denki and, before Katsuki could say anything, the new guy Shinso shoved Mineta into the water. Katsuki snickered and thought that maybe Shinso wasn’t so bad after all, and Denki gave the pretty boy a glowing smile walking behind him thanking him profusely. Although he didn’t directly acknowledge him, it was obvious that when the blonde followed him he walked a little taller in a confident strut.

A group of five guys had made their way to the roadway of the abandoned bridge and began climbing the metal beams on the sides. An old rope hung from one of the higher points and they used it to swing out and drop into the water. Three of the five guys had made a smooth entry into the water and watched from below as the fourth swung out and the rope caught on a piece of the bridge snapping in two, he was launched sideways and smacked the water in a hard belly flop resulting in a slow clap from the crowd on the beach. Needless to say, the fifth guy didn’t try to jump and slowly walked back down to the beach.

By the time dusk had fallen, the fire was large and radiating heat in a wide aura. People had set up spots surrounding the fire to sit and drink, even Izuku had spread a blanket on the sand claiming a spot of his own. Katsuki sauntered over and sat on the blanket, stretching his legs out and pulled Izuku into his lap. Izuku tilted his head and gave him a look before kissing him, there was a chorus of aww behind them and one guy screamed to get a room. Katsuki popped the top on his beer and twisted the cap off Izuku’s bottle. They drank and chatted by the fire as the crowd grew to about thirty-five people. “Damn, this is bigger than I expected.” He admitted. “Do you even know these people?”

Izuku gestured to a group of guys by Kirishima’s van, “those are Kirishima’s roommates, the ones next to them are high school friends of ours, and I am not sure who that group is but I am assuming they know someone somehow.” He shrugged and drained the remaining alcohol from his bottle. “It’s funny,” he said, “seeing all of these people from high school makes me think about how shocked I was when Mina started dating Kirishima. We had known him for years, well known OF him anyway, and he was always so dumb. One day I actually got detention for pointing out his stupidity.”
“You?” he asked in disbelief. “What in the world did you do to the poor idiot?”

“Well to be fair, I made fun of his stupidity all the time and I was warned that one more instance would get me detention,” he stated, “but then the teacher handed out our math books and some brown paper bags to cover them in and I couldn’t resist. I heard Kirishima lean over behind me and ask another kid what the bag was for and I turned around and said that it was to carry your book home in. Of course, Kirishima opened the bag and just dropped his book, believing me and the teacher said that it was the last straw and gave me detention.” Izuku giggled at the memory, “It was worth it. The whole class lost their minds laughing.”

“You are something else Deku, I wouldn’t have expected that from you,” Katsuki said chuckling.

Izuku leaned back against him and sighed, “it’s strange to be out here when we’re supposed to be working. I hope Yagi gets everything sorted out soon.”

“I never expected the old fool to pay everyone for time they aren’t working,” Katsuki said.

“Oh,” Izuku said, “Didn’t Denki tell you? Yagi won one of those multi-million-dollar lotteries years ago and pretty much kept his bar so he could still people-watch. He has the money to do what he wants, so I guess he is just motivated to keep us on staff.”

At that moment, Mina called Izuku’s name from the van waving him over, “I guess I am going to see what that is all about, I’ll be right back.” he kissed his cheek and skipped over to his friend.
Katsuki watched from the blanket as Izuku chatted with a group of people, then he bristled as a brunette guy pulled him into a hug and lifted him off the ground yelling his name. Katsuki stood and quickly moved over to where the group was gathered and caught Izuku as he stumbled backwards when he was released to stand on his own two feet again. Katsuki wrapped his arms around his waist and asked, “Hey, who’s your friend?” with a smug look on his face.

“This is Rody, Yagi’s nephew.” Mina explained. “He used to work with us for a while until his family moved across the river, he and his sister are back to help Yagi get the place figured out again.”
Katsuki didn’t want to start shit with his boss’s nephew but he had felt a pang of jealousy when the guy put his hands on Izuku. He shook away the thought, knowing it wasn’t a good move to be a controlling jerk, and he remained with the group as they drank. Kirishima had pulled a guitar from the van and started playing some music and Katsuki thought that somehow it made sense of him to be the stereotypical guitar guy. The small crowd listened at first then they slowly dispersed to tents and blankets as darkness settled on the river.

Katsuki sat with Izuku once more on the blanket and they watched people, trying to guess what they were talking about. Eventually the smaller male was so far gone in a fit of giggles Katsuki had to stop cracking jokes and adding words to their supposed conversations to let him recover. The fire died down to glowing remnants of logs and embers when Izuku announced he wanted to go lay down, standing and looking a bit tipsy he shook the sand out of the blanket as they headed to their tent. Luckily most of the other campers set up on the beach and further down the campground, giving them a hint of privacy near the trees. Izuku opened the tent and laid out some blankets and pillows inside, kicking off his shoes he laid back on his makeshift bed and laughed as he noticed Katsuki watching him with a glimpse of a smile. “Well then, for being a small fry you seem to have claimed the majority of the space, guess I just gotta squeeze in there,” he joked as he climbed in the tent.

“Well it is my tent,” he said in a fake snotty tone, “and I always get my way.” Izuku poked his chest and laughed, clearly buzzed and giddy.

“Yep, you always get your way, princess,” he rolled his eyes and felt Izuku’s hands gripping his shirt pulling him down to him, their lips crashing together. The greenette’s hands quickly moved to push under the edge of his shirt running along his skin as the other trailed kisses down Izuku’s neck and across his collarbone. Katsuki blew a breath as Izuku pressed his hips into him, biting his lip as he pulled the blonde’s shirt, peeling it over his head. Katsuki shifted, placing his hands on Izuku’s thighs and sliding them around to his butt, the heat from their bodies searing his cool fingers as he caressed his body. His fingers looped into the top of Izuku’s pants and he began to tug them down when a loud group of voices came closer and shadows surrounded the tent shining lights all over the outside.

“KNOCK KNOCK,” came Kirishima’s voice, “who needs party favors?”

Izuku giggled and whispered, “he means condoms,” his face flushed a deep red.

Katsuki rolled onto his back and sighed, “that was a buzzkill, apparently the entire party knew what we were up to.” Izuku snuggled closer resting his head on his chest, Katsuki wrapped an arm around his waist and listened to the sounds of the party outside until the sound of a soft snore indicated Izuku had fallen asleep.

Katsuki awoke to the sound of a car idling nearby, it took a moment for him to remember they were asleep by the beach and that the warmth pressed against his side was a person. Izuku was peeking through squinted eyes against the bright sun shining through the fabric of the tent, and Kats propped himself up on one arm ruffling his messy hair and attempting to wake himself up enough to get a lay of the land. Izuku pulled the zipper of the tent to reveal many of the campers were still passed out around the beach and a truck just past his own car was being jump started which explained the commotion. Izuku gathered up most of his belongings and began packing them back into the trunk and voiced his need for a shower as he shook sand from his shirt.

Katsuki collapsed the tent, tossing it into the car with a significant amount of sand while Izuku finished packing the blankets and said a few quick goodbyes to those who were awake. The drive back to town was peaceful and the roadways were empty. They listened to the radio on a classic rock station and sat without saying anything, just holding hands as he drove. Katsuki stopped at the café where they ate their first lunch together and ran inside to fetch two coffees while Izuku laid back in the passenger seat still looking tired. When he returned with the hot to-go cups, Izuku inhaled the scent deeply and gave him a very appreciative smile and a sweet kiss. Katsuki hadn’t believed him when Izuku had told him just how useless he was without at least three cups of coffee but it was clear that he was not up to forming full sentences yet, and the blonde felt lucky he was driving instead.

The two cruised through the sparse early morning traffic of town before heading down the narrow street to Izuku’s house. There seemed to be something blocking traffic further down the road and his loud neighbor leaned out of his truck window yelling that he couldn’t get into his driveway until some jerk moved. He ranted for a few minutes before he was finally able to pull over the crest of the hill and into his driveway, allowing Katsuki to pull forward and see what the fuss was about. They nosed the car slowly over the hill to see a large black RV parked half on the street and half on the sidewalk by Izuku’s house. Izuku sat up alert and said aloud, “My parents are here.”

Kats mentally judged the poor parking job as he pulled around the RV and into the small parking spot in front of the house and saw his bike still sitting safely in its resting spot, he looked at Izuku and he was sure he wasn’t hiding his worry, but being distracted by the surprise visitors the greenette missed his concern. He didn’t know much about the parents other than their dislike of Mina and her family but he knew about his experience with other parents and most of them did not like him at first sight either.

Izuku threw the car door open and got out with a happy hop. He started toward the door and turned to see a hesitant Katsuki still sitting in the driver’s seat. He emerged and walked to Izuku, wrapped his arms around heim, “Why don’t I go ahead and get out of here?” he questioned, praying he’d send him on his way. “I can let you visit with them and come back later.”

“Don’t be silly. Stay.” Izuku pulled him by his arm to the door of the RV and he felt his chest tighten.

Chapter Text

Izuku knocked as he opened the side door of the RV. His parents stood by the small kitchen table inside and they turned together to quickly glance past their son, their eyes cemented to the man that stood behind him. Izuku cringed a bit as he realized his parents were dressed like they were late for a tennis match and was sure that Katuski would immediately notice the goody-goody vibe they emitted.

Izuku took a deep breath and calmly began introductions, “Kacchan, these are my parents Hisashi and Inko. Mom and Dad, this is Kacchan o-or um, Katsuki.” He smiled and looked back and forth between the two parties as Katsuki held a hand out to his parents and his dad reluctantly shook it.

“Izuku, sweetheart, we knew you had moved with Mina, but until we got here, we weren’t aware of how far on the other side of the tracks you lived, does that awful contraption belong to him?” His dad gave a cringe as he looked out the window at the motorcycle, also seeing the overgrown grass of the neighbor’s lawn and deep potholes in the street. While it was true that it was not a great neighborhood, it was far from the worst place he could live.

“It’s just not what we had imagined, baby,” Inko said cheerfully, trying to smooth things over and leading Izuku out to the house. “maybe it’s better on the inside, yeah?”
Izuku was confused at his parent’s words as he unlocked the door and led them into the living room. “The place is fine, really. I was still living in the dorms when you sold the house so I had to find something affordable after that.” He tried his best to stay calm, but a sudden migraine seeped into his temples and caused the thoughts to jumble. Izuku glanced around seeing that Mina and Kirishima had unloaded their gear in the living room and hallway leaving it cluttered with their discarded camping gear along with an overturned cooler with beer cans and sand spilling out.

“Look at this place, it’s a mess Izuku, we didn’t raise you to live like this,” his dad raised his voice and gestured to the mess, “look, there are guys clothes all over, you said it was just you and Mina but it’s obvious you have this guy staying here. Didn’t you learn anything watching your cousin throw her life away with that horrible delinquent she married? Don’t do this to yourself, take some time and find a better solution than what you have here.”

“Dad,” Izuku defended with venom in his words, “I do not have to explain this to you because I am twenty-three, an adult you know, but Mina’s boyfriend stays here. Kacchan has his own place!” He crossed his arms and suddenly felt like a teen defending himself for staying out past curfew again. “And if I did have Katsuki here it wouldn’t be any of your business. As far as the mess? We just got back from a bonfire and it is not normally this bad. Regardless, I work to pay for this place, and I like it just how it is! What did you expect to happen? You guys left and I found a job and a place to live. I have friends and a boyfriend and a LIFE here.”

“Baby, about that, can’t you go back to school and live in the dorms again? Working at that restaurant is not a career,” his mom pleaded. “You could be a great nurse, or even a teacher. I don’t like the idea of you working in such a dirty place, people drink here! People that are around alcohol get into trouble, Dear.”

Izuku looked flabbergasted, “I am working on my writing too, I got my degree, I am not going back and accumulating more debt.” He had tears forming at the corners of his eyes and tried his best to blink them back, deciding it was best to not allow them to know he did get into trouble recently because of alcohol, “I am happy with my life, why are you doing this? You guys left me here alone, I am doing fine considering all of that. You can’t just come back and start tearing my life apart.”

“You are the one tearing your life apart young man, writing isn’t getting you anywhere, that literature degree is useless. You need to go back to school and learn a trade, get a job that doesn’t require degrading yourself,” his dad’s face went cold and he looked directly at Katsuki, “I just think you can do better.”

Katsuki’s voice finally came with a growl, “He said he is happy, I don’t know what your fucking plan was with coming here and attacking him with your skewed ideas that he ain’t good enough, but you’re wrong. He’s got a good head on his shoulders and is a great fucking worker, he is amazing all around.”

Hisashi leaned forward, ignoring his son that was standing frozen between them and spat, “I didn’t say he wasn’t good enough, it’s everything else,” he emphasized his words. Katsuki’s gaze was fierce and unbreaking as he bit back his own comments but placed his hand on Izuku’s back to show his support. “My son was raised better than this, he should know his worth and not waste it on subpar things. There’s nothing I see here that is worth his time.”

Izuku started to clench his fists to push down the anger he felt at his parents, he wondered how long they had felt this way, they always voiced their high hopes for him but never angry or rude, at least toward him. Their distaste for people they felt were lesser than them was something he had always overlooked but now that he was apparently among this group. Izuku felt hurt and sick. “Mom, Dad, I need you to understand that I am fine here. I am happy and it may not be what you pictured but I wouldn’t change anything right now.”

“Oh!” Inko interjected, clasping her hands together with a look of pure glee, “What about Subaru? Our old neighbor’s boy? He is going to be a lawyer, you should spend some time talking with him, you always did get along when you were younger.”

“I never got along with Subaru, I only spent time with him in the past because we had vacations with his family and we were both stuck there. I don’t care if he is going to be a lawyer, back in high school he was the one that needed the lawyers because of the trouble his family had to buy him out of. You can’t sit here and tell me that you think he is better than Kacchan; you haven’t even tried to get to know him and you’re already judging him,” Izuku grew angrier as he watched his mother shake her head gently.

“And Mina doesn’t seem to have changed for the better, I see” his father said, nudging the overturned cooler with the toe of his shoe, “she will turn out like her mother, no doubt.”

“Dad. Stop,” Izuku warned, behind her Katsuki exhaled but his hand remained on his back, “She is not a bad person and neither are her parents.”
“Izuku, you’re blinded by your good heart but you are letting these people take advantage of you, they don’t have the same sort of potential you have and you are throwing it all away,” his dad said insistently.

Izuku tried to gather his thoughts as his dad muttered the words “good-for-nothing” in Katsuki’s direction. He lost his resolve, tears streamed down his face and he screamed at the top of his lungs, “I CAN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE! GET OUT! NOW!”

A smug look crossed his father’s face as he looked at Katsuki, then he realized his son was looking at him, Katsuki leaned forward and whispered, “He means you, Pops,” and gave a sharp jab to his chest.

“Izuku, you cannot be serious, we are your parents and we are here to help you, to find what is best for you. We had no idea that you had let yourself go this far, this is an absolute train wreck. You are better than all of this, you cannot just expect me to just walk out of here,” his father pleaded with the evidence of his anger furrowed across his brow and tangled in his voice.

Izuku pointed to the door, “Leave now, and don’t come back until you can respect me and my choices.” He stood as tall as he could and held his head high as his emotions teetered on the verge of cracking and threatened to pull him to the ground.

His dad strode to the door with a cloud of arrogance he shouted back “I will go, but seeing you here with this degenerate leaves me no hope you aren’t stupid enough to marry him ruin your life,” with that he waltzed out. His mother hugged him and sobbed quietly as she trailed out the door not able to look back. Izuku slammed the door and collapsed in a heap behind it, his face covered in tears and he found himself barely able to breathe through the painful sobs.

Katsuki sat close and pulled Izuku to him. He hugged the greenette against his chest and stroked his hair, “It’s going to be alright, Deku, they ambushed you and that wasn’t fair. You did what you had to do, they’ll come around.” He paused before adding, “maybe never come around to accepting a guy like me, but they’ll get over the rest.”

Izuku turned to look at his face, gone was his tough guy façade, he saw the hurt on his face from what had transpired. “A guy like you?” he started, “I am lucky to have a guy like you around, you made sure I wasn’t stuck on the side of the road, or picked up by a creep at a bar, or even without a working vehicle or a ride to work. You have done so much to show that you are truly amazing and I know I am fortunate to have you, but my parents didn’t even get to see a tiny snippet of that great stuff because they are shallow and jumped to conclusions.” Izuku shook his head, “They have always been judgmental of others, but now they are unleashing that on me and I see that I don’t want to be anything like them.” Izuku laid his head on Katsuki’s lap, he cried for a while longer before he picked him up and moved them to the couch where they both fell asleep.

Mina and Kirishima came in to find the couple sleeping tangled with one another on the couch when Kirishima accidentally slammed the door into the wall. Izuku jumped and looked around, finally seeing their audience. Mina then noticed the streaks on her friend’s cheeks and the bloodshot eyes left from his tears, “What happened, Izuku?”
“My parents came in town to see me, but apparently, they came to judge more than visit and it was horrible Mina,” he began to cry again, “They told me to quit my job, go back to school, and leave my whole life because it’s not good enough. From the first word it was all negative.” He felt Katsuki sit up behind him and hug his waist, “My dad didn’t outright say it but he was directing a lot of the tone toward Kacchan and I thought they were going to actually fight for a minute there.” Izuku absentmindedly stroked Katsuki’s arm as he added, “I don’t think I would have blamed Kacchan if he hit my dad though.”

Mina stood in shock, “Your parents? Like Mr. and Mrs. Matching-Sweater-In-The-Christmas-card?” she shook her head in disbelief, “That’s insane, I know they didn’t like my family, but they were always so proud of you Izuku, their amazing perfect child, guess they couldn’t handle you getting out in the real world and developing flaws like the rest of us.”

Izuku jumped up and hugged Mina, “I don’t know how you put up with them talking about your family all those years, I guess I never realized how much that stuff stung until they directed some of it at me,” he admitted.

“Do you know what this calls for?” Mina said with an evil grin? “Tequila and Mexican food!” With that she pulled a bottle of liquor from the cabinet and grabbed her phone and began to order from the app, “This is going to be one hell of a night.”

A few hours later after clearing all of the food they ordered, Mina started a spirited game of never have I ever, shots had been taken by all parties when the deep, dark, and telling questions started to arise.

“Never have I ever stolen anything.” Said Kirishima, everyone else drank.

“Never have I ever had oral sex,” giggled Izuku, everyone else drank.

“Never have I ever gotten arrested,” added Mina, Kirishima and Katsuki drank, and Mina shouted “Explain yourself Kirishima!” It turned out Kirishima had gotten arrested for running his van into a police car while high. Izuku knew Mina was arrested for shoplifting at eighteen, and Katsuki was too scary for anyone to ask for details.
“Never have I ever…” Katsuki hesitated, “done drugs.” Mina and Kirishima drank.

“Never have I ever cheated on someone,” Kirishima joked thinking no one had to drink but Izuku’s face had turned a deep shade of scarlet and he stared at the table while everyone else prepared their next turn, Izuku lifted his shot glass causing Katsuki and Kirishima notice his hesitation.

Mina slurred, “Games over.” Pulling Izuku from the table into the bathroom leaving the guys holding shots in midair watching them flee.
“WHAT?” Izuku blurted. “Did he have to ask that?” he was so tipsy he was leaning to the side holding onto the towel rack for stability.
“You just outed your most personal detail just like that?!” Mina questioned.

“I thought that was what we were doing,” Izuku blinked hard and the towel rack snapped from the wall leaving him on the floor twisted in the mess.
Mina stifled her giggles and tried to remain serious as helped her friend into a sitting position before continuing, “I wouldn’t have just taken the shot Zuku, the guys were in shock, I don’t think that Katsuki even expected that, you come off as a goody two shoes and you don’t ever talk about your past boyfriends,” she explained. “Now let’s get back out there and see what kind of reaction you are dealing with.”

When they emerged from the bathroom Kirishima was gone and Katsuki was cleaning up the table where they had just been drinking, he looked up as Izuku approached and took his hand, “Kirishima’s in the back,” he explained to Mina, “let’s talk.” He led Izuku into his room and pulled him closer, slowly leaning in and kissing him, he had a hard time keeping his hands to himself. “I want to put it out there, I am not going to judge you no matter what your past is. We all make mistakes, I should know, I damn near went to jail for being an accessory to grand theft auto and selling drugs.”

Izuku felt himself wobble and shifted onto his bed looking up at Katsuki, he stood staring at the blonde watching for a reaction, Izuku was left speechless but gave a sincere and loving smile and blushed as he gave in to the dizzying effects of the alcohol. “His name was Akio, we dated for about a year and he was a musician. I loved being part of the energy and commotion with the band but he was entirely focused on his music. His friends would joke that the only way he would pay attention to me would be if they grafted a guitar onto my back, and after a while it started to feel accurate, I couldn’t even get him alone long enough to talk with him about it. I would always just sit and watch him fine tune songs, play his guitar, scribble lyrics in notebooks, but he didn’t really pay attention to me. One night I was hanging out with some of my friends in the band street crew and a guy was hitting on me all night. I knew it wasn’t a good idea to flirt back but the attention was intoxicating and I just kept going, before long we ended up hooking up in the back room and Akio walked in. I was a shitty person and I haven’t dated since then, I hated myself, and honestly I still do.”

Katuski gently climbed over him to lay between him and the wall, pulling him onto his shoulder and lacing their fingers together. There was a long silence before he spoke. “It’s not something to be proud of, but it’s a mistake and everyone makes them, the important thing is that you learned from it.” He kissed Izuku’s forehead, laid back and pulled him further into his arms.

Chapter Text

The following week away from work drifted by in a flurry of outings and gatherings with friends and coworkers, including a real date as Katsuki had promised.

Katsuki took Izuku to a huge bookstore he found by searching online and followed the greenette around with a shopping basket as he wandered through the massive store scanning titles and pulling those that interested him from the shelves. Katsuki chuckled quietly to himself as he heard the different things the smaller man murmured under his breath as he explored the store; oh! she released another book? This one looks amazing. I haven’t heard of this… there were hundreds of books that seemed to pique his interest but he slid most of them back into their homes nestled between all of the other titles. By the end of the day Izuku had narrowed his wish list down to ten titles and had them all laid out on a table trying to choose his final selection to buy, he wandered back and forth looking at the covers, then flipping them over one at a time to read the synopsis, often saying something to the effect of maybe not this one just to place it back in its place on the table, negating his choice to put it back. After watching the indecisiveness in his actions for a while, Katsuki stepped between him and the table, causing a quiet squeak to pass through his lips, using his forearm the blonde swept all the books back into the shopping basket and took them to the checkout, paying for the lot of books. Izuku had been in shock and tried to talk him into returning most of them, grabbing one randomly and insisting it was the only one he had really wanted since it was his favorite author but he simply took the bag from the cashier and headed toward the door with Izuku’s hand in his, tugging him gently along as Izuku continued to question his actions. Izuku hadn’t had such an expensive purchase made for him from any person he previously dated, but he had to admit he also hadn’t dated anyone quite like Kacchan before, he was a different kind of guy.

After their trip to the bookstore, Katsuki cooked dinner at Izuku’s place. Izuku sat in a kitchen chair reading and Katsuki would occasionally peer his way as he cooked. Katsuki had a rhythm in the kitchen, he could smoothly and quickly chop and slice away at the ingredients, leaving delicious looking ramekins of components for his dish. Izuku found himself admiring the grumpy guy’s ability to make himself at home in the tiny galley kitchen as he produced a meal that smelled no less than heavenly and caused his mouth to water as he returned to his book. During a moment he was particularly engulfed in the story, Katsuki managed to set the table without even drawing his attention, at the end of the chapter he looked up to see that everything was ready and Katsuki stood leaning in the doorframe watching him pull himself out of the mesmerizing world on the pages. When they sat to eat, the greenette was in disbelief over the amazingly picturesque plates of food set before them, it all looked so elegant yet came from his very own kitchen thanks to the talent of the man sitting beside him. The first bite he took made him release an audible sound of appreciation as he had never in his life had a meal that tasted this fantastic. They chatted while enjoying their meal then retired to an evening of cuddling on the sofa while Izuku read, comfortably leaned against Katsuki while he watched television. Izuku found himself thinking that they were so relaxed around each other, it was amazingly comforting to his soul.

When that Friday rolled around, there was an announcement from Yagi on the status of The Clover. The new building purchase was fast tracked and they would be reopening for dinner. The first shift held an energy from the workers that was not anticipated, everyone was eager to get back to work since most of them were worried about the place shutting down permanently, they were ecstatic to know they still had jobs after the fire claimed the old place. The only remaining negative factor was the Fire Chief investigating the blaze at the old building and the news had recently leaked that it was being investigated for arson. Rumor around town was that Yagi had burned through a lot of his lottery winnings and set the fire to get the insurance money, but there was no proof pointing toward him so the investigation remained ongoing.

Yagi had decided to have a meal and meeting at the new location a few hours before the opening shift for all the employees. The staff admired the new location, which had been a steakhouse until it closed a few months prior. Luckily that meant there had been very little work to do on the place, allowing them to open quickly. He started the pre-opening meeting by introducing his niece and nephew Momo and Rody. They were joining the staff to get the place running again and help with the new bigger location, those who had worked for him a long time knew the two already since they both helped out years ago when they were in high school. Katsuki made a small tsk noise when Rody stepped forward and accepted the newly made front of house manager role, remembering him from the bonfire had left a sour taste in his’s mouth when it came to the guy being around Izuku on a regular basis. Momo was pretty with her deep black hair, but gave off a vibe of being strictly business and her face seemed to show she was not happy to be there.

They enjoyed a gigantic sub sandwich purchased by Yagi and he gave a speech telling the regular staff how happy he was that they had all stuck around to rejoin him at the new location. Many laughed nervously knowing that most of them were dependent on this job and Yagi having paid them for their time off kept them in a feeling of job security. Denki sprang forward and hugged the old man in one of his tight embraces, not seeming to care that he squeezed his head into his chest as he thanked him for keeping them all on during the closure. Katuski’s head rested in his hands at their boss’s scarlet face was buried in his brother’s chest.

After their meal, they cleaned up and opened the doors for service; Mina and a new hire, Jiro, stood at the hostess station; Denki, Izuku and Shinso ran the dining room under the observation of Rody while Momo joined Katsuki, Mineta, Kirishima and a few old faces in the kitchen where Katsuki had taken the head cook position offered to him by Yagi. The community seemed to rally around Yagi and The Clover after the fire despite the arson rumors and the dining room was packed the entire shift. Denki, Izuku, and Shinso could only manage brief five minute breaks between all the tables. Izuku felt nervous outside of the new location, instead of having an open-ended alley wide enough for trucks to deliver goods behind the building like at the old location; there was a narrow passage between The Clover and the music store next door. One flickering light shone on the concrete walkway and a dumpster barely fit by the tall brick wall closing them off from the busy roadway on the other side. When it was time for his breaks Izuku opted to sit in the storage room rather than go outside alone, it wasn’t often that anyone else made it out during his breaks.

Rody found Izuku on his last break of the evening and started to reminisce over old times at the former location from years ago, when he still worked there. “Remember the night that we were slammed after my graduation and the valedictorian drove his car into the sign?” he laughed and slapped the table, “the whole place cleared out so fast half the tables didn’t even pay their checks.”

Izuku rolled his eyes and chuckled, “It wasn’t so funny at the time since I barely made any tips off that night.” He shook his head, “I guess it was pretty funny looking back on it now though.”

Izuku didn’t engage too much with Rody, focusing on his phone and finishing his coke. He stood, “I am going to get back out there and hit that side work so I can get out of here before midnight,” he excused himself and smiled when he saw Katsuki leaning against the door frame. “Hey there, haven’t seen you much tonight, how’s the kitchen faring in the chaos?”

“Mineta might cry from how hard Momo is riding his tail, but other than that we are holding our own back there tonight,” he stated as the pair walked to the front counter and he patted the small of Izuku’s back before they parted ways.

After the dining room finally cleared out and Rody locked the doors, the trio of servers tag teamed their cleaning and rode the excitement high of the night long enough to finish everything and clock out before the exhaustion hit them like a ton of bricks. Denki and Shinso walked out to the parking lot across the street together holding hands “discreetly” and Izuku sat in the back doorway, using a large cinder block to hold the large metal door open. Rody approached him just as Katsuki came out and pushed past him lifting Izuku by the hands as he passed by, they walked down the dark alley and across the street to their vehicles leaving Rody behind looking pissy. Katsuki pressed against Izuku, pinning him between him and the door of his car and kissing him deeply. “That was a hell of a night, short stack. Why don’t you head on home and I will text you when I get up tomorrow. I am fucking tired and need a shower, pretty sure I will smell like hot wings for days.”

“Oh yeah?” he laughed, “that is sexy, hot wings are my favorite.” Izuku opened the car door and slid into the seat with a heavy thud. “But I could use about thirty hours of sleep after that shift.”

“Night Babe,” He nodded Izuku’s way before mounting his bike and pushing his helmet on. He grinned widely before flipping the visor down and revving the engine, speeding off into the night. Izuku drove home in the darkness, admiring the starry skies as he sat at a red light, he felt very content despite having kicked his own parents out of his life only a week ago. He had never imagined spending so much time with friends would be so therapeutic, reminding him to relax more and enjoy things, and now that The Clover was open once again he would be working but much less with all the new staff Yagi had hired.

Izuku pulled into the darkened driveway and found that he had beaten Mina and Kirishima home, he unlocked the door and commandeered the shower before the twosome had a chance to sneak in and destroy the bathroom. When he emerged from the steamy room in his robe toweling green hair off he was greeted by the couple coming in the front door with a large bag of tacos and a tray of sodas. “Is Kats here?” Kirishima asked, “We brought food for everyone.”

“Nope,” Izuku shook his head, “He is back at his place tonight, unlike you he doesn’t live here,” he joked as he grabbed the bag and fished a few tacos out. “Did you get hot sauce?” he smiled to himself thinking of how Kacchan complained of smelling like hot sauce after work.

“Always,” Mina chimed in, “I wouldn’t show my face here without it, not after last time.” They sat around the small kitchen table sharing their stories of the night, realizing how busy the others had been and some of the crazier events from the other areas of The Clover. Kirishima said that Mineta had fought with Momo multiple times over ridiculous stuff and she threatened to have her uncle fire him, Izuku was a bit surprised since she didn’t seem like the kind to use her family to her advantage, but he had to admit Mineta was awfully tense the entire night, snapping at anyone that commented on a mistake in the kitchen.

“How strange is it to work with Rody again?” Izuku asked, “I hadn’t seen him in a long time, he left about what?” he counted to himself, “almost two years ago, right?”
Mina nodded with a mouth full of taco and rapidly chewed and swallowed her bite, “Definitely. He looks the same but, more muscular, and more of a smug jerk.” For once it didn’t sound like she was shopping around for a new model, Izuku noticed, that must mean she was really stuck on Kirishima, that was probably a relief for him.
Izuku said, “I feel like he is following me, but I am probably just being paranoid.” He finished his food in one large bite making Kirishima gasp at him shoving the taco in his mouth.

“I don’t know Zuku, I saw him hovering near you almost all night. I don’t know if I saw you without him, but I know I saw him without you a few times,” Mina said. Izuku tried to shrug it off and said his goodnights before leaving the couple in the kitchen, he headed off to the bathroom and let his mind wander as he brushed his teeth. After ten minutes or so of imagining different potential book titles and battling his writer’s block he snapped back to reality and headed to bed, ready for some sleep before the next busy shift.

Chapter Text

Izuku rushed into The Clover trying to tie his apron as he headed to clock in fifteen minutes late. His sleep was a little too restful as he dreamed about romantic getaways to beaches and mountain sides. Thanks to getting distracted and forgetting to plug his phone in, there was no alarm to wake him up for work. He had slept over twelve hours before his eyes snapped open and panic set in. Izuku had thrown on work clothes and rushed out the door. He entered The Clover, flinging the back door open as he arrived in a blur. A quick reflexed Rody darted out of his way as he dashed around the back room, throwing his belongings into his locker, slamming it shut, and running back out to take over his tables. Katsuki was so slammed in the kitchen he didn’t see the whirlwind entrance.

Izuku entered the dining room to find two police department badges being flashed at him asking to talk to his boss. The greenette turned on his heel and sped back to fetch Yagi as quickly as he could, pulse racing and unable to process. The man looked up from his desk as he burst in the door and gave him a puzzled look, “what is it my boy?”

“There are two officers in the dining room looking for you; I came right back to get you. The customers seem a little on edge with them out there,” Izuku explained. Yagi stood from his desk and led the way back out to the dining room as he dismissed Izuku to tend to the tables while he went outside to speak with the visiting officers. Between tables Izuku glanced out the window to see Yagi’s head hanging, his expression filled with sadness… or could it be guilt? The greenette immediately pushed that thought from his mind, there was no way that Yagi would have done anything to his own place; he was too proud of what he had built to destroy it like that.

Just then one of the officers came in the front door walking with purpose as he rounded the counter and pushed through the swinging kitchen doors. Izuku’s heart jumped into his chest and he struggled to breathe, this couldn’t be about Katsuki and Denki could it? He felt her vision blur and head pound as he reminded himself to take a breath as a sudden commotion broke out in the kitchen. Pans clattered and curses broke out, he heard the distinct sound of Katsukis voice shout “Oh no you don’t!” and a gut-wrenching uproar of metallic debris flying. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the second officer dart toward the back door and more shouting came from outside, Izuku found himself moving to the window without even meaning to, pressing his face against the glass he saw Yagi staring into the alley looking disappointed, figures moved in the alleyway and the two officers led someone in a white kitchen outfit toward their patrol car…Mineta.

Yagi called the employees into the back for a quick update since he said he knew there was no way they would be able to focus on work until they knew what had happened. “It seems that during the investigation between the police and fire departments it was found that Mineta had lit my damn restaurant on fire,” Yagi said in disbelief. “When they shoved him in the car, he accused me of favoring other workers over him and called me a dirty S.O.B.” Yagi then elaborated that not only had he torched the old location, he had tried to try to turn Katsuki in to the police department for his past misdeeds only to find that they did not have warrant or any real interest in him since all of the other arrests were made. Izuku held Katsuki’s hand and sighed deeply when he heard that they did not want to bring him in. Yagi turned to his staff and said with his boisterous voice, “Now get back to work before I have to close this place down for all the customers walking out.” Katsuki quickly kissed Izuku’s forehead as they headed back to their posts.

Izuku pulled his order pad from his apron and approached a corner table. He and Denki hadn’t made their way to before the ordeals and smiled as he began his spiel, “Welcome to The Clover, my name is Izuku, what can I get for you tonight?”

The thin blonde beauty looked bored. She had milky white skin and wore a pair of skin tight jeans with a low cut white top. She seemed distracted when replying, “I am waiting for someone. Just get me a beer, whatever you have in a bottle, and leave me alone.” She said with a halfhearted tone and a wave of her hand. She stared past Izuku toward the doors to the kitchen while absentmindedly fidgeting with some torn napkin scraps on the table.

“O…kay then,” Izuku muttered as he went to fetch the girl a beer, giving Shinso a shrug as he passed. Once he delivered the bottle to the table, placing it on a napkin, he tried his best to catch up on the rest of his tables. Suddenly, a crash of glass drew the attention of the dining room, Denki had overturned an entire tray of drinks and looked quite pale. He apologized to his table waiting for the drinks while Shinso helped him get new ones. Denki snagged Izuku as he headed back for the broom.
Izuku turned to him once they passed through the swinging kitchen doors, “Hey, are you okay? You look pretty freaked out, Yagi won’t care about the glasses you know that. I have broken twice that many in one go, and done it ten times over,” he tried to comfort his friend.

Denki clamped her hand over Izuku’s mouth and whispered, “Shut up and listen.” Izuku felt his eyes grow wide, he didn’t even think Denki was capable of whispering. “That is Katsuki’s ex-girlfriend, the blonde? Yeah, I don’t know what she is doing here but I know it is not good.” Izuku felt dizzy, his ex was there? Why? Denki kept his hand over Izuku’s mouth and continued talking quietly, “I am going to go back out there and talk to her casually, sweep up for me and I will let you know what I find out the next time we are alone.” With that Denki hurried back out to the bustling dining room and left Izuku with his mind muddled searching for the broom when Katsuki passed by momentarily, busy carrying an armful of pans to the kitchen.

When Izuku made it back to the bustling dining room with the wet floor sign and the broom he peeked over at Denki chatting away with the blonde like they were old friends, but he noticed that Denki seemed like a different person talking there, his posture was stiff and his face had an edgy quality like he was complaining and snarking with this girl, almost giving off a bad boy vibe he had never seen from him before. It was bizarre to watch and Izuku had a hard time pulling his gaze away to clean up the broken mess and carry on with his shift. After some time, she saw Denki head toward the kitchen and shoot a subtle look his way, Izuku grabbed a tray and loaded up a few plates from an empty table and headed after him.

“Okay, so just as I suspected, this isn’t good.” Denki admitted immediately, “she’s here for him, of course, and she wants to wait for him to get off work to talk to him.” He looked sympathetically at Izuku, “Last I knew she was telling everyone Kats was responsible for putting her brother behind bars, but he didn’t do anything on purpose. It just looked bad because we left town right as everyone got arrested.” He paused and furrowed his brow. “We left because of something completely different, but in the end, it saved his butt. He would have gone to jail just for being accessory to the stuff the others did while he was with them, and probably me too.”

Izuku wanted to say something but had no idea where to start. Denki didn’t leave him much opportunity as he started a story, “Back home I was dating a guy named Hiro, he was trouble from day one but I was too stubborn to admit it to Katsl. My brother suspected him of using drugs but I didn’t believe him. After about two months of dating he had already stolen a dozen cars while I was with him and then it got worse.” He gulped before continuing, “He forced me to do things I didn’t want to do and I was too scared to tell anyone. He insisted that if I was loyal to him I would do it, but if I wasn’t loyal then I would have to be dealt with. I was scared, I had no idea what he planned to do if I refused so I just went along with it. After about a year of being in an abusive relationship with him, Kats came in to find him trying to force me to do…something, and almost killed him, he somehow managed to get away and it took the cops three days to find him and he was hiding in the crawl space under the neighbor’s house right next door. I just kept thinking of how he could have come back for me.” He began crying, “We thought Hiro was going to turn Kats in for driving the guys they knew to sell drugs and steal cars as revenge, so he broke up with Camie and we left town. A few days later the group that had been selling and stealing got picked up in a sting and Camie’s brother was part of the arrests. She blamed Kats, I admit it looked bad that we disappeared right before they went down but we really had nothing to do with it.” Izuku hugged his friend meekly as Denki whimpered and did his best to stay calm as the greenette absorbed what he just heard.

“Hey, it’s going to be fine,” Izuku tried to smile but it made his stomach tight, “tell him she is here and I will make myself scarce,” a lump began rising in his throat, “let them talk.” He patted Denki a few more times on the back before releasing him and heading to the dining room to clear some tables before he tried to leave.
Denki disappeared, presumably to alert Katsuki that Camie was waiting for him, Denki emerged a few minutes later with a meek smile and headed to Camie’s table with a note. Izuku’s heart fell as he saw this, immediately going to Rody in the office to ask for the rest of the night off. “Hey Rody,” he tried to appear more stable than he felt, “I am getting kind of queasy and I think I am going to be sick, can I get out of here before we test my limits?” He gave a weak smile.

Rody stopped writing and set his pen down on the desk looking concerned, “You look rough, yeah. Go ahead and clock out, are you okay to drive home or do you want me to take you?” He stood and walked around the desk to feel Izuku’s face and the greenette pulled back when the brunette touched him. He knew he didn’t have a fever because it wasn’t a real illness, unless you count heartsickness. Izuku hated that he was this worried, he wanted to believe that Katsuki wouldn’t leave him to go back to this girl but hearing Denki’s story made him wonder if he would have broken up with her if it had not been for the bad situation.

“I think I will be fine, I am not that far from here,” he pressed his lips together, “I appreciate you letting me go though, I hope I don’t leave them too short handed out there.” He really felt thankful to leave so he didn’t have to watch Katsuki meet up with the beautiful blonde though, he feared being dumped like that in front of everyone. He still had to work here after whatever was going to happen went down.

“Don’t worry about that, I can still serve tables, it’s not a skill you forget,” Rody joked, giving him a long awkward hug. Izuku gave another weak smile and bolted out the door to grab his things and leave. He made it outside and whipped out of the parking lot before anyone could even notice him missing from the dining room.

Chapter Text

At closing time Katsuki left the kitchen staff to finish up the prep work for the morning shift and headed toward the front to find Izuku, he had seen him briefly early in the shift but had been swamped most of the night so he hadn’t even gotten to find out why he had been late. He emerged from the swinging kitchen doors to see Denki and Shinso chatting while filling salt shakers and Rody wiping down tables in Izuku’s section, the only other person in the dining room was Cami sitting at the corner table where Denki had told him he’d find her. He walked up to Rody and started to ask where Izuku was and got interrupted by Cami wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing her thin body against his. “Oh Kats, there you are, I can’t believe it’s really you baby!” Rody arched an eyebrow and gave a look of disgust. “Please can we talk?” she cooed with her lips near his face.

“Go outside Cami, I will be out in a minute to deal with you,” he tried to sound cold in front of his coworkers but he knew they already assumed the worst, that he had been cheating on Izuku, but he knew Denki knew the truth and hoped he would clear things up. He walked after Rody as he headed toward the back. Denki locked the door behind Cami as she left, “Hey, where’s Deku?” he asked Rody.

“He left.” James spat, “Probably because of your floozy here in the dining room, in his section dude.” He pushed Katsuki hard in the chest causing him to step back, “No telling what that bitch told Izuku to make him leave the way he did.”

He felt a pang of guilt, why didn’t he just come out earlier and settle things before the end of the night, why didn’t he tell Izuku what was going on when he found out Cami was in the dining room? He knew he had messed up but all he could do now was try to salvage the night.

“There ain’t shit going on with Cami so don’t go starting that shit with me.” Katsuki was letting his frustration surface, “I am going to talk with her and then find out what happened with Izuku.” He headed out the door and let it slam hard behind him. He was sure that the exit gave off more confidence and arrogance than he currently possessed, he wondered what Cami told Izuku that was so bad he left. He stopped at the street to look for cars and took a deep breath as he crossed, it was time to confront his past.

“Kats, I can’t believe I found you, all this time you have been just forty miles away?” Cami started toward him for a hug and was met with his hands firmly holding her back by her shoulders. “what??” her voice cracked as she stared at him sadly, looking for answers.

“Just stop right there.” He forced the words out. “what are you doing here?”

Her eyes pleaded for an explanation, “I came here to see you, of course. I wondered where you left to and when someone said they saw you out here I decided to come find you. I never expected to find you and Denki working at a place like this. Why don’t you two just come back home with me and get your life back? I miss you.”

“It ain’t that I didn’t miss you when I left, I did for a long time, but I moved on finally and now I gotta ask what you said to him.” He stepped back and watched her as she crinkled her face fighting confusion to answer him. “What did you do to make him leave before I even got a chance to talk to him?”

“I only spoke to Denki, I swear.” She blurted out, “I ordered a beer from the server, and told him to leave me alone so I could wait for you.”

“That was my boyfriend.” He said, “he left sometime between you talking to him and me making it to the dining room.” His head dropped in a combination of regret and sadness, “I get you came all this way to see me but I have somewhere to be, just tell me for real, did you say anything to him because last I heard you were telling everyone you’d get your revenge for me letting your brother go to jail.”

“No, I swear.” She shook her head adamantly, “I am so sorry, I talked with Denki and waited. Listen, I hope this all works out for you, but I did miss you and I know after everything that you didn’t turn my brother in. I was just angry you left me out of the blue and I shouldn’t have said that, it was just hard to take when you up and left with barely a goodbye. It took me too long to realize that you were a good one and I had been horrible to you just before you left town, I used you for so many things and you deserved better than that.”

Katsuki had already sat on his motorcycle and put his helmet on, “Maybe sometime we can catch up as friends, but probably not for a while, I gotta make sure my shit is handled before it falls to hell. Take care of yourself Cami,” and with that he shot out of the parking lot and weaved through traffic across town.

Katsuki’s bike skidded to a stop beside the little rusty car and he killed the engine and tossed his helmet to the ground as he made a beeline for the door. He knocked and waited a minute, he knocked again harder and heard a shuffling behind the door, “Izuku, Open up, it’s me.” The curtains twitched and a shadow moved across the window toward his room. His fist thumped the door even harder, “Damnit Deku, open the door so we can talk. I don’t feel like including your neighbors in this chat.” He went to the window and knocked lightly, then firmer, and leaned with his forehead against the glass talking. “I really don’t want to talk to you about this through the window, please open up. I ain’t the best at talkin anyways and I am just making a fool of myself out here.” He pulled his head from the glass leaving an oily smudge where his forehead rested, turning to walk back to the door he saw the neighbors looking through their blinds at the scene unfolding.

He yelled, “I am probably getting the cops called on me right now by your neighbors, I hope you know that short stack.” He angrily waved toward the neighbors and went to sit back on the porch. “I hate that this happened this way, I wish I had known she had talked at ya so I could have said all this then.” He picked up a rock and tossed it toward the street in frustration, feeling silly shouting everything at the door.

Taking out his phone he dialed Izuku’s number and let it ring, eventually the voicemail picked up so he ended the call and immediately dialed again. The second time it rang twice before she forwarded the call to voicemail, the third time it didn’t make it through a full ring before being forwarded. He sighed deeply and tried to think. He knocked again, there was still no answer, he sat with his back against the door and pulled out his phone and began texting.

Kacchan: Open the door, Please

Kacchan: I need to talk to you

Kacchan: There’s nothing going on with her, let me talk please

With no answer to his texts he did the next thing that popped in his head and texted Denki.

Katsuki: Hey Kid, find Mina and get me the key to Deku’s he ain’t opening up the door

Denki: He gave me a spare after the bar incident, Be there in five.

Katsuki: Thanks kid.

With nothing else to do he sat with his back resting against the door, slowly thumping his head in a rhythm, hoping whatever sent him out of the bar could be fixed with what he had to say. He heard noises behind the door a few times but Izuku never came to let him in. After what seemed like an eternity he checked the time on his phone, not even two minutes had passed, so he began trying to figure out what he would say once he got to talk to him.

Denki rolled up right at seven minutes after he texted him and he ran down to meet him at the door and sent a text to Izuku before handing the key over.

Denki: Forgive me Izuku, I’m letting him in, but you need to hear him out.

“Good luck, Kats” he smiled, “hopefully he forgives both of us after this, bring my key back to me if he decides to let me keep it.” He did a tiny wave with his hand out the window as he drove off leaving him to his plan.

He hit his fist against the door as hard as he could three times and shouted “Last chance Deku, I am coming in one way or another.” After a moment of silence, he pushed the key into the lock and turned slowly hearing the click of success he pushed the door open and pocketed the key. He spoke clear but as kindly as he could, “Okay, I used the key and now I am coming in to find you, we are going to talk, or at least I am.” He walked toward her room and found the door slightly ajar and Izuku peeking through the opening, face streaming with tears.

“I know you met Cami tonight, I just left her in the parking lot, I told her about you and that I have moved on. I don’t know what she said to you but know that I never thought I would see her again and it doesn’t matter that she came looking for me because I have you now.” He spoke as he slowly approached his bedroom door.

Izuku stepped back letting the door open a bit more, he held the knob firmly in his hand and whispered, “I left so you could talk to her without me there, I didn’t want you to have to have me standing there in case…” he sobbed, “in case…”

“In case I wanted to get back together?” he asked. “I promise I don’t want to get back together with her, if I wanted to be with her don’t you think I would have gone back for her by now, or even contacted her at some point? I never did because it was over before I broke up with her, I just finally did it when I left with Denki, I drug my feet on that because it was easy at the time but I am not interested in her because I love you, Deku.”

His face changed, “Did you just say you love me?” he released the doorknob and let it smack against the wall.

He smirked and nodded, stepping forward and grabbing him up pulling his legs around him and kissing Izuku and pushing him against the door, Katsuki pulled back and whispered with his lips brushing Izuku’s as he spoke, “I love you Deku.”

The greenette laced his fingers through blonde hair and returned his kiss, tightening his legs around his body grinding against him, panting he broke her kiss, “I love you too.”

In a flash his body moved laying him back on the bed, his mouth devouring his, the kiss only deepening. He made a conscious attempt to funnel his cravings and desire into the kiss so he could be as in control as possible, pulling back he touched her tear-stained cheek, “I only want you,” he said, locking eyes with him, “I promise.”

He smiled and popped his top button open Katsuki raised an eyebrow and smirked, “I am not going to stop you this time,Deku.”

“Good,” he said pulling another two buttons open, “I don’t want you to stop me, I want you to join me,” he whispered as the last few buttons of his shirt came open.

“Oh,” the blonde said mischievously tugging his shirt over his head, “I think I can do that.” Lifting Izuku swiftly with one arm he manoeuvred the shirt off the greenette.

“How did you do that?” he gasped, giggling as Katsuki let him back down onto the bed.

“I picked up a few useful tricks in my rough and tumble youth,” he said kissing a trail down his ribcage to his bellybutton, “so glad it amuses you.”

Katsuki’s hands went to the smaller male’s pants, making quick work of helping him shed them, within moments he lay before him in nothing but a pair of boxer briefs, a light blush coloring his cheeks. “so beautiful,” Katsuki whispered under his breath.

“stop talking,” Izuku said laughing.

“Oh, I see how it is,” Katsuki said pulling off the last bit of fabric covering Izuku, “I’ll just find other things to do then.” Moving in close and letting his breath tickle his bare skin as his mouth came to settle onto the muscles of his thighs.

“Kacchan,” he begged, “I need you.” He didn’t need to be told twice.

The next morning Katsuki awoke buried in the thick comforter with Izuku in his arms, the greenette buried his face against his boyfriend’s chest and Katsuki planted kiss on his forehead. “Mornin short stack,” he murmured as Deku stretched and hugged him tightly.

“I am going to get a shower, want some breakfast after that?” Izuku asked, smiling as he gave a nod before the green eyed male rolled from the bed and padded toward the bathroom naked.

After taking a few more minutes to wake up completely Katsuki slipped in the bathroom door and announced his presence, “I am gonna get cleaned up a bit before someone decides to check on us,” he chuckled. Izuku’s arm emerged from behind the curtain and he pulled him in.

“Let’s conserve water,” he winked and hugged him close, kissing his chest. He smoothed down the greenette’s hair under the stream of water and they did their best to get clean without getting distracted by the other’s body.

When they stepped from the shower Izuku handed him a towel and wrapped his own body in another. They dried off and headed back into his room to get dressed, Katsuki made the best of his discarded garments and Izuku got a t-shirt and plain black leggings from his closet pulling them on quickly. They opened the door to find that the house was quiet and headed to the kitchen to make coffee and hunt for breakfast. Izuku was standing at the stove cooking pancakes when Mina came into view.

“Good morning love birds.” She teased, pouring a cup of juice for herself and leaving a mug next to the coffee pot for Kiri. “Work is in a few hours, try to wipe the guilty smiles from your faces before heading in why don’t ya?” she gave a knowing look and headed into the living room, grabbing the remote and flipping on the news.

Izuku’s face shifted from pink to red and finally regained a normal hue, he loaded the last of the pancakes onto the pile and Katsuki joined him at the table to eat. “Well obviously, the cat is out of the bag.”

Katsuki snorted, “I don’t know if it ever made it in the bag, she knows everything that goes one with anyone pretty much all the time.” He took a drink from his mug and shot a cautious look toward Mina on the sofa, “that one scares me a little,” he said pointing at her.

“She scares you? That’s priceless,” Izuku giggled. “She just has a mean streak, but her threats are never usually followed through on, she’s all talk. All bark no bite”

The rest of the afternoon was spent watching funny movies and gossiping on the couch with Mina and Kirishima, but an hour before their shift was due to start Katsuki got up to head home, “I have to get back and make myself presentable for work, to get covered in grease and food, but still,” he leaned over the back of the couch and planted a kiss on Izuku’s head, “I will see you all at work.”

Kats was checking the schedule when Izuku arrived at work, he saw him put a bag in the lockers and walked toward the storage room. His voice sounded higher and surprised when he spoke to whoever was inside, “Oh, I was looking for Denki,” he said turning to leave.

“He went to the bank to make a drop for me,” Katsuki heard Rody say, “I wanted to be here when you got here,” Moving closer to the door Kats wanted to hear what this guy was going to say to Izuku now, “I wanted to make sure you weren’t hurt after all that drama with the cook and his trashy girlfriend in the dining room last night.” He gave a smug look, “I told Yagi that guy was trouble the minute I laid eyes on him, you are too sweet to be tied up with a thug like that.” Rody leaned against the door frame with his arm blocking him in, “I heard he fixed your car, I hope you don’t feel like you owe him anything for that, being a makeshift mechanic doesn’t mean you are owed a date.” Rody let his voice fill with more and more hatred and spite as he continued to complain about Katsuki to Izuku. “I still can’t believe Yagi gave him the cook position, nothing like having someone representing this place that looks like he belongs behind bars. If you feel up to it I would be glad to take you out and show you a damn good time.” His mouth pulled into a cocky smirk and suddenly Izuku turned to get away but he stiffened his arm. “Where do you think you are going? I am just talking to you, don’t look so nervous, baby, I’d be gentle.”

Just then Katsuki let loose, his fist connected with Rody’s face sending him shooting back, toppling over a stack of boxes, blood trickled from his nose and his hand flew up to stop the flow. “What the fuck?!” he screamed as he stood up grabbing napkins from a box to wipe his face.

“I’d appreciate you keeping your perverted comments away from my boyfriend,” Katsuki spat. “You tried to manipulate me last night, he told you he was going home and you didn’t feel the need to tell me details. I bet you wanted me to give up thinking he was done with me and just quit. You could have been a decent person but instead you tried to take advantage of the confusion and get in his pants? Nah man, not happening.” Kats stepped further into the room to reveal a disappointed Yagi behind him with his arms crossed angrily.

“Rody, your services will no longer be needed here, I don’t need sexual harassment in my place, and I figured you had learned your lesson after last time,” he frowned, “I gave you the benefit of the doubt before, but I caught you in the act so there is no denying your actions this time around. Get your things and go.” Rody rushed past them and headed toward the door. “Izuku I am sorry for my nephew, I really didn’t think he would do something like that, are you okay my dear?” Yagi waited for his response.

“I am fine, Yagi.” He smiled at the man, “I am sorry you had to ask him to leave, but I appreciate what you just did.”

“Well I can’t replace my best server and my cook, you are invaluable here, and his behavior is not okay in the least.” the boss fumed, “His mother will be hearing from me today, she needs to know what he is doing. I hope you can still work your shift after that ordeal, but I understand if you can not.”

“It’s fine,” Izuku nodded, “I am here to work after all.” He hugged Yagi and smiled before heading to clock in with Katsuki. “Thank you for being there, I panicked a bit and didn’t know what to do, I am glad you were there.” She said as he kissed Kats, “You are amazing.”

“No problem, Deku.” He beamed, “I was itching to punch him since the bonfire, at least I got a real reason”

Chapter Text

Izuku got out of the shower ready to enjoy a day off but was met with the sound of hysterics coming from the living room, he quickly dried his hair and threw clothes on so he could investigate. When he emerged from the bathroom he saw Mina standing in the hallway just through the living room yelling into her bedroom at Kirishima, Izuku couldn’t understand what she was saying since it was so high pitched and came out of her mouth in a jumble. Kiri stood looking pale with his mouth open, Izuku wasn’t able to tell if he was blinking but he was pretty sure he was in shock. Just then, Mina slammed something into his face and yelled, “What are we going to do?!” then collapsed onto the ottoman looking defeated and exhausted.

Izuku hurried to close the distance between himself and the couple, he tried to figure out what they were doing, it wasn’t exactly clear but it sounded somewhere between an argument and a breakdown. Mina was a spirited one in an argument, and she was loud and clear when she decided to let loose, so that left Izuku certain they weren’t fighting.

“What in the world is going on out here?” Izuku asked cautiously as he approached the duo. He saw the mascara streaming down Mina’s face and patted her gently on the shoulder, “How can I help?”

“I’m late,” Mina sobbed.

“Late for what?” Izuku asked slowly.

“Late LATE. Baby late.” Silence permeated the room, Izuku stood staring at Mina while Kirishima stayed in his position in the doorway. “I am in over my head, Zuku.”

“Are you sure,” Izuku was finally able to ask, Mina thrusted the object she hit Kiri with into his hand, a positive pregnancy test. “How many did you take?”

“One.” Mina answered quietly.

“Okay, I am going to go get a few more, better be sure, then I guess we will go from there.” Izuku said as he grabbed his bag and headed toward the door, fishing out the car keys. He sat in the driver’s seat for a few minutes processing the situation before starting the car and heading toward the drug store, worrying for his friend.

Once inside the store Izuku stood in the feminine care aisle reading the fronts of the boxes, timidly pulling his hand back before picking one up, I don’t know why I am embarrassed he thought to himself as he picked a box up and read the back, three tests, 99.9% accurate, and costs roughly as much as a tank of gas he cringed as he looked at the price. He finally took the box toward the register, the teen behind the register looked like he was only sixteen and gave Izuku a sympathetic look as he placed the box on the counter, as if he pitied him for needing tests. Izuku scowled at him and gestured at him with a twenty in his hand, trying to get the point across that he was in a hurry. The teen scanned the box and placed it in the bag, he thrusted the twenty-dollar bill at him and snatched the bag leaving her $1.47 change with the confused teen as he darted to her car.

Izuku took a few deep breaths and tried to remind himself that there was no reason to stress, the tests were going to be either positive or negative and nothing was going to change that now. He hit the drive through coffee shop and grabbed a black coffee for himself and headed home. Izuku picked up the bag and his coffee before making his way up the driveway into the house where he found Mina and Kiri were sitting silent on the sofa with no lights on.

Izuku tossed the box over and said, “hope you have to pee, I bought a three pack.” He recited the instructions, “use a cup to collect urine and dip test in for fifteen seconds, wait one minute for clear accurate results.” Mina gave a nervous smile before walking slowly into the bathroom, Izuku’s head popped up and he shouted, “Use a paper cup for your pee, not the one on the counter for the mouthwash!” Mina snickered through the door. The toilet flushed and Izuku approached the door and knocked, “Are you done?”

“Done peeing. Now dipping.” Mina answered. The door popped open and Mina stepped aside to let her friend in. The tests were lying flat next to the sink, Izuku watched them for changes and made a mental note to bleach the countertop, slowly pink plus signs crept across the tiny windows and all three tests turned positive. Mina sat on the edge of the tub staring at the results with her fingers gripping a towel tightly. Kirishima came into the small bathroom with them, glanced at the results and leaned down to hold Mina as she began to silently cry.

Izuku left to get lunch and leave the suddenly expecting couple to process. He drove around town aimlessly for twenty minutes before pulling into a shopping center and made his way toward the taco place. Before he got to the drive though his phone began to ring and he saw that Kacchan was calling.

“Did you just run a red light by the gas station?” Katsuki asked.

Izuku snorted, “well hello to you too, Um I don’t know, did I?” He looked around and saw a motorcycle sitting in a lot across the intersection. “Are you stalking me? I was a bit distracted,” he snarked.

“What are you up to short stack?” he asked with a velvety voice. “and what’s got you all distracted? Don’t want to see my pretty boyfriend getting in a car accident.”

“Um, Roommate stuff, it’s been a busy afternoon.” He tried to sound casual, “I am just grabbing food and heading home, what about you, handsome?” he purred back at him.

“Out for a ride, Denki is on a cleaning spree and I wanted to get out of there before he got me scrubbing the baseboards” he laughed, “Care if I come by and eat at your place?”

“Go ahead, I am going to hit the drive through and meet you back there.” Izuku hung up and went toward the window, made his order and waited for the food.

Once he arrived back at his house Izuku was starving, he immediately noticed that Kirishima’s van was gone and he went inside to find Mina. He set the bag of tacos down on the end table and walked down the hall peering into the rooms, he didn’t see anyone and went to knock on Mina’s door, there was a folded piece of paper taped to the doorframe, he opened it to read a note:

Zuku,

Went to tell Kiri’s parents the news. I wanted to wait a while because I am still not sure what to do but he insisted that he wouldn’t be able to keep it from them very long. Guess it’s time to face this head on and try to start off on the right foot. I am totally scared, but I know we can do it, especially since you always know what to do next. See you later alligator.

Mina.

“What’s up short stack? Didn’t you hear me knocking?” Izuku jumped and turned, surprised he didn’t hear him until he was right beside him.

“Oh, well, I guess it’s going to come out soon enough,” he stared at the note as he said, “Mina just found out she is pregnant.” Izuku gave a weak smile, “They left to go tell Kirishima’s parents, hope all that goes well, never heard much about them.” He shrugged as he folded the paper and tossed it on the sofa.

“Fuck.” Katsuki looked worried and pushed his fingers through his hair, “that’s heavy shit.” He sat and leaned back on the couch putting his hands on his head. “What are they gonna do?”

“I don’t even know, she expects me to come up with some sort of game plan,” Izuku stated, “I have no idea what to do, and I definitely don’t need the two of them depending on me to support a baby, they can’t even pay their own way with two incomes.”

“They pay rent and stuff right?” he questioned.

“Not so much.” He explained, “I pay most of the rent, the electric, water, and well I buy most of the food too.” Izuku sat next to him, “I can’t see them managing money well enough to pay for a kid.” The more he thought about it the more he worried, Minaa had been pretty dependent on him ever since they moved in together.

“What the hell do they spend their money on?” He asked loudly? “I know it wasn’t birth control.” Izuku was unable to control the laughter at his statement, he fell over in a fit of giggles and he smiled, “There’s that smile. I know it’s hard but try not to worry too much about them and their situation. You can’t let them depend on you anymore, push them to handle their own dilemma before it drives you mad.”

Izuku sat up and leaned her head onto his shoulder, “Well can I ask a huge favor?” he batted his eyes at him and watched as Katsuki nodded cautiously, “Can you get my food over there,” he asked pointing at the bag of tacos he abandoned when he came in.

He looked at her in disbelief, then scoffed loudly and stood up, dramatically walked over and lifted the bag daintily and delivered the food to him. “There you go your royal highness, couldn’t have you exerting yourself by walking six feet.” He jested.

Izuku gave him a smile that crinkled his nose and opened the bag and started to pull food out, throwing a few sauce packets at Katsuki as he joined him on the sofa once again. They ate and chatted for a while before eventually starting a Hero marathon and laying back on the sofa.

Izuku noticed that Kats gently ran his fingers up and down his arm as he watched the movie, he loved the things about him that were soft and sweet, seeming so different from his hard appearance.The greenette moved his legs and draped them across Katsuki’s lap seeing a quick flick of his eyes to his and back to the show as he did so. Kats slowly moved his hands over his knees before suddenly tickling Izuku’s legs and wrestling him as he tried to get away. “You best not be making me into a footstool. brat,” he teased as Izuku tried to gain the upper hand, he flipped the smaller male under him and held him down with one arm as he continued to tickle him with the other. Izuku laughed until tears brimmed over his lids, wiggling to escape Katsuki’s playful hold on him. Katsuki pushed her back once more, putting his weight against him and slamming his lips onto his, kissing him passionately. Izuku pushed his hips against him and made a soft noise as he parted his lips, then kissed him back with a force he didn’t know he possessed, needing to feel his touch as Katuski pulled him closer and Izuku’s hands slid under his shirt onto his bare chest, Katsuki in turn wrapping his arms around his body. Katsuki began to tug at the hem of his shirt when his phone rang. He pulled the device from his pocket and cursed under his breath as he checked the caller. He pushed the phone to his ear and spoke.

“Hey Kid, what’s going on?” he said, Izuku rolled his eyes noting that it was not just him, Katuski sucked with greetings. Izuku heard a small voice talking rapidly on the other end of the line for a solid two minutes. He scowled and interrupted with, “Okay. I am on my way kid. Stay there, stay inside, I mean it.”

He looked over at Izuku, “Denki thinks there was someone in his car outside of work, I am gonna go check it out. He aint one to be too paranoid usually.” He kissed him softly on the lips and snuggled his neck before reluctantly heading out the door.

Izuku flopped back against the couch cushions with a sigh, feeling himself left wanting more alone time with Katsuki. He slowly pulled himself up and headed into his room, leaving the mess of fast food wrappers on the floor.

He pulled his camera out of the bag and removed the memory card, sliding it into the computer finally looking at the photos from the day at the riverside with Kacchan. He scrolled through the images slowly seeing the river, the bluff, beautiful trees on the riverside, and then he came across the ones of Katsuki. He barely knew him when these were taken, his face held all of the features he had grown to love but had not learned to appreciate at the time these were taken. A picture appeared in the series that captured Katsuki looking at him, his eyes were warm and kind despite the trouble he was putting him through at the time, this made him wonder how he felt about him at that time to cause the expression on his face. After he finished picking and printing photos for his corkboard his hands itched for the feeling of his computer keys, he had a spark of inspiration. Hours passed and midnight had come and gone with the chapters he worked on, his characters grew more dynamic and their storylines intertwined in a literary dance that made so much sense as he read it back. Izuku began to wonder what inspired this surge of productivity but decided in the end it was best not to question it. After some time he noticed the low battery warning on his laptop and took that as a sign to save his work and get some sleep, with a quick glance at the small print he had made of Katsuki looking toward him and feeling a pang in his heart.

Chapter Text

“Izuku.” Mina said quietly, “Are you awake? Izuku?” she poked Izuku in the shoulder and got her hand smacked away. Izuku rolled over and pulled the blankets around him and winced as Mina ripped the blinds open. “I need to talk to you Izuku.”

Izuku flopped back on his pillow and dragged his words out dramatically, “Whaaaaat do you waaant?” grabbing his phone he saw the time, 11:09 am, he had been asleep most of the day and it felt like he barely closed his eyes. Reluctantly he rolled out of bed and followed his friend into the kitchen where he was rewarded with fresh hot coffee waiting for him in his Boba Fett mug. He took small sips of his coffee and breathed in the warmth to wake himself up.

Mina bounced a bit in her seat waiting for the small nod that told her Izuku was in fact listening, when she saw the nod Mina took off talking a mile a minute, “OH. MY. GAWD. IZUKU. So last night when we went to tell Kirishima’s parents I am pregnant I was so so nervous, like incredibly nervous, but once I met them they were like super nice to me and were talking about how lucky Kirishima was to have me. Then, we told them I had just found out about being pregnant and his mom hugged me, she actually hugged me Izuku, it was nuts. Apparently, they are like incredibly happy and are putting us in this little house behind theirs, it’s called like a Mother-in-Law suite but it’s got two bedrooms and a living room and kitchen and bathroom and stuff They are going to help with baby stuff and get us set up with pretty much everything we will need and they keep going on and on about having a grandchild but his mom looks so young.…” Izuku sat quietly with a mental storm brewing while his friend rattled on and on, “So we are going to get to live in a place all rent free and stuff and they have a moving truck coming here later to get out stuff! I am so excited, Brad and Janet are so nice and can’t wait for a grandbaby, Izuku, everything is going to be okay!”

Izuku blinked twice slowly before speaking, “It’s going to be fine, now?” his monotone voice sounded almost eerie, “It’s all okay now? Brad and Janet are taking care of everything?” Izuku’s eyes were shining with tears he refused to let fall until he got his words out. “What about me, and this place, and everything here? You are just bailing and leaving me to what? Pay 100% of everything at the drop of a hat? Or wait, are Brad and Janet gonna bail me out too? Huh, Mina?” he took a deep breath and then released her anger, “I have already been doing almost everything alone, paying for almost everything, and now you are just leaving and I bet you didn’t even think of me.”

“Well you have been doing almost everything for so long, it shouldn’t be that hard to adjust,” Mina smiled meekly.

“You are an idiot, not just for getting pregnant, but an idiot in general maybe Kirishima is rubbing off on you” Izuku stood and started to walk away but paused and turned. “You know what you need to do? Get out, both of you need to be gone as soon you can. Get your shit out of here. I am so done taking care of you two and getting nothing in return. I will be back tomorrow night and I don’t want you here.” he grabbed his jacket and bag from the table and headed out the door with his head held high but it felt like a complete lie, he wasn’t feeling strong or sure but he was definitely feeling mad. he started the ignition and drove around for thirty minutes with anger jolting through his veins, he suddenly felt like he had to throw up and pulled quickly toward a destination, somehow staying in control of his mind and body until he pulled into a parking lot, walked up a staircase and then pounded on the door. A very comfortable looking Denki opened the door wearing penguin pajama bottoms with a tank top, and sporting messy hair. Denki quickly pulled him into the apartment and cleared a spot for them to sit on the sofa. Izuku threw his arms around his friend and let his emotions out, he cried and screamed and tried to tell the story of what happened but his words were tangled with so much hurt they were inaudible through the sobs.

Denki stroked his friend’s hair and gave soft reassuring words until Izuku had calmed enough to tell the story clearly, “So I found out yesterday that Mina is pregnant, I even went and bought more tests to make sure it was actually happening. I ran to get food and they were all YOU WILL COME UP WITH A PLAN IT’S OKAY but then when I got back they were gone. They went to talk to Kirishima’s parents and now these amazing parents are moving them in and leaving me high and dry, I just don’t know what to do!”

Denki hugged Izuku firmly and said, “Oh Izuku, that’s awful. I mean, it’s good for them, but to do that to you with no notice? What are you even going to do?” Izuku shook his head in confusion and shrugged, he did not know where to begin cutting costs to make it more affordable to stay in the house, he knew that he already paid most of the bills but add in what Mina actually contributed and there would be nothing left at the end of the month, no extra funds for fun, and a lot more hours to pick up at work leaving no time to spend with Katsuki. It figured he was finally liking his life the way it was and then the entire thing started to unravel at once. There was no possible way to even move to a smaller place, he didn’t have enough to pay a deposit and first month’s rent somewhere new.

They heard the lock click and Katsuki walked in the front door holding a paper grocery bag and he stopped dead in his tracks when he noticed them both looking at him, Izuku had clearly been crying but Denki’s finger immediately flew to his lips and indicated that he not speak. “Hey Izuku, you can grab a nice hot shower and clean yourself up a bit, let me tell Kats what happened and We can talk more when you are feeling a little more refreshed.” Denki crossed the room and grabbed a fluffy towel off of the top of the folded laundry, handing it off to Izuku as he gestured toward the bathroom. “Try the coconut conditioner, it smells amazing.” He smiled at Izuku and waited for him to start the shower before he returned to talk to Katsuki.

“Oh Kats, It’s awful.” Denki’s face clearly showed his concern for his friend, “Mina is pregnant”

“I already know, Wait” Katsuki interrupted, “That’s pretty harsh, especially for you.”

“That’s not the horrible part dummy, wait for me to finish. We don’t have a long time to talk before he comes back.” he gave a stern look that let him know he meant business. “The pregnancy isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but she only found out yesterday and suddenly she and Kirishima are moving out leaving Izuku alone with all the bills. Izuku flipped out a bit on Mina and told her to be gone by tomorrow, he was mad, but they can’t let this ruin their friendship.” he waited for him to absorb the information before he turned and asked, “So what can we do to help him?”

Izuku stood under the scalding hot stream of water trying to urge it to wash all the drama away. He would give anything to know that none of this was really happening and that his life could go back to the way it was. He rested his head against the wall and mustered up the strength to wash his hair, he looked around at the strange bottles and saw the obvious packaging of a Katsuki’s body wash, popping the top open he sniffed the scent that had become synonymous with Kacchan. He smiled to himself and closed the bottle, finally deciding to make the most of the moment and relax as he freshened up. After a while he emerged from the shower feeling refreshed but emotionally shaky, he appreciated Denki suggesting the break because it did help calm his nerves, if only momentarily. He looked in the foggy mirror for a long time before finally deciding he was ready to talk again and came out of the bathroom to find Katsuki carefully sorting papers from a lockbox and Denki writing furiously in a notebook.

Izuku looked perplexed as Denki gave him a huge smile and announced, “We may have a plan, if you are open to it.” Katsuki looked up from his task and his face was a bit off, as if he were expecting him to react poorly to the plan.

“Okay….” he trailed the word out in confusion, “What do you suggest?”

“What if we move in with you?” Denki bounced excitedly and gave an expectant grin, “We can help you make ends meet and keep you from being alone.”

Izuku’s mouth hung open, he worked through the situation in his head and had to admit it wasn’t a bad idea. He had plenty of room at the house, but what would they do with the apartment they live in now? Would they have to pay to get out of their lease? Denki was a loyal friend and worked every shift he was scheduled for, and he could obviously manage to pay his own bills but he didn’t want to cost him a small fortune just to try to help out. Izuku suddenly grasped that although Denki was still optimistically waiting for him to respond, Katsuki looked down at the papers in his hands, his face hung in disappointment. Izuku realized his interpretation of his reaction probably made it look like he was going to say no. “Okay, I think that’s a great idea,” he approached the topic cautiously, “but what about this place, aren’t you in a lease? Can you guys just pick up and move without costing yourselves a ton of fees?”

“Oh it’s fine,” Denki waved it off, “I am month to month, I will only pay one more month here, which gives us time to move everything without rushing.” Denki pointed to the notebook he was writing in ticking off things as he spoke, I can close my accounts with the electric company and water with the city then help you with paying at the house in no time.”

“You have really put some effort into this,” Izuku noticed, “So I guess I will let you guys know when Mina and Kirishima get their crap out,” he said with bitterness.

“Don’t let this ruin your friendship, she may be rushing on her decision to move and leave you, but she is going through a lot too.” Denki reminded as he hugged Izuku. “Imagine, they just got an 18-year-long surprise, babies are a really big deal but so cute too.” he got a dreamy expression on his face, “I bet they are going to have a cute baby.”

Katsuki scolded her, “Stop daydreaming about babies, kid, that’s dangerous territory.” He muttered something under his breath about baby crazy softies and the trouble they get themselves into causing Izuku and Denki to roll their eyes and look at each other shaking their head.

The trio ordered a plethora of pizza and started making plans for their place. Katsuki hadn’t spoken up much during all of this and Izuku took the chance to talk to him when Denki left to get the pizza. He hugged him from behind and asked, “So are you okay with this, or did Denki twist your arm? You haven’t said hardly anything to me in over an hour, not even a smart assed comment, it’s not like you” he observed.

Katsuki turned to see the concern on his face, he looked hurt, “Do you really think I wouldn’t want to live with you? I’d get to see you all the time, I don’t care how this goes down, even if I have to sleep on the sofa,” he laughed, “Plus apartment life sucks, especially in these apartments. We needed a place in a hurry at the time so we didn’t have a lot of time to shop around, crazy Kevin across the way has been both entertainment and a curse.”

Suddenly it hit Izuku like a ton of bricks, they were all going to be living in a two-bedroom house, he probably assumed that he wouldn’t have his own space because Izuku had his own room and Denki would take the other. “So are you going to be okay with sharing a room with me?” he waggled his eyebrows and smiled coyly. He hoped to get the point across without saying that there may have been a misunderstanding.

His face changed as if he suddenly relaxed, the smile spread across slowly and he began tickling him in short bursts backing him across the room until he fell back on the couch. “Oh yea, I have plans for you short stuff.” He kissed his neck, “You are going to be in for it, what are you going to do when you can’t escape the tickles? When I can sneak up on you anytime and scare you, or when you are sleeping and I can get you.” Izuku pushed him playfully and scurried around the side of the chair only to get pulled right back once he got a hold of him. He was happy to see that he had figured things out and been able to clear things out and give him what he needed to hear.

When Denki came carrying the food, Katsuki and Izuku were laughing hysterically and wresting each other, Izuku pressed a cushion on his face and erupted in a fit of giggles as he managed to wiggle away to help Denki carry all of the food into the kitchen.

Denki softly spoke, “I drove by your place, there is a truck parked out front and guys loading stuff into it, I guess she took you seriously and is getting out quickly. Let me know when you are ready for us, we will get some boxes tomorrow.”

Izuku nodded and took a big bite of cheese pizza, “I don’t want to go over there right now, thanks for letting me hang out for right now.” he knew he didn’t want to be at home hiding in his room while Mina and Kirishima moved their stuff out, he could only imagine what Kirishima’s parents had already heard from them and what that made them think of him. Denki had told him not to let it ruin their friendship but he feared that the damage had already been done.

“Stay here tonight,” Katsuki pulled him back into him and hugged him tight. “We can all head over tomorrow to keep the drama down. What time do you work tomorrow?”

“Two. I will just have to be back over there with enough time to get ready, but I will gladly stay here,” he said, his body relaxing against his. Katsuki was glad to have given Izuku some peace of mind for the time being, and he began to wonder what it would be like once he lived with him and shared a room, and a bed, on a regular basis. He despised the ride home from his place each night, and if he stayed over he hated leaving Denki at home alone after everything the guy had been through. He had started to worry he would have to choose between making sure his brother was safe and having a relationship, it was part of the reason he hadn’t made many connections since moving there. Now that they would all be under one roof he wouldn’t have to debate over where he needed to be at any given time, although there was a worry that living and working with his brother and his boyfriend could be a bad situation too, he imagined that in the least of these bad situations he would end up with the two of them ganging up on him to win arguments.

For the rest of the evening, they watched old standup comedy reruns on tv and talked about the house. Izuku was glad that they offered to move in with him, he no longer worried about trying to pick up the slack and keep his home on his own. That night he slept next to Katsuki, listening to the soft snoring sound he felt very lucky to have him in his life.

Chapter Text

When Izuku, Katsuki and Denki arrived at the house the next morning they found that Mina had taken all of her stuff and a good amount of Izuku’s belongings that were not in his room. Denki began vacuuming and cleaning up the room Mina had been living in while Izuku took note of some things that were missing that belonged to him. He was frustrated to see his dishes, some bedding and towels, and his kitchen table were gone, the one thing that sent him over the edge was his coffee maker being missing. “That was not hers! Everyone knows that she never even drinks coffee, she did that to get back at me!”

Denki bounded in the room and tried to reassure Izuku, “We have a whole apartment full of stuff and that includes a coffee maker, that was a crap thing for her to do though.” Denki and Katsuki went to go get moving boxes and attempt to pack before their shift while Izuku cleared the last of the junk out of the room that Denki would be using. After he finished the task he began to look around his own room and wonder how he would fit Kacchan and his stuff there as well, he hadn’t lived with someone in the same room before but he could only imagine how much stuff he had after staying in his room last night. He threw Mina’s old ugly lamp out the front door as a sort of therapy and stress release, with that he took large trash bags into his bedroom and began ridding himself of old clothes and junk he no longer used. By the time he had finished there were five large bags tied up on the porch, he struggled with the weight as he loaded them into her car and took them to a donation center figuring it was best to see if others could use the items.

Izuku returned home and slowly walked through the house, the whole place felt so empty, his hero figurines on the mantle looked like random placements without Mina’s funky tapestry hanging above them, although the décor was eclectic it seemed to work together and now felt so disjointed. Izuku walked into the empty second bedroom and scuffed his foot on the carpet, trying to raise the part that had smashed flat under Mina’s bed, there were marks showing she had been there, but like Izuku’s aching heart, the place was feeling her vacancy. He tried to look around and imagine Denki’s fun and bright sense of style meshing into the shared areas of the house, floral throw pillows, soft blankets draped over the sofa, and dishes with hand-painted narwhals on them; he was definitely a unique person with a unique artistic personality.

Izuku pulled himself out of his deep thoughts and checked his phone then saw there was barely over an hour until his shift so he started his routine. Taking a shower and applying his skincare had become so routine he did it without even thinking, as if he were on autopilot, he went to his room and pulled out work clothes, humming while putting them on. Before he knew it he had fifteen minutes to get across town and he wondered where the time had gone, he drove just over the speed limit and made it to clock in with four minutes to spare. Katsuki raised an eyebrow from the kitchen but didn’t say anything as he sped by the order window.

Izuku made his way into the dining room and was suddenly reminded about Mina, the hostess podium stood empty and that meant the shift would be rougher just because she wasn’t there. Yagi approached the distracted server and tapped him on the shoulder, “Izuku, could I trouble you to take the hostess position tonight and allow Denki and Hitoshi to run the dining room, I will make sure they share the tips with you, MoMo will be taking some of the open shifts but can’t possibly cover them all. I am doing some interviews to fill the kitchen positions and I will just have to see if any of the applicants want to fill the other position instead.”

“Sure Yagi,” he said somewhat reluctantly, he was going from arguing with Mina to working her shift, “did she outright quit? Never coming back just like that?” he asked.

Yagi pursed his lips and shook his head, “Both Kirishima and Mina quit, I will hire someone as soon as I can to take the spots.” He squeezed Izuku’s shoulder and walked off. If Kirishima quit too that meant that the kitchen would probably be shorthanded as well, the loss would be felt all around and he hoped that he would not catch all of the blame.

Izuku stood at the podium and did his best to be a helpful host for his friends serving the dining room, he found himself getting distracted by the chaos of the dinner rush but only allowed himself to do small tasks like putting the missing condiments out, while he reminded Denki to run food and fill drinks. By the end of the night the three front of house workers had formed a rhythm that flowed smoothly and even with only a partial tip out Izuku made more than a slow night of serving. He was surprised to find himself asking to take the host shifts Mina left vacant until they could replace her, but he liked the change of pace and had a decent night.

Katsuki waited outside the back door in his usual spot when Izuku, Denki, and Hitoshi came barreling out of the door in a fit of laughter as Yagi yelled out at them, “That was not funny, you damn kids and your sneaking around,” but it was obvious that he indeed found the antics funny because he was grinning and chuckling as he locked up behind them.

“What did you three do?” Katsuki asked as he grabbed Izuku’s hand, threading his own fingers through his.

“Denki accidentally snuck up on Yagi standing on his step stool and tried to tap him on the shoulder to ask him if he needed anything else,” Hitoshi explained, “Apparently, he didn’t hear us coming and he fell ass over elbows into the prep sink, we wouldn’t have laughed so hard but he screamed like a girl.”

Denki and Izuku both laughed harder, Denki swiping tears from his face. “It was horrible, and hilarious all at the same time,” he said. “I feel bad for scaring him, but that was amazing.”

Hitoshi walked Denki over to his car and glanced at Katsuki before giving Denki a small wave and walking away quickly while looking at the ground. Denki shot a look at Katsuki obviously seeing that Toshi was afraid of what his brother would do if he talked to him. Katsuki shrugged and turned to say his goodnight to Izuku. “Tomorrow we start moving stuff, soon we aint gonna need to say bye in a parking lot because we will just go home together.” Izuku smiled, it was clearly his attempt at sweetly reassuring his boyfriend and although he wasn’t always grammatically correct Izuku loved what he said to him. Izuku ran his fingers through blonde hair before getting on his tiptoes to kiss Kastsuki, he cupped his face and when he released he, Izuku felt that although the day started out rough it ended perfectly.

Over the next week things became more hectic but also more routine. Denki and Katsuki moved all their belongings over with two weeks still on their old lease, having already paid up their rent they waited to return the keys on the last of the month. They filled their home with bright curtains, large paintings, and lots of mismatched funky furniture. Denki brought a new light and energy to the house, and a whole new level of manic cleaning. Izuku was amazed to never find towels on the bathroom floor or trash overflowing the wastebaskets, he was most surprised by Katsuki's cleanliness though, he took pride in not leaving messes for the others to clean up. Laundry was always done in time for work because Denki had schedules he liked to keep, but somehow managed to not make Izuku feel pressured or cramped by his routines.

Denki and Izuku threw tips in a jar and found that they were most of the way to the next month’s rent before they knew it, Katsuki contributed in his own way by arranging to pay the water and electric on his own while the others split the rent. Everyone was to pitch in on groceries, but there was a place for each of them to keep items they didn’t want to be communal. Izuku was so pleased to find that the two siblings were very responsible and still fun to be around, and with all their financial contributions to the household he was able to afford a shopping trip with Denki one afternoon.

The duo sat in bumper to bumper standstill traffic in Denki’s car chatting while they waited for an accident to clear. Denki had begun to open up about her interest in Hitoshi and Izuku was being the always supportive friend. “So, he texts you all the time now?” Izuku asked, “That’s awesome.”

“Yea, it kind of embarrassed me when he first asked for my number, I really haven’t talked to a guy I liked since my ex. HItoshi is so different that the type of person I hung around with back then, I just couldn’t believe he wanted to talk with me.” Denki blushed deeply and stared out the driver’s side window at the gridlock. “He texts me most afternoons before we go into work and then sends me a message or two after I get home, but we haven’t talked much at work. I guess we are only friends outside of work, but he did ask me out the other night.”

Izuku wasn’t sure what the situation really was between the two of them but he felt that he was interested in him because he was clearly making an effort.. “I am sure he’s just intimidated by Kacchan, I mean, I saw his reaction that night when he walked you to your car, he looked put off by Kacchan being there watching over you.” He chuckled, “you have to admit that Kacchan is pretty scary sometimes, and big brothers often scare boys away from their siblings” He elbowed Denki playfully.

“You’re probably right Zuku.” Denki seemed distracted suddenly and leaned closer to his window looking at some people standing on the sidewalk, someone turned and walked away as he rolled her window down to lean out and get a better look. “Was that person looking at me?” he asked.

“Which one?” Izuku asked, “I am sorry, I honestly wasn’t paying attention to the people over there, I figure they were just watching the accident, some people do that…” he trailed off seeing the uneasy look on Denki’s face, “is there something going on?” Izuku remembered Katsuki leaving to check out Denki’s car one night when he thought someone had been in it, now he wondered if the guy was being paranoid or if someone was actually watching him.

“No, you’re right.” He attempted to laugh off the paranoia, “I always do this, and it’s not like I am interesting to watch, we are just sitting here talking to you.” Izuku could tell that he was still nervous about the issue though and his eyes kept flicking back to where the person had just been standing. Izuku found himself watching the spot also, not even sure what the person looked like or what they had been wearing, “so Katsuki never actually told me, was there someone in your car the other night?”

“Unfortunately, yes. Someone had been in there and there were no cameras in the parking lot or anything so I have no idea if it was random or not. All of the stuff in my car was thrown everywhere, the console was emptied out and even the bags we left in the backseat with clothes and stuff were all dumped out.” He shuddered, “It makes me sick to think of someone going through my stuff like that, Kats wouldn’t let me leave until he made sure my gas cap and brake lines and stuff weren’t tampered with.”

Traffic slowly started to move again and an officer waved them down a side street to bypass the wrecker blocking the road ahead. “Where do you want to go?” Izuku asked hoping to distract his friend, “There’s a huge outlet place up here I have been wanting to check out if you are up for it.”

“Oh yea, that sounds fantastic.” Denki perked up and headed toward the store. Izuku was glad to see his friend relaxed once more and hoped a day of retail therapy would do them both some good. Once they arrived at the outlet store they spent hours browsing the aisles for deals and items they felt they couldn’t go without, Denki carried a basket they had already filled with a handful of delicious smelling candles and some perfume while Izuku went back for a cart to accommodate the bed sets and new towels he picked from the clearance rack. “Clearance on already discounted merch means we are going to have some fancy new stuff,” Izuku said in a sing-song voice, clearly enjoying their outing.

When they began browsing through clothing Denki looked over to find Izuku staring at baby clothes, suddenly realizing she must be missing Mina a lot today since she was always the third musketeer when they went out. Izuku walked circles around the racks of tiny rompers and outfits, pausing to run his fingers over the silky edges on the baby blankets. “I wonder what Mina will have,” he asked aloud, putting a few neutral items in the cart without knowing if he would end up being able to give them to Mina or not, they still hadn’t spoken since the fight.

“I haven’t heard anything, I don’t think she will find out for a few more months,” Denki replied, not sure if she was meant to hear Izuku’s question. “I miss her too.”

The duo walked toward the clothing in their own sizes and Izuku tried his best to push the sadness of his lost friendship away. Once they tried on a few dozen items they picked a few winning pieces and headed to the register, they spent a few minutes sorting and deciding who would pay for which items and then made their way to the cashier. Back in the car they decided to have a quick lunch at a sub shop before going back to the house to set up their new décor.

Izuku hung the fluffy new towels on the rack in the bathroom and stuck the remaining ones in the linen closet, shouting to Denki, “These are so soft I am glad I got them.” Kacchan would probably not appreciate the lavender ones but he made sure to pick up a few oversized towels in a steely grey for him.

Denki helped Izuku stretch the new sheets over his mattress and fluff the comforter over the top, then moved on to Denki’s room to do the same. The house had a different vibe to it now, and although it was an adjustment to share her room with his very first live in boyfriend he was finding himself happy with the changes in his life once more.

Katsuki came in a few hours later to find them sitting on the living room floor surrounded by a dozen candles in all different colors talking in low voices. “Is this some sort of séance?” he asked, clearly joking.

Denki jumped in with a wit that Izuku hadn’t heard from him before, “Oh yep, if we say the chant three times a new handbag will appear.” Izuku rolled with laughter at the banter between the siblings. They were so funny to watch, and not having any siblings of his own Izuku enjoyed this interaction he felt like he had missed out on. Just then Denki’s phone lit up, Hitoshi’s name flashed across the screen and Izuku saw it and tossed a throw pillow on it and got up to drag Kacchan away to give Denki privacy, he reluctantly followed but not without shooting a look at his brother with a clear look of guilt on his face.

He followed Izuku into their room and the smaller man pushed him onto the fluffy new comforter, “What do you think? Soft, isn’t it?” he smirked at the image of the blonde lying on the mound of pillows being swallowed by the thick pouf of the down blanket. Izuku grabbed the pillow closest to the edge and smacked Katsuki with it causing him to sit up and snag the green haired man as he tried to scurry past him. The two playfully wrestled until he was too tired to continue, Izuku laid in his arms tracing his fingers along the tattoos on his arms, admiring the artwork, he hadn’t taken much time to inspect the images he had permanently inked on his body but they were all quite well done and all very different. In Izuku's mind he played with the idea of getting a tattoo himself and what he would get and where he would want it. Katsuki had dozed off which left Izuku to entertain himself, something that didn’t happen very much anymore, he picked up one of the books he had purchased on their first real date and dove in eagerly drinking up the fantasy as he got swept away in the world of the novel.

A squealing sound came from the living room some time later and Denki came barreling through the door. “OH, guess what Kats?!” he did a dance on the spot, “Dad is coming by tomorrow!” he flopped onto the bed with Izuku and Katsuki causing him to wake in a fog of confusion.

“Yea, he’s going to love you,” Katsuki said to Izuku as he groggily sat up, obviously having been in a deep sleep, he ran his hands over his hair completely missing the parts that spiked out at all angles.

“WAIT. You want me to meet your dad? Do you not remember the last time parents were involved? It was a disaster.” he paled. he would put money on this going poorly, figuring it better to just avoid meeting their father for another eternity or so.

“Um, those were your parents and this is my dad, he is brilliant, and like I said he will love you.” He reiterated. “he can be a little over the top, but he is a really nice person, just don’t let him fool you into thinking he is all fancy pants and stuff, he raised us in a trailer park.”

Izuku sat up looking worried, “well last time was MY parents and they are supposed to love me because they made me, and they should have loved you because you are amazing and they cut both of us down like a dead tree. I really don’t ever want to do the meet the parents thing again, I would rather dress like the tin man and stand in the pouring rain”

“Trust me short stack, I love you, he will love you. This is going to be a good thing. Stop being so damned dramatic” He smiled at Izuku and Denki nodded cheerfully in agreement. All Izuku could do was wait until the next day to see what would happen, but he felt like parents were just not a good match with him, be it his own or someone else’s. His anxiety had gone from an all time low to through the roof in a matter of minutes.

Chapter Text

The next morning Izuku sipped his usual plain black coffee at the table with Denki and Katsuki on either side of him, they were chatting away about the last time their dad was in town and all the things they did from shopping to trying every dessert on a restaurant menu. Izuku thought about her relationship with his own parents and tried to remember the last time he went to the movies with them, or ate at a restaurant, or even went shopping. He could barely remember anything se had done with his parents outside of holiday dinners and realized that they left him behind a lot of the time to do things alone. His attention wandered to the house and he noticed the clutter and mess tucked into the corners and he suddenly had the urge to spring from his seat and clean with every ounce of strength he could muster.

Just then, A cheerful rhythmic knock came at the door and Denki skipped over and flung the door wide open. “Dad! I missed you!” he jumped toward his father giving him a big hug. The man Izuku saw resembled Katsuki a bit, but somehow he saw Denki as well. His brunette hair was straight, clear skin and dark eyes that were similar in shape to Katsuki's and wore glasses, her body was similar in build to Denki’s and he had the same sweet smile. He was dressed in black dress pants and a maroon button up giving off a vibe of being very put together, he exuded confidence with his every move.

“Katsuki Bakugo, get over here and introduce me to this boyfriend of yours,” he clasped his hands together and looked at Izuku.

“Dad, full name? Really?” he sighed moodily as he walked over holding Izuku’s hand. “This is Izuku, or Zuku. Zuku this is my dad Masaru Bakugo.” Izuku said a quiet hi and was pulled quickly into a hug that seemed all too familiar, Denki no doubt got his endless energy from his father.

“You are so beautiful!” Masaru stood back to take in all of Izuku, “I have heard so much about you from Denki since they moved here, and from Katsuki in the last month or two.” he said with a wink. “you are too gorgeous, I can see why he is so smitten.”

“Smitten dad?” he groaned. “Is that the only word you can think of?” Izuku found himself smiling and leaned against Katsuki listening to his dad talk, before he knew it he was told to get ready because Masaru was taking them all out for dinner.

Izuku and Katsuki were talking in their bedroom when Masaru popped in the doorway and said, “Dress nice, please kids,” in a voice that was very much like Denki’s sing-song tone.

Izuku stared into is closet for a few minutes feeling lost before Katsuki pushed past him gently and grabbed a black button front shirt for himself and handed an oversized sweater to him. He didn’t have any idea what to pick for himself so he shrugged and put on the black knee length number with a nice pair of black pants, he hadn’t worn this particular sweater yet so he pulled the tags off and Katsuki leaned over and ran a lint roller over the back for him and kissed his cheek. He turned to see him in a pair of black pants and a black button front shirt, he hardly ever saw him without ripped jeans and a t shirt, and had never seen him have a dress shirt, let alone a shirt tucked in. They exited the room to find Denki wearing a pretty maroon sweater with sleek leather pants, making him look tall and lean.

Masaru ushered the group out to his SUV outside and they loaded up, Denki in the front seat and Katsuki joining Izuku in the back. Denki rambled in a non-stop string of stories filling his father in on every happening in his life over the last few weeks leaving the rest of them in silence as they listened. Ten minutes and a very awkward car ride later they pulled into a nice restaurant that Izuku had never been to, he mainly did drive through so it was interesting to see the inside of such a fancy looking place, there were live flowers on every table and cloth napkins with gold monograms for the establishment’s name. They were seated at a large table and Izuku was pleasantly surprised to have her chair pushed in by Katsuki while the host did so for Denki. He knew it came across on his face because Katsuki whispered in his ear, “I was raised to treat a date with respect, even in that trailer park short stack.”

Izuku took full advantage of Masaru being distracted asking the specials and whispered back, “Did you not hit me with an innuendo on the first day we met though?” he winked and Katsuki's mouth dropped open before his father looked over completely missing what had transpired and started conversation with them.

“So How long have you known my Denki then Izuku?” Masaru asked, leaning forward and placing his fist under his chin, making Izuku feel like he was suddenly in a Barbara Walters interview.

“I met him when he first moved here about a year ago, he started working with me right off and we became friends right away.” Izuku wondered if he sounded like he was kissing up, he really did become friends with him right off, but he wanted their father to like him and not think he was being fake.

Katsuki spoke up, “So what brings you to town Dad?”

“Well I haven’t seen you or Denki is so long, I missed you kids, and mainly I am considering relocating nearby so I can not be all alone in town, you two have found a nice little town here.” he said looking softly at Denki, “but I also wanted to meet this guy you two moved in with.” Izuku felt himself stiffen and Katsuki put his arm around his shoulders.

“He’s pretty fantastic, and we have a good thing goin there, it works for all of us, although these two together can talk all night” He said. Izuku was glad to hear that Katsuki was so quick to tell his dad that they liked the way things had turned out, but he was happier to see that their dad didn’t seem to hate him for living with her son already.

The server came over to take their order and Izuku tried his best to shake off his nerves, their dad didn’t seem to dislike him, but he wasn’t sure if he would classify it as actually liking him either. Izuku had begun to take a drink from her water glass when Masaru ordered for everyone, “We will take medium rare steaks for the table, loaded potatoes, steamed veggies. Scotch for my oldest son there, gin and tonic for my youngest and my son in law, and white wine spritzer for me.” Izuku choked a bit and struggled to breathe. He managed to clear his airway without a coughing fit and Katsuki held his hand but he noticed the blonde's subtle smirk.

“Told you he would like you,” he whispered. “you’re accepted in the clan. But you should know, getting in is easy, getting out is the hard part.”

“Denki, have you gotten any gentleman callers lately?” Masaru asked with a nudge to is youngest. “You are a beautiful young man, you should be courted and wooed.”

“DAD!” Denki blushed and scolded his father, “Why do you talk like that, I am not a debutant, I am a server. I get dated, not courted or wooed.”

“Aint no one wooing my baby brother,” Katsuki warned with a frown. “You are better than the guys that come into work, and I want to see someone with respect be with you, they gotta work to impress ya.”

” Katsuki, please tell me that you are not scaring all his suitors away again,” his father reprimanded, “your brother is a vibrant single young man and can do as he pleases. You have found yourself a nice young man, let Denki find someone too, he is not getting any younger.”

“Okay Dad.” He reluctantly backed down, if only in this argument and not his stance against his brother dating. “I hear you.” Izuku patted his leg under the table and caught Denki’s eye giving him a hopeful look. Izuku decided at that time to do her best to get Katsuki to lighten up and give Denki some space and freedom to do as he pleases, Izuku knew that Hitoshi would likely not wait around forever or want to hide from the moody older brother.

The meal continued on that way the entire time, Masaru cycled between questioning and scolding his children while lightly complimenting Izuku. By the time they finished dinner and arrived back at home Izuku had grown comfortable with the dynamic of the family and smiled to himself as they razzed and bickered. Masaru said goodbye curbside, hugging Denki, then Katsuki, and taking Izuku by surprise pulling him in last and saying in his ear “take care of my boy, you are doing good things for his soul.” They all waved and shouted farewells as he drove away to the hotel he was staying at while he house hunted. When they entered their house they all went to get comfortable clothes on and decided to commentate on the night in the living room while watching funny videos online.

“So, what did you think about my dad?” Denki asked with a knowing expression.

“He scared me a little bit,” Izuku answered, “but he is a lot like you in some ways. Scary is like Kacchan, energetic like you.”

Katsuki scoffed, “I still have no idea why he talks like some sort of socialite, courting and wooing and crap.” He rolled his eyes, “at least you see that he likes you, and already claims you, his son in law.” He was gently tracing his fingers over Izuku's kneecap as he spoke.

Denki grinned and rolled to his stomach, sprawling his legs out across the floor, “I am totally shocked that he didn’t ask Kats if he was planning to marry you, according to dad people need to be married by 25 and starting a family, a family with lots and lot of kids,” he emphasized.

Katsuki nodded, “That’ll be next time, he’d probably bring some ring that had been in the family and tell me it’s time to make you Mrs. Katsuki Bakugo.” Izuku tried to read his face because his voice wasn’t clear on his feelings, he suddenly wanted to know how he felt about marriage and realized that this situation was not going to clue him in since they were teasing his father and not actually discussing the future. Did he really just catch himself thinking about marriage with a guy he had only been with a few months? Izuku mentally scolded himself and tried to focus on the banter between the siblings but felt his mind wander back to the idea of being with Kacchan forever, he stared off into space hearing wedding bells and felt a flutter in his heart.

Katsuki moved slowly toward him, then as he got closer he quickly pressed his lips to his and stunned him with a firm kiss and left Izuku dazed and blushing. “What were you dreaming about over there short stack?” he crooned.

He stood and smirked saying, “Wouldn’t you like to know,” then broke into a run heading into the bedroom. Denki giggled as Katsuki leapt to his feet and chased after him grinning wickedly.

“GOODNIGHT YOU TWO!!” Denki yelled, shaking his head at their antics.

Chapter Text

Katsuki gently nudged him and shook Izuku to rouse him from his heavy sleep, “Zuku, I need you babe.” He groaned lightly and sunk into the blankets ignoring him in his tiredness, “Izuku, wake up, talk to me.”

Izuku's eyes gently fluttered open and he pulled himself to a sitting position and listened as Kacchan told him about his concern. “A few weeks ago, Denki’s car was tossed, never found out who did it but everything was out of place and the glove compartment was empty, not even sure if anything was missing. I made sure he started keeping his car locked and now it looks like someone was outside the house, there’s trampled spots and I saw handprints on a few windows.”

Izuku blinked and rubbed the sleep from his eyes before saying, “we could have done part of that. Remember when you had to help me get in because Mina had my keys?” he pointed out, and suddenly he wondered if the grass was trampled from them, and the prints on the window probably were because they had pushed every one of the windows until one opened for him to get inside. He was suddenly glad Katsuki had told him to lock all of the windows that day, if someone had been messing around out there they were not able to get in.

“Guess I am glad I talked to you before I told Denki I saw that stuff, don’t want to upset him more if it might have been us. I am going to swing by the hardware store and get a few cheap alarms for the windows and doors anyway, better safe than sorry.” He sighed and rubbed the stubble on his face, “You two have a lot of crap that stresses me out.” He stood and kissed Izuku on the head before heading back to talk to Denki.

Izuku stretched out across the bed and glanced out the window, it was barely getting light out and he decided to go back to sleep, as he looked away from the window he thought he saw something move but thought that he may just be paranoid after Katsuki’s talk with him. Izuku shrugged off his worries and attempted to go back to sleep, twenty minutes later Katsuki laid on the bed and pulled him closer. “Denki’s better. Still worried but I don’t know if I think it was all in his head or not. I don’t know if he ever told you but he has been through hell with an ex-boyfriend,” he said.

“He told me a little bit about that,” Izuku shared, “I never really thought about what that did to him mentally, he always seems like such a positive person. I only know what he told me that one night, but the entire thing sounds stressful and scary, I don’t blame him for having worries about someone following him and there was definitely someone in his car that night.”

“He puts up a strong shield that’s for sure. I have to say I am glad we are here, made it a lot easier to convince him no one was out there with all the neighbors so far away. Our apartment had so much foot traffic it always sounded like someone was outside.” Katsuki pressed his lips against Izuku's neck and stretched out lazily, “We should try to get some sleep, otherwise work is gonna murder us tonight.”

When he woke up Izuku was alone in the room, he glanced at his phone, 11am, he scowled knowing he had to leave for work in a few hours and spent all morning in bed. He decided to stay in his pajamas and headed to the kitchen to find something to eat, he was pleased to find a box of muffins with a note on the table Katsuki put in the kitchen to replace the missing one after Mina moved.

Morning. Bought muffins and made coffee, went to grab a few things from the hardware store and will be back soon.

K

Izuku poured a cup of coffee and snickered when he saw the mug he had grabbed said resting bitch face, Katsuki had been buying silly mugs to put in the cabinet and always let Izuku find the new ones on his own. Izuku sat on the chair and sipped his coffee and munched on the muffin scrolling through posts on his phone, he saw an ultrasound photo pop up on Mina’s feed, a tiny baby was there, blurry in the grey photo. he felt his heart sink, as more time passed he wished he hadn’t lost his temper and thrown his friend out of the house, he had just been so hurt. He was missing so much and wanted to be there looking at ultrasound photos and helping plan baby showers.

Denki came into the kitchen and snickered at the mug on the table, “You do not have resting bitch face, but Kats sure does.” They laughed and Denki poured his own coffee and sat across from Izuku showing off his Muppet Show mug. “Kermit was my first imaginary boyfriend,” he informed him.

“Hate to break it to you but Kermit was my man first,” Izuku interjected sticking his tongue out, and Denki threw his muffin paper at him. When Katsuki walked in a few minutes later the duo were trying to one up each other with stories of what fictional characters and celebrities they had a thing for when they were younger. “I met the backstreet boys in a radio station contest when I was twelve and swore I would marry Howie D and travel the world with them.” Izuku admitted.

“Okay, well you can have Howie D, because I am a AJ girl all the way.” Denki informed with a snap of his fingers and a giggle.

Katsuki shook his head, “What in the hell are you two talking about, is there some guy named Howie I need to worry about?” he scowled, “I mean his name is HOWIE how big of a threat can he be.” He asked making them erupt in a fit of giggles causing Denki to tip over and knock Izuku off his chair, ending up in a tangled heap on the floor. He stood by as they were wiping tears from their faces and break into harder laughs as Izuku snorted causing both of them to laugh even harder.

Katsuki tossed the pillows from the sofa at them on the floor, and walked away to install the locks and alarms for the doors and windows.

Denki was speaking quietly, but not quite whispering, “So I don’t know if I ever told you but you are the only relationship Katsuki has been with that I liked. Camie was okay but she was into just as much bad stuff as the rest of us and tended to encourage Kats to stay in the mess when he wanted out. He never wanted to be a part of any of that,” he said, “I think he got involved because of me and the guy I was dating.”

“Aw. That’s sweet that you like me,” Izuku responded, “but also kinda sad about the other stuff.” It was strange to hear of the illegal dealings that ended up bringing them to be here, and he had a hard time picturing the two of them doing them.

“I think before we moved in here he thought you’d have him sleeping on the couch, he’s not the type to ask specifics in case it hurts someone’s feelings, like his per se, but I figured you would want him with you, it was pretty obvious to me that you liked him from the start.” Denki said.

“I wouldn’t have done that,” Izuku shook her head, “I love your brother, I am really in love with him, “he trailed off a bit, “I will be with him as long as he wants to be with me, I just hope he wants me around.” Izuku frowned.

“I am not a mind reader or anything but I think he really cares for you,” Denki patted Izuku's hand softly, “He wouldn’t be here if he didn’t” The greenette was pleased Denki was reassuring him, but he knew Kacchan needed to be the one to prove these things.

Izuku’s phone rang and interrupted the conversation, he answered and began speaking, when Izuku got off the call with Yagi he was smiling, “Yagi said I am going to keep the host position for the time being and he is going to hire another server.” Turning to get more coffee he continued talking, “he says I am doing a great job and doesn’t know if he can find someone that does it as well as me.”

“You do rock,” Denki gushed, “With you and me with Toshi that dining room runs smoothly.” They did a cheesy high-five and giggled.

“So what is the deal with you and Hitoshi, any news?” Izuku asked just as Katsuki caused the door of the back room to slam shut, spooking Denki and reminding him Katsuki was there, the conversation fizzled out after that.

Chapter Text

After a particularly long night at work Izuku clocked out feeling exhausted and sat outside with Denki reading messages off his phone waiting for Katsuki to come out from doing inventory, the duo were giggling at the messages Denki's father had sent asking about Izuku and Katsuki’s relationship. “Do you see this?” Izuku asked his friend, “your dad seriously asked me if I want to go wedding suit shopping to look just in case.”

The two were leaning against one another giggling at the phone when a dirty man came behind the building startling Denki into dropping his phone, skittering to a stop near the man's feet. “Denki! My beautiful angel, There you are. I have been looking everywhere, and you weren’t at home.”

The man watched the blonde with a strange hunger in his glazed eyes, he looked like he may have been on something and was quite dirty and thin wearing a ragged pair of gray sweatpants that looked to be wet up to the knee and a grungy white shirt with a number of gnarly looking stains. Denki tensed up and bolted toward the door trying to drag Izuku behind him. The man stepped in front of the door and said in an eerily calm voice, “Oh Denki, please don’t do this, just come see me, I have missed you so much.”

He lunged forward but they pulled back and Denki turned to Izuku and answered the questions he clearly wanted to ask, “This is my ex boyfriend, Ren, the one I told you about before. I thought he was still in jail, we have got to get to Kats.” Denki’s eyes showed fear and he whispered as tears flooded his face, “He is dangerous, and I am scared of what he will do.”

“Oh so your asshole brother is around? I owe him for what he did to me, and he will pay for taking you away from me Denki. I am no danger to you or your friend here if you just come to me, please don’t make me angry, be a good boy like you used to.” Ren was sweating in the cool night air, his ragged t-shirt was moist and smelled of body odor, everything about this guy screamed of trouble.

They tried to get to the front door, but the employee entrance was between The Clover and another building next door and was backed up to a tall retaining wall. They had to push past this guy and get to the front somehow but he managed to keep them cornered by shuffling back and forth between the door and the wall, both of them tried their best to avoid letting Ren get his hands on them.

Denki tried to slip by him using his small size and swiftness, but Ren snagged him by his hair and ripped him back into his arms, Ren's fingers knotted through the strands of hair he held tightly. He was still blocking the door and most of the walkway while he struggled to maintain his hold on Denki, twisting blonde hair around his wrist securing his head close to his hand.

Denki screamed and struggled to get away as he sniffed his hair and kissed Denki's neck while murmuring inaudible rambles. Izuku was unable to decide what to do, should he leave Denki and run to the kitchen or try to get his friend out of this guy’s grasp? He stood frozen for a moment watching him grope his friend and was disgusted to see his erection against his dirty sweatpants, he began to worry that he had a weapon concealed somewhere and he feared that if he left Denki alone with him he would be hurt or killed, or disappear with Ren completely.

Izuku looked around momentarily before spotting a piece of broken pallet by the dumpster, he grabbed it and swung hard at the back of the Ren’s head sinking a rusty exposed nail into his skin and filling his hands with splinters. Denki wiggled free and sprinted toward the front and Izuku attempted to follow but Ren grabbed his leg and started pulling him back cursing at him under his breath. “GO!! Get Kacchan!” he screamed.

Izuku lost his footing as he tugged him back harder by a leg causing him to fall forward onto the dirty wet pavement, his chin struck hard and he knew there was blood trickling from the wound. Water from the puddles soaked through his work shirt and into his shirt, he was cold, wet, and panicked; he had lost his shoe and his pants were ripped open in different spots exposing skin that scraped against the asphalt and broken glass in the alley.

Denki took two slow steps before turning away and taking off full speed around the building. It seemed like time stopped all together once he disappeared around the corner, Izuku kicked and fought to stay away from the surprisingly strong arms of his frail attacker, he was covered in scrapes and cuts on his legs and arms from being dragged against the asphalt, he managed to get to his feet once again but Ren was just as quick slamming him back against the brick wall causing him to see stars as he ranted in his face about letting his true love get away.

“Why are you doing this? I came for my love and you let him get away you bitch. I have waited a long time to see him again and you will not keep me from him, he is mine, I will have him back.” Ren pulled her close and spat into his eyes, then shoved him into the corner of the dumpster and Izuku felt his head connect and the metallic thud of the dumpster resonated in his ears and rattled his teeth, but Ren didn’t release him, instead he dragged him a bit closer to him and pushed him into the dumpster again and again causing spots to form in his vision as he fought to remain conscious. Just then the heavy metal door swung open to reveal Katsuki clearly angry and out for blood, he ripped the punk away by his neck and threw him to the ground beating him repeatedly.

Izuku’s fractured vision clouded but he tried to focus on Kacchan slamming Ren’s head into the ground over and over, blood splattered from his skull and Kats released him finally when Denki screamed for him to stop. “Katsuki, don’t. He’s not worth it. Momo called the cops, let them deal with him please. We have to help Izuku.”

Katsuki seemed to snap out of his blind rage to look around frantically until he found him, Izuku was slumped against the dumpster, blood trickling down the back of his neck and into the curve of his collarbone, his shirt had dark spots from the blood causing the fabric to stick to his skin. His eyes were fluttering and his breathing was shallow, he was dirty and had rips in his clothing revealing torn flesh and oozing wounds, he finally let his eyes close and was immediately scooped up and felt a strong hand gently touching his face, “Hey wake up, you can’t rest yet, we gotta get you checked out, you might have a concussion, or worse.” Izuku felt his head heavily roll to the side and saw the silhouette of a face near his before he was overcome with darkness.

Chapter Text

Katsuki stood in the waiting room of the hospital surrounded by three officers. They finally agreed to take his statement there instead of at the police station after he insisted he needed to be there for his brother and Izuku who were both being treated for their injuries.

He told them his side of the story and of all of the times Denki had felt he was being watched or followed. They let him have a seat while an officer checked out his story, over the walkie he heard confirmation that Ren’s fingerprints were found on Denki’s bedroom window and on his car. The police department back from their hometown had requested Ren be transferred to the hospital there so he could be taken in on violating a restraining order and assault once we was treated for his injuries. Katsuki suggested they add attempted murder to the charges since he was still waiting to hear an update on Izuku’s condition. There was a quiet pause to the room as the police discussed what to do as far as Katsuki’s attack on Ren, after speaking with the proper channels they said there would be no arrest made at this time and assured him that it would be highly unlikely for any charges to be made considering the severity of the attack on Denki and Izuku, and Katsuki's actions being to protect them.

Once the officers went to assist with loading Ren into an ambulance for transfer Katsuki was finally able to track down a nurse to ask about Izuku. Denki had already emerged from his room to check on Izuku himself, but there was still no news. The nurse informed them that due to privacy practices she could not share any information until Izuku’s family arrived or he woke to give his consent. Katsuki’s heart wrenched in his chest, “So he hasn’t woken up yet?” the nurse just gave a sad look and shook her head, excusing herself to enter Izuku's room once more.
Denki looked at Katsuki formulating a plan in his head. Rushing to the nurse’s station he demanded his discharge papers and signed as soon as they were placed in front of him, and rushed out of the hospital with his brother shouting behind him, “Where the hell do you think you are going?”

He hailed a taxi and replied, “I have someone to find, trust me Kats,” his taxi disappeared around the corner and Katsuki went back inside to sit in the waiting area once more, he was alone except for the officer that sat in the corner sipping coffee waiting to speak with Izuku. After about a half hour a shuffling sound caught his attention and he looked up to see a group of people heading into the waiting area. Denki came in leading Mina and Kirishima along with Izuku’s parents. Suddenly, everything made sense, Denki must have gone to Mina to find Izuku’s parents so they could actually hear his condition, he had underestimated his brother's cleverness.

The waiting officer stood with the commotion and stepped forward to ask the identity of those who had just rushed into the room, Katsuki stepped toward her parents and stiffened, he informed them that there was no news because there had been no family to legally share information with, and that despite everything he wanted them to be there for Izuku when he woke up. He slipped away to find the nurse, bringing her to Izuku’s parents. “Would you like to talk somewhere more private?” she asked, looking around at all the faces hoping to hear anything new.

Izuku's father shook his head, shocking Katsuki, “I think these people have just as much right to hear, they were the ones that saved him after all.” Katsuki nodded in silent thanks to his dad.
“Izuku hasn’t come to yet, he need xrays but as of right now we don’t think anything is broken. He has wounds that required stitches and lots of abrasions. His concussion is pretty serious at this point, he has nearly come to a few times just to lose consciousness again because his body is in shock.” There was a long pause while the nurse flipped through the file, “The doctor will be in again to check on him shortly, but as of now Izuku is stable and just needs time for him to regain consciousness. We think that the concussion is the most concerning of his injuries and we fear that there will be some temporary memory loss.”

Mal hugged Denki close as the nurse exited the waiting room, he felt sick. He wanted to see Izuku and he was stuck waiting here in limbo with his family. He knew the parents would be allowed in first and that he began to feel sick to his stomach. He turned to his brother and asked, “what will happen if he has memory loss, what if he doesn’t know who I am? What the hell am I going to do?” he felt nausea hit as he vented his worries.

A voice from behind him spoke, “I wouldn’t worry too much about that until he wakes up, he’s a strong boy and he is too stubborn to forget the guy he kicked us out for.” His father gave a weak smile indicating that he meant the words to be a joke to lighten the mood. “Izuku has always been a fighter, he was born six weeks early and fought for a month in the NICU to regulate his body temperature and breathe without machines. He is a tough kid and as far as I can see he loves you, if there was any memory loss he could likely recover the lost time with therapies.”

Izuku’s mother sat nearby and was nodding as her husband spoke, “I know it seems dark now, but have faith.”

Katsuki had hot tears forming, threatening to spill at any moment, “When you go back to see him could you please tell him I am here. I will be here every moment until I can finally see him.” Izuku’s mother smiled and said, “I think that after all you have done you deserve to see him first.”

Denki interrupted, “Kats, I really want to be the first to see him, I need to thank him for saving me. If it weren’t for me he wouldn’t be here and I need to apologize,” he looked at the floor and cried silently, the guilt radiated off of him as he struggled to regain his composure.

“I think that would be fine,” Katsuki assured him with a hug. He laughed internally at the amount of hugs he gave his brother today after all of his forced hugs on him though his whole life, things were definitely different when you almost lose someone you love. The group sat talking to pass the time in a slightly tense conversation until there was news from the doctor or nurse.

Chapter Text

An astringent smell prickled Izuku’s nose making him crinkle his nose before opening his eyes, bright fluorescent lights blinded him and he blinked against the glaring white of the room. His mouth was dry and tongue waxy, his head throbbed with his pulse, and his body ached to the point that he couldn’t lift himself from a laying position. There were tubes and wires on his arms and chest, oxygen on his nose drying his sinuses out, his hearing was fading in and out as a commotion of people all around were him shouting and touching him. He tried to remember what happened and came up with flashes of a struggle with a dirty man and heard the screams of his friend in his head. Vomit rose and he sputtered it out on himself and the bed.

“Mr Midoriya, I am Janice, your nurse.” A woman explained as she put gloves on and began to clean the vomit from his airways and remove the soiled bedding and gown, “Do you know where you are or why you are here?” She reached past Izuku and grabbed a wet rag, wiping his face off, “Can you hear me Mr Midoriya?” The nurse asked watching his eyes as she laid a clean gown over his body and gently lifted his arms and fed them through the proper holes. Izuku tried to speak but his throat was so dry the sound came out cracked and almost inaudible.

“Sweetheart, can you hear me? Blink if you can hear me.” Izuku blinked and the nurse looked up and a doctor in a white coat appeared.

“Hi, I am Doctor Halmish,” the woman spoke, “We’re happy to see you awake.” She shined a light in Izuku’s eyes and began examining his injuries. “Can you blink for me? Wiggle your fingers and toes?” Izuku did his best to comply and felt tension in his neck and shoulders causing him to flinch. “Do you want something for pain?” his attempt at a nod was feeble and shot pain down his spine. “alright, I will get someone on that as soon as I can.”

Janice came back in with a cup of water and leaned the straw close to Izuku allowing him to get a drink, he gulped eagerly but choked and spit water on himself. Trying again he took some smaller sips and felt relief in his burning dry throat. “What happened?” he whispered looking expectantly at the women in his room.

“Sweetheart, you were involved in an assault outside of your work, do you remember that?” asked Janice, when Izuku nodded in response she said, “You did a brave thing to help your friend out there.” Janice gave Izuku a warm smile and squeezed his hand.

Doctor Halmish spoke to Izuku, “Can you speak to me now? I know you are in pain but we need to assess your injuries.”

Izuku did his best to speak loudly despite the pain in his throat, “Am I going to be okay?” His head hurt, but his body moved so that had to be good, right? Was anyone here with him? Had Kacchan…oh no she thought, did Kacchan kill Ren? He remembered all the blood, the rage on his face, the alleyway spinning around him into darkness…

“You should be fine but it’s going to take some time, you have what is called a stage 3 concussion meaning you were unconscious for more than five minutes and you may end up with some temporary memory loss. It’s going to be a while before you can be at your normal activity level but normally you end up with headaches and dizziness for a while and it gets better until you are feeling normal again.” Doctor Halmish explained.

A cool rush flowed through Izuku’s arm as Nurse Janice injected some pain medication into his IV, he felt himself relax and his head spun slightly as he looked around. “Sweetheart you have some visitors out in the waiting room that want to know how you are doing, do you want to see them?” Janice asked.

Izuku thought for a moment, “Who?” the nurse had made it sound like there were a few people and she only remembered Denki being with him during the attack.

“Well you got that small blonde boy, your parents, a pink haired girl with a boy stuck to her hip, and a reeeaaaal tall boy.” Janice explained in a way that amused Izuku, it was funny to hear his friends described from another person’s point of view.

“Yes.” Izukuwhispered. “Please.” The doctor finished up checking his bandages and scrapes, and looked over a chart.
“Well Izuku, other than that concussion, you have lots of abrasions but only two required stitches, we removed a few shards of glass from your right leg, but it looks like you may be able to go home in the near future if those x-rays come back clear.” She gave a firm smile to Izuku, “You were very lucky, and yes, you can see your friends but one at a time please. I will have Nurse Janice bring in some pain meds for you every few hours and I ask that you just don’t overdo it.”

A few minutes later he managed to sit up in his bed as his first visitor entered, “Oh Zuku! I am so sorry this is all my fault.” Denki threw himself on his legs and sobbed. “Ren is my ex from back before I met you, I really thought he was still in jail, someone was supposed to let me know when he got released. The police said he’ll be going back for breaking the terms of the restraining order but I am so sorry you got hurt.”

“It’s not your fault Denki.” Izuku tried to smile but the scrapes on his face pulled tight under the bandage. “I’m fine, just a bit roughed up.”

“Izuku, Kats was going to kill him, I don’t know how I managed to stop him. Between what happened before and him attacking us outside of work he just lost it.” Denki wiped his tears and part of his eyeliner from his face. “Ren is in a different hospital, the cops were here telling us that he is really messed up and interviewing Kats”

“I guess you should know the whole story, I feel like I owe you that much.” he sighed and looked stoic, something Izuku had never seen before from her chipper friend. “When I was sixteen Ren was almost eighteen, he was my first real boyfriend and was pretty nice at the beginning. After a while he started getting a bad temper and would be really controlling, not even letting me talk to any guys I knew except my brother. Kats hated him from day one, said he was using drugs, but of course I didn’t listen. He ended up forcing himself on me and I didn’t tell anyone, he had me scared and I thought no one would believe me. It became a regular thing and I lied to myself trying to make it okay, saying he loved me. One day Kats and our Dad came in, they were supposed to be gone but forgot his wallet and came back to get it.” he had streams of tears down his face and couldn’t look at Izukku. “My Dad almost shot him, had he not fumbled so much getting the gun out he’d probably be dead. He ran, and it took three days for the police to find him, he was hiding under the neighbor’s trailer, he was so close to me the whole time. He got locked up for assault but got off as a minor even though his birthday was only a week away. He would have gotten more but I lied in court, I was still afraid he’d hurt me somehow if I told the truth. If I hadn’t lied he wouldn’t have done this, he would have gone away much longer.” The poor guy broke completely at this revelation, and Izuku ended up cradling him in his bandaged arms.

After a few more minutes bringing Denki back to a somewhat stable place he left and Mina came in the room. She was timidly standing at the door looking at Izuku, “Are you okay?” she looked pale and like she hadn’t slept.

“I will be fine, what about you? You look like crap Mina.” They both laughed.

“I was ripped out of bed by Denki today, he was a mess, he had blood on his and kept telling me it wasn’t his but he wasn’t sure if it was yours or not.” Mina spoke slowly and not at all like her usual self. “Then I got here and KAtsuki was talking to cops because the other guy was out cold in a pool of his own blood when they arrived, they said you hadn’t woken up, it took a long time to get Denki to tell me what went down. Listen, I called your parents, they are out there but aren’t sure if you want to see them. I am sorry and I want to spend time with you and all, but I think Katsuki needs to come in and talk to you, he is pretty upset out there and I don’t want to take too much time.”

With that she ducked back out the door. It only took two minutes for Katsuki to come in the room, he took the distance from the door to the chair by the bed in three strides and sat, leaning toward Izuku inspecting every inch of him.

Izuku spoke first, “Thank you, for saving me.” He began silently crying, wringing his hands in his lap.

“Me? Damn short stack, Thank YOU for trying to save Denki.” He said in disbelief. “When he ran in the kitchen and said Ren grabbed you up outside I didn’t know what to think. What if he would have had a knife or a gun? He could have killed both of you before anyone knew he was there. You were brave as hell swinging that plank at him and getting Denki away from him, I almost…” he trailed off. They both knew, he almost killed Ren.

“So my parents are out there?” he asked timidly. “I bet they are fighting back the urge to tell me they knew I’d end up in trouble and I really don’t need an ‘I told you so’ right now”

“It’s not like that. They know you were defending someone, they just want to make sure you are okay. I may have flipped out on them when they first got here, but they are really concerned.” He gave her a supportive smile, “They are coming back in a minute, I just insisted I see you first.”

Nurse Janet returned at that moment with papers in her hand, “I have some news, scans are all clear, no fractures or broken bones, you can go home tomorrow but we want to observe you for a while longer. She handed the results to Izuku, “Will someone be around to keep an eye on you with that concussion once you get home?”

Izuku spoke up, “I’ll make sure that gets taken care of. There’s plenty of us out there to make sure he’s not alone.”

“I will leave you for now sweetheart, take care of yourself okay” Janice patted his leg and walked out of the room.

“Are you going to leave?” Izuku asked nervously. “you know, seeing how they aren’t going to let me leave until tomorrow at the earliest….”

Katsuki stood and gave him a long look, “Just so you know I love you, always, that means I am going to be crammed over here in this little chair until they let you come home with me.” He said kissing his forehead and left to get him parents.

There was a soft knock at the door and it slowly opened to show his parents looking timidly around the door frame. “My baby,” his mother cooed as she crossed the room to hug him. “I am so sorry for the last time we saw you, you are such a good person helping your friend and not letting him get hurt, I just wish you hadn’t gotten hurt either.”

“That boy.” His dad began, “The police said that boy out there saved you from the attacker. They made it sound like he could have killed the thug,” his dad paused, “I guess he really is capable of taking care of you and keeping you out of trouble.”

“Mom, Dad,” he began, “Kacchan is amazing, I wish you could have seen that when you met him, tattoos and a motorcycle doesn’t make him a bad person. He has been there since we met to make sure I have always been safe and now he and Denki moved in to make sure my bills get paid after Mina left.”

“So that boy lives with you?” his dad questioned, “does that mean it is getting serious?” Izuku started to say it wasn’t necessarily clean cut and that he was unsure himself when the door flew open with a bang and Masaru shuffled over to him with emotion radiating off of him.

“My precious daughter-in-law!” he wiped a tissue against his eyes, “You protected my Denki and now you are hurt, you are such an angel.” At that moment Izuku noticed his parents confusion and Masaru held his hands out to them, “You must be Izuku’s parents, I am Katsuki and Denki’s father Masaru Bakugo, I feel that we will be blessed to be one happy family in the future.” Then releasing their hands he hugged them in his tight grip swaying back and forth.

Nurse Janice poked her head in the room and sternly reminded the group, “Doctor Halmish wants one visitor at a time, I can look the other way on both parents being in here but I need to ask you to step out for right now,” she said as she shooed Masaru out of the room, waving he said she would go find Katsuki.
“Katsuki's dad is pretty energetic,” Izuku said with a small laugh, “but he does love me.” His parents were surprised by the man calling their daughter his daughter in law but were also pleased to see that he was concerned for him despite his own children being involved in the situation. A hush fell over the room and Izuku addressed the elephant in the room, “So you have apologized for what happened, but why did you say all those things?”

His parents looked at each other as if silently communicating before his mother patted his hand and began to explain, “Your father and I started the whole RV traveling thing to attempt to save our marriage, we came back to visit you after it became clear that our plan wasn’t working, we forced ourselves to stay together and after looking back at our mistakes we pushed that onto you, we didn’t want you to regret your decisions later like we do.”

His father took over, “We have filed for divorce and are both moving back to the area, but in separate houses, of course. We are sorry for putting our regrets onto you Izuku, we see how responsible you have been through all of this.”

“You are getting divorced?” he asked slowly absorbing the news and both of his parents nodded, “well, at least you will be back so I can see you, that whole being gone in the RV thing was a bit crazy guys.” He made a face and laughed. “But you have to promise me that you will be giving Kacchan every chance to win you over on his own merit, he is not a bad guy and it wasn’t fair to him either when you said all of those things.”

“I understand,” his mother replied.

“Sure thing,” his dad answered but then asked, “I see that he really cares, but does he have to look so….scary?” This caused Izuku to laugh and shake his head, but he was starting to get tired and was having a hard time staying awake on the medication, his parents said their goodbyes and headed out, Katsuki joined him again squishing his body into the small chair beside the bed to keep him company.

Chapter Text

When it came time for Izuku to be released Katsuki had called the biggest cab he could find, while Denki and Mina got Izuku ready to leave the hospital. After some talking he and Kirishima decided that it would be best to keep everyone together that afternoon so they all headed to Izuku’s house.

He listened while the group chatted and caught up with Mina and Kiri, it turned out she was already twelve weeks along, and there would be another month or so before they would find out the baby’s gender. They had settled into their new place

A movie marathon went on the tv and pizzas were ordered, before long everyone was finally starting to relax. Izuku sat between Mina and Katsuki on the couch and before long he slumped over onto Katsuki’s shoulder and he gently readjusted him to lay in a more comfortable position. Mina glanced over and saw her friend asleep on him, she had tears in her eyes with a guilty look on her face and reluctantly went back to watching the movie. After the credits rolled Katsuki scooped Izuku up and took him to their room, placing him on the bed and throwing a blanket over his
sleeping form. He walked back out to find Mina just outside the door. “How angry is he with me?”

“I know he was pretty mad at first, but he misses you now more than anything,” he said nervously “he’d probably kill me for telling you, but there’s a bag of baby stuff in the closet he bought one day.”

Mina gave him a sad smile before saying, “Thank you for taking care of him, I should have looked after him the way he always did for me,” she peered in at the now sleeping Izuku then walked back to the living room.

Denki was curled up like a cat on the chair with a fleece blanket so Katsuki picked him up and deposited him on his bed. He grabbed a few blankets and pillows from the hall closet and gave them to Mina and Kiri, the couple settled on the sectional for the night and Katsuki headed to check on Izuku and go to bed himself. After what seemed like only seconds he fell asleep only to be awoken by loud screams. He sprang from the pillow disoriented and turned to see Izuku staring ahead frozen in fear.

Izuku sat erect in the bed covered in sweat screaming at an invisible enemy. He was no longer asleep but still fought off his imaginary attacker. Suddenly strong arms gently but firmly held his own injured ones down to his sides. Katsuki whispered in his ear, “Hey, shhh, calm down. I am right here. No one is going to hurt you. I hear Mina coming, it’s going to be okay.”

Mina came in shouting for her friend and gave a sympathetic look to the duo, Izuku was obviously fighting his memories and that was something that was hard to help him with. She sat near him, being held still by Katsuki and reassured him as best she could. “We’re all here. It’s a big crazy sleepover and you are not alone. Try to get some rest.” She said patting her friend’s hand.

Now lucid Izuku calmed his breathing and smiled weakly at his friends. “thanks. Sorry, I just had a nightmare.” Not looking at all relaxed he smiled meekly, “I’m fine now.” Mina slowly walked out of the room peeking back over her shoulder as Katsuki stroked Izuku’s hair for a minute before standing, “Why do I have to do this? Why am I afraid of him when he isn’t here?” he asked quietly.

“Do you know how long Denki had nightmares?” he asked,” he did that for months, probably close to a year, every time anything changed it would set him off again,” he wanted to make him feel better but was afraid to worry him about how long this would continue.

“I don’t want to do this anymore, I just want it to go away.” Izuku sobbed and shifted to one side near the wall and gave Katsuki room to lay by him. He climbed onto the bed and lay facing Izuku he studied his face, all of the scrapes, his scabbed chin and the bandage on his cheek. His eyes showed his exhaustion, lids heavy and sinking closed. After he was sure he was really asleep he dozed off again, hoping to not hear the screams of fear again that night.

Katsuki opened his eyes and was met with the familiar surroundings of his room, he tried to sit up only to find a thin arm draped over his chest and a sleeping Izuku on his shoulder drooling a bit. He was a mess of tangled hair and peeling bandages on top of it all he was softly snoring in his face. He let out a snort of amusement as he slid the hot mess of a sleeping guy off of himself and headed to the door to the bathroom. After doing his best to freshen up without taking too much time in case Izuku woke up he walked out into the hall and checked on his sleeping brother in his own room, still curled in a tight ball with his phone clutched in his hand he imagined he would wake up with a crick in his neck.

He inspected the discharge papers once more and made coffee. With drinks prepared he headed back into the bedroom to wake Izuku, he figured he would need to re-up the pain meds by this hour anyway. He softly shook his arm with no luck, he tried gently calling his name but he didn’t stir, finally he used his work voice and announced “coffee” as if making a kitchen order and he sat up as gracefully as a princess in a kiddie movie adorned with a tiara of tangled bedhead.

“Did you say coffee?” he asked sleepily and attempted to stretch but was instantly met with sharp pains through his muscles. “ugghh” he moaned.

“Hey where’d you drop your bag when you got in? I will get you a pain pill.” He waited patiently for him to process the request and answer.

“Try the table just inside the front door, I think that’s the sweet spot.” He was cheerful for having been through a slice of hell the night before. Katsuki trotted through the house and searched the entryway, the table was empty but he found Izuku's bag under a jacket on the floor near it. He brought the entire thing into his room and handed it over.

“I know I said I’d get you a pill, but here’s the whole bag, I don’t think it’s safe for a guy to go digging through a that bag unless it’s a true emergency.” He joked. He watched him fish out the bottle of Vicodin and attempt to open it, after struggling he gave it to him to open and he gave Izuku a tablet.

He made a few faces as he struggled to swallow the tablet and cringed before looking at him, “Did I do anything strange last night? I was a little out of it.” Leave it to Izuku to be concerned about that he thought with an eye roll.

“You mean other snoring in my face?” he asked with a wry smile? “Nah short stack, you’re good.”

Izuku slowly turned his body allowing his legs to dangle off the side of the bed as he sipped coffee trying to awaken his brain enough to start the day. Katsuki pulled his phone out and said, “I am going to give Yagi a call to straighten out schedules and update him on your condition. He called late last night but I didn’t even hear my phone.” He gave a long look in Izukus direction before excusing himself from the room to make his call. Once outside on the front porch, the only area he could find that wouldn’t disturb anyone else, he hit send and listened to the rings as he waited for the old man to answer.

“Thanks for calling, whaddaya want?” Yagi said in his jovial scratchy voice.

“Hey old man, it’s Katsuki. Figured I’d give you a call to update you on Izuku's condition and stuff,” he trailed off not sure what was going to happen with her being unable to work for the next few weeks.

“Oh, how is he my boy?" Yagi eagerly inquired.

“Well, he got home yesterday afternoon and slept most of the evening but seems to be up and moving today. The doc said he has a pretty bad concussion but should be back to his old self in a few weeks. He’s roughed up to say the least.” Katsuki took a deep breath, “I hate to say it but he is gonna need some time off work.”

There was no hesitation on Yagi’s end, he immediately spoke, “Of course, he’s my best worker, no doubt he can have the time off, I got some kids coming in for interviews today, I can just hire the punks on the spot and cover the open shifts.”

“Thanks, I can come in as soon as I get him settled,” Katsuki began to say but was interrupted.

“Take a few days, I think you need time for your well-being too boy.” Yagi said with concern, “You are a hard worker but this place ain’t gonna fall apart without ya. Tell that brother of yours to come in Friday, but until then he needs to rest too, you all have been through an ordeal, I will have the others cover.”

“Thanks old man, I don’t know how to thank you for all of this,” Katsuki said sheepishly.

“Just promise me you’ll come back and run my kitchen,” he said with a chuckle.

“Thanks old man.” Katsuki said before hanging up and heading back inside to tell the rest the news.

When he entered the house he headed toward the bedroom to check on Izuku once more and found that he wasn’t there. Turning and scanning the rooms he didn’t see him in the kitchen or living room and the bathroom door was open showing it was clearly vacant. A burst of giggles down the hall drew his attention and he headed toward Denki's room to find not only Denki and Izuku but also Mina tangled on the bed giggling with tears streaming down their faces. “Whats so funny in the henhouse today?” he inquired.

“OH MY GOD!” Izuku shouted and wiped his eyes, “Mina just told us the best story ever.” Mina buried her face in a pillow blushing deep scarlet and shaking her head no. “Pregnancy has made the beauty queen into a real person and it’s hilarious. Apparently, pregnancy gives you horrible gas and she said she blames it on Kiri when they are in public and completely runs away leaving him to explain it.” Izuku burst into another fit of laughter and snorted.”

“Why did you tell him that?” Mina said exasperated and blushing fiercely.

Denki chimed in smiling, “because it’s funny.” Katsuki shook his head and left the trio to talk and mend their fences while he went to the kitchen to scrounge up enough breakfast for the packed house.

Kirishima wandered into the kitchen a moment later and lent a hand to Katsuki, they did their best to chat although the two of them had not gotten to know each other too much before the guys had their falling out. “So you’re gonna be a dad? How’s that goin?” Katsuki asked.

“Oh man, it’s good.” Kirishima said with a smile. “It was scary at first but now I got to see the baby moving and stuff on the ultrasound, it made it so real. Before it was like people told me there was a baby, but now I have seen it. I think it’s a boy.”

“A boy? That’d be cool. Teach him to do stuff like sports and build things.” He said with a nod of approval. “But girls man, they love their dads. You’d be her hero.”

“Yea, My mom wants it to be a girl.” He said, “She’s all gung ho about the baby. I think it helped us get more comfortable with the idea, ya know.”

“My Dad would be over the moon if I called and told him I knocked someone up, probably any random person, he just wants babies in the family.” He smirked, his father was something else.

“Yea, I think so, I didn’t think I ever would because people would run the other way when they saw me, I scared the crap outta them. Then there was my ex, Cami, she was probably the least motherly person on the planet. She straight told me that if she ever got pregnant that she’d get rid of it, kinda what caused me to want to end things, but then Denki needed to move and I just took that chance to leave too. Double duty, ya know, protect my baby brother and leave the weirdo ex-girlfriend behind.”

“Sounds like a real bitch,” Kiri stated with a frown.

Katsuki chuckled, “that is just the tip of the iceberg. That girl had issues and drug me into a lot of drama I didn’t want to be part of. Her brother got locked up for moving drugs and she blamed me for him getting arrested because I was supposed to help him the night I left town with Denki. Tell me, if I wasn’t there how the hell was it my fault? I am glad to put that stupid crap behind me, my life is good here.”

Kiri grabbed his cup off the counter and raised it in a toast, “To good lives, man.” Katsuki mirrored his actions and the guys took a drink.

Chapter Text

Katsuki and Izuku were leaving the restaurant during what would have been their usual shift, but instead, they had been talking with Yagi about when Izuku would be returning after his time off. They witnessed a very apologetic Mina more than willing to work all the shifts she could handle to cover for her friend. Yagi had gladly taken both Mina and Kirishima back, saying he thought of all of them as family and congratulating them on their pregnancy and telling them that Yagi made a great middle name, causing an eruption of snickers and giggles from the staff. As Katsuki walked Izuku through the dining room all the tables were tended to but neither Hitoshi or Denki were there, “They must be taking a break,” Izuku said with a shrug as they walked out the front door and headed around to the employee entrance. Katsuki stiffened when they saw the two servers kissing, but not a run-of-the-mill kiss, Hitoshi had Denki lifted with his legs wrapped around him, he had his back pressed against the wall and someone would be hard-pressed to find a space big enough to slide a coin between them.

Izuku pulled with all of his might to get Katsuki back out of the alleyway, he was clearly in shock but he did not need him losing his cool on Hitoshi. “Kacchan, stop, calm down.” He said and he turned towards him, his face turning red, “It’s fine, Hitoshi is a good guy.”

“That good guy as you call him had his tongue down my brother’s throat and was clearly trying to get in his pants,” Katsuki angrily gestured toward the alleyway cursing under his breath.

Izuku flinched and reluctantly spoke, “So please don’t be mad, but I happen to know they have been seeing each other outside of work for two weeks.”

“And how exactly do you happen to know this?” he pressed with a scowl on his face.

“Because I helped them set it up,” he said timidly causing him to throw his hands in the air in defeat.

“I need to keep that pretty boy from trying to sleep with my brother and you’ve been helping them? Are you not worried about his history of poor judgement and what could happen? He doesn’t have the will power to say no to guys and needs to steer clear of ‘em all together,” Katsuki growled and started to turn toward the alleyway once more, but the expression that crossed Izuku’s face stopped him dead in his tracks. “Don’t make that face…oh crap.” He sat on the curb. “They already hooked up, didn’t they?” his head hung.

“Well, hook up is not a term I would use,” Izuku said with a gentle tone of persuasion, “They, um, showed their affection for each other in a physical way.” With that Katsuki cringed and stood up, pacing back and forth running his hands over the stubble on his chin. “Come on Kacchan, he is old enough to make his own decisions, and really he is a good guy. I think that any guy that shows interest in your brother is going to send up red flags after everything he’s been through but Hitoshi has been patient with him and was so worried the other night when Ren tried to hurt him.”

Images of a battered and bleeding Izuku passed through his mind, he looked at his bright smile and bandages unable to understand how he was able to shake it all off and move forward so easily. “You know I get that, I felt that for you, but why wasn’t he right there like I was for you?”

“He wanted to, so first you need to drop that attitude or take your toys to a different sandbox to play. Kacchan, you have made your stance well known when it comes to guys around Denki. Hitoshi didn’t want you to get confrontational with him at the hospital, after all you did nearly kill Ren just prior to that. He stayed away for his own safety Kacchan, but Denki told me he did text him a lot that night and he went to see him the next morning and he tried to take care of him. He is not what I first thought when I met him, you know? He appeared to be a selfish pretty boy but I know now that he really cares for Denki, he walks him out of work every night and is always checking in with him, he is actually quite sensitive, he even picked up him shifts to cover while he was out,” he explained. “You aren’t much on having people judge you without getting to know you, I figure you would be willing to give this guy a real chance too. Fair is fair, Kacchan.”

“Come on short stack, I gotta get out of here and pretend I don’t know any of this,” he muttered, “He can do what he wants, but I am going to take a firm stance that I don’t want to know anymore.” He gently pulled Izuku toward the parking lot across the street and got in the driver’s seat of Izuku's car, shaking his head slowly as he glanced across the street before starting the car.

“What if we have him over to the house tomorrow to hang out and have lunch?” Izuku asked, “It’ll give you a chance to see how he is with Izuku, and believe me I have the screenshots from his messages to know he is a stand up guy and not up to anything other than caring for your brother.” He paused before continuing his plea, “Did you know he was the one that originally saw that someone had been in Denki's car? He really does look out for him.”

Katsuki grimaced. “Damn, how involved are you in all of this, short stack?” Izuku smiled and he reluctantly said “Fine. I’ll give him a shot, but he better be able to keep his paws off my brother when I am right there.” Izuku rolled his eyes and began texting Denki the idea.

Izuku: Hey, your brother saw the little make out session in the alley a minute ago. Bring Hitoshi by tomorrow for lunch at our place.
Denki: Oh no. Kat’s gonna kill him. I can’t do that.
Izuku: Don’t worry about that, he’s past the initial shock and reaction, he’s willing to at least spend some time with HItoshi, get to know him and stuff.
Denki: I guess. I hope it doesn’t end up being a raging dumpster fire of a situation.
Izuku: It’ll be fine. I will be there too. Don’t worry.

When they arrived at home Izuku had a slight dizzy spell in the yard walking up to the door and stopped to get his bearings. Katsuki turned around and watched him, seeing the dazed look on his face he took his arm and led him through the door and to the sofa.

“You doin alright there, short stack?” he asked visibly concerned. “Do you need anything?” He shook his head in a clear no and gave a smile to reassure him but could see his concern shift into frustration and irritation. “All of this is because of that scumbag Ren, why did Denki have to get tangled up with him in the first place?” Katsuki spat with anger.

“Katsuki,” he said, causing him to turn and look at him, he never used his full name anymore, “Did you ever think that if Denki hadn’t gotten into that mess you wouldn’t have taken him away and come here and you’d probably be in jail, you wouldn’t have met me. Yes, it sucks that he came back and I got hurt but I think having you is a good thing that far outweighs the bad that has happened. You may not see it now, but his ability to move on with Hitoshi is a good thing too. We can all be happy now.” He gripped his hand in his and leaned into him catching his lips with his and kissing him, he pushed his fingers into the loose curls of his hair.

When they pulled apart he looked at him thoughtfully, “I never looked at it that way, Zuku. I am happy, and despite not wanting to see the crap he does with him I do want my brother to be happy too. I guess it’s kind of hard to let the guard down after everything that happened with the last loser.”

After a quiet night at home they snuggled into bed, Izuku felt cautiously optimistic about the plans tomorrow. When he heard Denki came in from work Katsuki was fast asleep and Izuku slid out of the bed, tiptoeing out to talk with his friend one on one.

“Hey Denks,” he whispered as he approached him, “Let’s go to your room and talk.” The two made their way through the house and sat on his bed. Izuku looked around the room to see how different the place looked with all of Denki’s belongings carefully placed. “You made this room look amazing, it’s changed so much in here.”

Denki looked pleased, “It’s so nice, it’s almost twice the size of my old room.” he fluffed his pillows and sat leaning against the wall. “So what’s on your mind, zuku?”

“Well you already know we saw you earlier with Hitoshi,” he started, “but I did my best to break it down for your brother. He is ready to see you happy, and he knows he needs to give Hitoshi a real chance because is nothing like Ren.” Denki looked at the floor, “I won’t bring Ren up anymore, don’t worry, he is in the past. So, the thing is, I need you guys to be real. Let Hitoshi and Kacchan get to know each other and I really think that they will bond over something. They work together without fighting, so it’s not like they completely hate each other, Kacchan just has to get past thinking that any guy that touches you is bad news. He’s a really caring brother but also a bit over the top when it comes to you.”

“But what if they don’t?” Denki asked, “What if they really just don’t get along and won’t be able to get past that Kats can be as stubborn as they come sometimes and I haven’t had much luck in the past changing his mind once it was made up.?”

“I don’t think that will happen, but if it does then they will just have to accept that they won’t see eye to eye. That doesn’t mean that you won’t be able to see him and be happy, it just means that they would have to get over it and be civil. And although you haven’t been able to change his mind much in the past I have, and I plan to use that to our advantage,” Izuku tried to give a clear answer but he wondered about these things himself. Kacchan was quite protective over his brother, and despite her knowing that Hitoshi was a decent guy he feared him doing something that would accidentally infuriate the temper of a defensive older brother.

“Get some sleep and we will do our best to make tomorrow go smoothly. Just maybe remind Hisoshi that Kacchan is your big brother and wouldn’t want to watch him do too much with you right in front of him,” Izuku joked.

Chapter Text

After a morning of Izuku and Denki having a whirlwind cleaning spree, they scrubbed every surface from the countertops to the baseboards despite knowing that Hitoshi could probably care less about the state of their home. The afternoon came upon them quickly once they had gotten into the kitchen and begun to prepare the food. Denki had cooked a lunch of lasagna and garlic bread from scratch, and they had baked two dozen cookies out of sheer anxious energy. Katsuki came in from mowing the overgrown lawn and headed for the shower, but the smell of cookies pulled him into the kitchen, he stole a cookie and bolted from the kitchen with both Denki and Izuku scolding him.

“I am so nervous.” Denki said pacing the living room, “Where is he?”

Izuku put his hands on Denki’s shoulders, stopping him in him tracks. “It’s only noon, and you need to stop walking circles or you are going to wear the carpet out. He will be here soon, I am sure of it.” He did his best to reassure his friend but wondered if Hitoshi was still too worried about Kacchan to show up, could he possibly stand up Denki after everything? That would definitely end with an angry Kacchan and a very hurt Denki.

After Izuku finally talked Denki into sitting down and doing mad libs with him Kacchan emerged from the bedroom freshly showered and dressed in his usual sleeveless shirt and torn jeans to announce that there was a vehicle outside. They peeked out the window as discreetly as they could to see Hiroshi exiting his truck and circling around to get something from the passenger side. Denki flapped his hands nervously as he came up the sidewalk and knocked, Izuku grabbed his hands and did his best to calm his nerves. Katsuki opened the door and joked, “Please, tell me those aren’t for me.”

Hitoshi gave a weak chuckle and said, “These are for Denki and Izuku,” he walked in when Katsuki stepped aside holding two bouquets of lilies in one hand and a paper bag under his other arm. When they took the flowers into the kitchen to put in water Hitoshi handed the paper bag to Katsuki, “But this is for you, figured you weren’t much on flowers.”

Katsuki smirked and said, “Maybe this guy is alright,” as he pulled a six pack of beer from the bag. “He even knows what decent beer is.” Denki beamed as he bounded forward to grip him in a hug and gave him a quick peck on the cheek, as far as Denki went this was a pretty calm reaction and Izuku wondered if it was because of his brother’s looming presence in the room.

Hitoshi turned to see the mad libs on the table and grinned, “Oh man, I haven’t seen a book of mad libs in forever, my brother and I used to do these things after a night of drinking in high school, those were epic nights.”

Katsuki snorted, “That sounds like a good time. We might have to try that.” Izuku breathed a sigh of relief as the lunch started off better than he had expected. Izuku and Denki set the table and began bringing the food to the table.

“My mom would dig this,” Hitoshi stated, “She always said you gotta find a girl that can cook, and this looks amazing.”

Katsuki teased, “Denki is a great cook, you are lucky he cooked this because Izuku can make food that looks good but looks can be deceiving.” Izuku scowled, but Hitoshi fought back a laugh that almost made him spit water, not sure whether there was truth to the accusation.

“Oh, you think you are funny?” Izuku asked Katsuki with a threatening look.

“Funny would be if the food looked bad and tasted great, this is just a sad truth.” He grinned at him and kissed his head, “But you are a great writer and a hell of a fighter so I won’t mess with ya.”

“You are so lucky I love you because those were fighting words mister.” he snarked. “You couldn’t handle the kind of trouble I could deal out for that.”

Denki tried his best to conceal his excitement over the way the group was getting along, but it read clear as ink on paper. “Eat up everyone,” he said with a chipper tone as he put the utensils on the table. The group enjoyed their lunch with lots of teasing at first, and eventually went into talk about work. It began to sink in just how much drama had occurred at the restaurant in the last few months; from the fire, to the arrest, as well as the attack by Ren in the alley. Izuku wondered how Yagi had handled all of this without having a complete meltdown or a heart attack, the old man was truly able to handle just about anything it seemed.

Hitoshi stood up to help Denki clean up the table and Katsuki raised an eyebrow and gave Izuku an impressed look. “Time for cookies!” Denki sang bringing the tray in with Hitoshi behind him with a stack of cups and some milk.

“You can tell a server, they can carry everything in one trip,” Izuku pointed out as he grabbed a cookie from the tray.

“Oh these are good,” Katsuki said as he munched on some peanut butter cookies.

“Those are good?” Izuku asked with a quizzical expression, receiving a nod in return, “Well I made those, not Denki, so you’re wrong on my inability to cook.” He lightly smacked him in the back of the head and took his cookie away eating it himself as he stared back at him in disbelief that he had stolen his snack.

“Anyone up for a bit of the ol’ idiot box,” Katsuki suggested to the group as he stood and headed to the living room, snagging a handful of cookies and dodging his boyfriend’s attempt to take them.

“Yea man, there’s a Firefly marathon on cable today, if you guys know what that is.”Hitoshi said, with Katsuki awkwardly grabbed him into a bear hug.

“You can never break up with him now, he’s one of us.” Katsuki jokingly scolded Denki. “He’s a fan of Firefly, that makes him the best kind of person.” Denki and Izuku rolled their eyes at each other as they headed into the living room, it didn’t take much for Katsuki to completely forget about his dislike for their guest, suddenly the two were best bros and rambling over the injustice of Fox cancelling Firefly before a second season and suggesting they go see the stars at comic con if they could gather the funds for the trip. The two barely moved from their positions as they chatted on and on, while the others went from watching the show to chatting in the kitchen making snacks, to back on the sofa once more. Izuku lightly smacked Katsuki when he shushed him for talking to Denki about a pretty dress one of the characters wore and Denki playfully announced that they were having a lover’s quarrel, resulting in a good laugh from the group. Although things were great, he couldn’t pretend they were perfect, but they had definitely proven to each other that they could get through anything from a play argument to a full on spat no matter what the situation.

Sometime during the marathon Izuku’s phone dinged and he found a message from Mina for the first time since their argument
.
Mina: Don’t know if I told you before, the baby will be due on/around your birthday. Guess making you godfather could be part of your present. Sorry for everything and I love you.

Izuku burst into silent tears causing the others to look over suddenly, “You okay over there short stack?” Katsuki asked putting his arm around him.

“I just became a godfather, Mina and Kiri picked me!!” he squealed, pulling his phone back out to send a message back.

Izuku: So happy! I can forgive and forget the past because we were both in the wrong, thank you for making me a part of baby’s life. That baby is going to be spoiled FYI
Mina: Don’t I know it, for someone so small she already has quite the fan club.
Izuku: Let’s meet up soon. Having a get together here now, better go be with them before I get shushed again by the moody guys.
Mina: of course, Love you, Later.

He tucked his phone in his pocket and leaned against Katsuki and grabbed the popcorn bowl causing him to lightheartedly scowl. He peeked over and saw Hitoshi take Denki’s hand and pulling it into his lap causing him to blush deeply, it seemed that despite all of the chaos as of late the group had managed to come together and have a good time. The tension in the room had melted away without much effort, Denki finally got to spend time with his boyfriend, and Izuku could finally stop feeling like he was doing something wrong every time he helped them secretly meet. He had received quite the lecture from Katsuki when he found out just how much he had aided the his brother and Hitoshi’s rendezvous and at one point gotten completely flabbergasted and asked how he even found time for all of her “helping”.

That night when Izuku sat down with his book to read he no longer envied the characters he read about, he had experienced drama and excitement, and had the love of a man he never would have imagined being the one for him. He found himself wanting to write more than read that night, he tucked his usual postcard bookmark into place and pulled his laptop out and began to type. He drew inspiration from his and Kacchan’s first outing at the river trails, and the secret dates that Denki had orchestrated for himself and Hitoshi, the love that had endured such craziness and danger made for a fantastic muse. Hours passed and the words had flowed out so swiftly a story formed before his eyes, Katsuki had watched him for a few minutes from the doorway and he had been so focused he didn’t even notice his presence. A thought passed through his mind causing him to stop and consider it for a moment, maybe he couldn’t successfully write before because he hadn’t experienced pain, loss, adventure, or love the way he had tried to write for his characters; after all could you truly write what you didn’t have an understanding of? By the time he settled in for bed there were characters developing on the page, words carried them in and out of the scenes with mental images that led him away, he felt that he was finally able to be a productive writer. Katsuki re-entered the room to find him finally closing his laptop and stretching out across the bed looking pleased with his progress, he laid next to him and wrapped his arms around him, pulling his body closer to his so he could whisper into his ear. “I am glad you are so happy in here typing away, seems like things have finally settled down.”

“For the most part,” he replied placing his head on his shoulder.

“I know I have said it before, a few times, but I have to tell you again. I love you, I can never go back to the way things were before, this is what feels right and I don’t want it to change,” Katsuki stated with a sincere look upon his face.

“I love you too,” Izuku felt the warmth of the sentiment wash over him as he said the words.

6 months later

Izuku sat anxiously in the waiting room of the hospital he had been in earlier that year, he listened for the sound of approaching footsteps or a swinging door as the minutes crept by. Hospitals were not anywhere near appearing on his list of favorite places, but today there was nowhere else he would rather be, despite the fact that he had been sitting in the small room for hours.

Today Mina had called him, she and Kiri were now in room 419 having their baby girl, and as godfather Izuku had quickly called out of work and eagerly awaited the moment he would get to meet the new baby. Over the last six months Mina and Izuku had mended their friendship, and it was clear that the pregnancy had set Mina on a much more responsible path. After moving in with Kiri’s parents they had saved enough to not only get all of the necessities for their impending arrival, but also get a vehicle that was family friendly and didn’t have graffiti on the side.

Katsuki and Izuku were engaged, but did not have any plans to tie the knot in the immediate future, their focus was instead on Katsuki's enrollment in culinary school and Izuku’s first book being published. Denki and Hitoshi had been happily dating and through the months Katsuki had grown to genuinely like the guy who had won his brother over.

Masaru now lived in a small townhouse on the other side of town, and Izuku’s parents had each found their own homes and given up the RVing lifestyle that neither of them actually enjoyed. The fences that had been damaged months ago seemed to be mended for the most part with Izuku’s parents starting to like Katsuki and his protectiveness for their son, his father even approved of the engagement when Katsuki asked for his hand in marriage to appease her old fashioned parents. It seemed that all the pieces were falling into place for the people he cared about most, but as he thought about all of this he was pulled back to the moment by the voice of a nurse calling to him. “Izuku? They are ready for you.”

Izuku jumped from his chair and followed the petite nurse through the double doors down the long beige hall into a delivery room. He was met with the sight of an exhausted but beaming Mina laying in the bed with Kirishima by her side, Kiri’s parents sat on a small sofa in the corner of the room chatting with the doctor about their gorgeous granddaughter, who was supposedly going to call them Lolly and Pop since they were too young to be called Grandma and Grandpa. Izuku approached Mina to see the tiny baby bundled in a pink fleece blanket, her face was chubby and the perfect shade of healthy peach and her head had wisps of pink hair just barely visible under the striped hat. “We would like to introduce you to your goddaughter, Penelope.” Mina said with a smile as she handed the bundle to Izuku.

“Aww, Penny? Did your mama take my name suggestion?” Izuku cooed at the sweet sleeping baby girl. He sniffed the new baby smell and suddenly knew why people were so intoxicated by it, there was a magic to a new life being held in your arms. He felt a vibration in his pocket and sat in the small chair beside the bed to fish his phone from his hoodie to see a notification from Kacchanl, instead of opening the message he took a photograph of himself holding Penelope and posted it on social media, with the caption I think I may want one of these. He grinned as he waited for the responses, knowing Katsuki would be among the first to respond unless his father saw it first.

Mina smiled softly watching her baby wriggle and coo in Izuku’s arms, the two of them locked eyes and sent an unspoken message, she is a blessing. They spoke for nearly an hour about all of the things they planned to do with little Penny once she was older, and Izuku offered himself up for babysitting if ever the parents needed it. It seemed to take no time at all for Izuku to fall deeply in love with the newborn girl and he hoped to see her as much as possible, this tiny being had brought out the best in everyone after all.