Archive of Our Own ^beta

“Gods above they are so friggen hot!”  Denki sighed from his post at the checkout counter.

“Better be careful my dude, if Kats catches you slackin again he’s gonna explode.”

“Hrrrnnng!  He’s not even here!  Eijirou!  Why are they soooo hot?!?!   How am I supposed to work in these conditions?  This is an unsafe working environment!”

“Aww, come on Denks.  It’s not that bad.”

“I am going to get eye strain.  I am going to go into cardiac arrest.  I am going to have to jack off so much tonight my dick’ll fall off!”

“Ok, now you’re going a little overboard.”

“I’m not!  It’s hazardous to my health and Bakugou can’t be mad at me for not working if it’s going to put me in the hospital!  I’m already soooo dehydrated!”

“Dehydrated?”  Eijirou asked, realizing a second too late he was playing into his friend’s hands.

“Yeah!  I’m super thirsty right now.”  

Yup.  Played right into them.  Got the finger guns with that one and everything.  He just chuckled under his breath and kept unpacking boxes.

“Oh shit!”  Denki whisper screamed.  “They are coming this way!”

“Dude, they are customers.  You better be cool, or Kats really will explode.  Probably fire you too.”

He thought his friend was being a little too theatrical.  Denki had a flair for dramatics, but he normally wasn’t this bad.  Then Eijirou looked up from his boxes and saw the two people his friend had been ogling.

Well..

Then…

Maybe Denki wasn’t being dramatic.

The two men who approached them had to be the hottest people he had ever seen.  And Eijirou, who wasn’t near as sensational as Denki found himself not being able to blink, or breath, or well, move.  

“Um.  Excuse me?  We were wondering if you could help us?”  The taller one asked.  

He seemed polite, and kinda on the monotone side.  But his voice was deep and fluid.  It didn’t help that he looked like some prince from a fairytale.  Eijirou managed to break his gaze away to glance at Denki who was just leaning against the checkout counter with his head in his hand and a dreamy look on his face.

Whelp, Eijirou better find his tongue and talk to the pretty customer cause Denks sure was in no condition to.

“Hi!  Um, yup, I mean, yes.  Yes, um we can help you guys.”  Great.  Those were words at least.  And they made sense, so Eijirou was counting it as a win.

“Thank you.  We are looking for a book.”

Eijirou was about to ask for more details when Denki barked out the loudest, ugliest laugh he had ever heard his friend make.  He and the two customers turned to the blonde with concern on their faces.

“Hahah!  That’s a good one.  Looking for a book.  Ha!  Cause you’re like… in a bookstore.  Hahahah!”  Denki slapped the counter as he continued to laugh.  “Wow, you are funny and pretty!”

“Pretty?”  The customer asked.  His eyebrows raised over beautiful heterochromatic eyes, like it was the first time anyone had ever told him he was good looking.

“Um!  So!  Yeah!  A book!  Haha.  We didn’t see it on the shelf and wondered if you carried it, or if you could order it or something???”  The customer’s companion spoke up, nervously wringing his hands.

If the first guy was gorgeous in a fairy elf prince kind of way, this second guy was just down right adorable.  He was rocking that hot best friend/guy next door look with a wide bright smile, big emerald eyes, and wild emerald curls to match.  He was shorter than his friend, but he was more solidly built, and Eijirou could see them becoming gym bros real quick.

Denki, still staring down the first customer with a weird smile on his face, didn’t reply.

“Um, sure.  I mean.  We can look.  This place is kinda new, and we don’t keep much back stock, but I can see what we have in the system.”  Eijirou supplied.

“Great!  Thanks!”  

It was kind of hard to get Denki to move away from the computer so he could squeeze by, but Eijirou managed.

The cute boy gave him the title he was looking for, along with a specific edition number.  Unfortunately, no matter which way Eijirou looked it up, he couldn’t find anything.  Eventually he wrestled Denki from his staring contest with the taller elf prince dude and asked him to try, and even he came up empty handed.

“I’m really sorry.  But that specific edition is no longer in print.  So we won’t be able to order it for you.  Have you tried looking online?  Or at the campus bookstore?”  Eijirou said mournfully.

“Yeah.  They were dead ends.”  The shorter customer sighed.  “Dean Aizawa suggested we try this place.  Said if anyone would have that edition, it would be you guys.”

The disappointed pout on the guy's face was about to break Eijirou’s heart (even though it was a cute look), but he didn’t know what he could do to help.

As he was about to apologize again, Denki spoke up in a rush.

“We could have Kat’s hunt it down!”  He jumped.  Elated at his sudden solution.

“Really?”  The customers said in tandem.

‘Denks.. I’m not so sure about that.”  Eijirou said.  He knew Katsuki had a ton of connections, it was what brought him into this business in the first place.  But with this shop being so new, he wasn’t sure if his best friend would have the time to hunt down one out-of-print book.

“Sure he can!  Kat’s - he’s the owner - he can find anything.  He’s got all these business relationships and stuff.  I’m sure he will be able to find it!”

“Ok.  Well, if you really think he can.  I guess.  Um.  Is he in today, so we can ask him?”

“Oh.  No.  He is in super important business meetings today.  But if you guys leave your names and numbers we can give you a call when he finds it!”

“Really?  Ok, that… Well, that sounds great.”

The shorter man took the paper and pen Denki offered him and began to scribble his information.  The taller man just looked blankly at the paper as if it was a puzzle he had to figure out.

“Why do you need my information if my friend is giving you his?  He’s the one who needs the book.”  

“Hey, well… um… what if we call and your friend doesn’t answer?”  Denki supplied.

Eijirou snorted under his breath and rolled his eyes.

“Oh.  Ok then.”  The taller man took the paper from Denki and wrote his information down as well.

As soon as the two men left, Denki whooped and started jumping up and down, kissing the papers with the guys' information on them.

“Yeah baby!  Damn!  I am sooo good!  Did you see Eiji?!?!  Those had to be the two hottest guys alive .. And I got both their numbers!!!”

“No you didn’t Denks.”

“Yes I did!  You saw!”  

“I saw you acting like some weird lovesick smiley dude, and I saw how you offered up your boss as a solution to their problem.”

“Still got me their deets did it not?”  Denki gave him a sly look as he continued to pepper kisses on the paper.

“No.  It got Kat’s their ‘deets’ so he can call them after doing the extra work you signed him up for.  Now gimme those, you’re gonna smudge them!”  Eijirou yanked the papers out of Denki’s hands as he paused.

“Oh shit.  Kats is gonna kill me isn’t he?”  Denki said.  His eyes were going all big and watery.  Eijirou would feel kind of sorry for him if he didn’t have ink on his lips as well.  Proof that it was really all his fault in the first place.

“Probably.”  He shrugged.  He looked at the papers and it seemed that the names were sort of smudged, but thankfully the numbers weren't.  

“Oh man!  Look Eiji, you gotta help a bro out here.  I was just trying to help his business!”

“You were trying to get laid.  But don’t worry.  I’ll talk to him about it when he comes in to close tonight.”

“Really dude!  You are the best!”

“I know man.  But bro - do me a solid and stop hitting on the customers, or I will let Kats kill you.”

“Totally!  I swear dude!  No more hitting on customers.  After I call mister tall and handsome that is…”

“Nope!  Not gonna happen.”

“What?  Why?!?  Come on man!  I worked hard for those numbers!  At least give me the short cutie’s number.  You can have the tall, pretty one!”

“Denki….” Eijirou did his best to sound like Kats would in that moment, all disappointed and scowly.

“You’re just jealous!”  He huffed.

“Sure sure.  I’m jealous.  Now you better go wipe that ink off your lips before we have any more customers come in or they are gonna think you were giving that pen a blow job.”

His friend shrieked and sputtered on his way to the washroom and Eijirou chuckled again.  He tucked the numbers away in the counter drawer.  He hoped this wasn’t going to cause Katsuki too much trouble.

***

It had been a long fucking day.  The kind of day where he almost, almost , wished he had taken over his parent’s fashion business instead of going into a completely different market on his own.

At least then he wouldn’t have to pound the pavement every week and meet with new wholesalers, universities, and publishing houses.  

He already knew quite a few people.  His parents had a ton of friends with wide investment portfolios and connections that gave him a good start.  But he wanted to have a majority of his business come from his hard work, not who his parents knew.  Still, it would have been a tad easier.

Starting your own business was never actually easy, regardless of who you knew, but it would have greased the wheels for him had he stuck closer to the fashion and clothing industries.

But he knew what he was doing was going to be a success.  He could see it.  It was there, in front of him.  He could almost reach out and touch that future he envisioned.  He just had to keep going forward and he would have it fully in his grasp.

The hag had laughed at him when he told her what he was doing after graduation.  She couldn’t believe he was going to open a bookstore.  

“You?  A bookstore?!?”  She screeched.  “Don’t you, ya know, have to be quiet in places like those?  How the hell do you think you are going to own one?!?”

“That’s a library!  You’re fucking quiet in a goddamned library!  Not a bookstore!  Fuckin hell!”

It wasn’t just a bookstore though.  Well, it was right now.  But that isn’t all it was going to be.  She just couldn’t see it if it didn’t have to be tailored and dressed up with accessories.

He’d show them.  Then they would see how awesome he was.  Would see his vision.

Katsuki wearily opened the front door to the building that held his hopes and dreams in the darkening twilight.  He saw his best friend behind the checkout counter balancing a pen in between his nose and lips.  He rolled his eyes.  At least Dunce Face wasn’t still there.  He couldn’t handle that brand of idiocy right now.

“Oi!  Shitty Hair!  If you’re that bored, I can find you a few things to do ya know!”  He called from the front door.

Eijirou startled and dropped the pen, looking over at him sheepishly.

“I’m not bored!”  He defended.

“Tch.  Yeah, looks like it.”  Katsuki said as he approached the counter.

“I’m not!  I had Denki leave only like 10 minutes ago, and I was waiting on that customer over there near the romance novels.  I didn’t want to get too far away from the counter if they needed help or wanted to be rung up or something.”  Eijirou rubbed the back of his neck.

“S’fine.”  He said as he craned his neck to see if he could spot the customer a few aisles down.  “Imma be in the back.  Lock the doors when they leave and come on back when you are done.”

He got two thumbs up and a big toothy sunshine smile from his friend and employee.

Once in the back, Katsuki made his way to his desk.  He wanted to make sure all of the data from his phone had saved to the cloud.  Service was spotty in a few areas and he did NOT want to lose the new contracts he just made.  Business was starting to pick up and he would be damned if it all got fucked because of shitty cell service.

All too soon he heard Eijirou opening the door that led from the small break room into his even smaller office.

“How’d today go?”  He asked, barely looking up from his computer.

“Everything went well, for the most part.”  Eijirou rubbed the back of his neck.

“For the most part?”

“Heh.  Well, you know what Denki is like.”

“What did that fucking space cadet do now and how much is it going to cost me?”  He sighed wearily.  He couldn’t even bring himself to yell.  He was exhausted and still had a few hours of work to finish before he could go home.

“Oh!  Nothing like that.”

“Then what was it?”

“Well, see… There were these two good looking customers…”

“Fucking hell….”

“But it all turned out ok!”

Katsuki raised his eyebrow.

“I swear!  They were looking for a specific book edition that we didn’t have.  Turns out it’s out-of-print.”  

Eijirou wouldn’t look up from the spot on the floor he was staring at.  Katsuki got a chill up his spine.

“And…”

“And….”

“Look, rocks for brains - I have had a long fucking day and it’s not over yet.  Just spit it out already.”

“Well, it’s just that, these guys were like, really, really good looking.  And you know how dramatic Denki is.  Well, they said that Dean Aizawa recommended this place for them to find that book, and Denki wanted to impress them.  So he said you would be able to find it for them.”

“Find it for them?”

“Yeah, the out-of-print book.”

“And an internet search couldn’t do that?  I know that fucker is on his phone all the goddamn time, he knows how to use Google.”

“We tried that, and like a bunch of other stuff and we couldn’t find it.”

“And you think that I could, when the internet couldn’t?”

“You are really underestimating how good looking these guys were Kats.”

“Fuckin…. So what?  You two want me to magically pull this book outta thin air so you guys can get some ass?”

“Not me.  Denki.  But yeah, that was his thought.”

“Then why are you telling me this and not him?”

“Cause you are less likely to murder me, than you are him.”

Katsuki scowled, but Eijirou had a point.

“Still not gonna happen.”

“Really?  Please?  Denki really talked you up to these guys.  Plus the Dean from UA sent them here.  What would happen to your relationship with the university if you didn’t at least try?”

“Ugh.  What the fuck ever.  What fucking book is it?”  Katsuki sighed in defeat.

Eijirou handed him two small pieces of wrinkled paper with blurry words.  One, the handwriting seemed neat but half the name was smudged.  The second, the writing was so cramped and messy he could barely read it.  He was able to make out phone numbers on both of them, and the second one had the name of the book and edition number on the back.

He stared in disbelief of what he saw written there.  He shook his head.

“No fucking way.”

“Do you know these guys?”  Eijirou looked kind of excited.

“Fuck, no.  I can barely read their names.  This one says Shouto and I can’t fucking read the family name.  And the second one…. Does that say Deku?”

Eijirou walked over to peer at the papers over his shoulder.

“I think it is Izuku.”

“It looks like Deku.”

“Why would his name be Deku?  You think that's like some kind of joke from his parents or something?”

“I have no fucking clue Shitty Hair.  But what is a joke is this book they want me to find.”

“Is it a bad book?  It didn’t look like that from the pictures I saw as we were searching for it earlier…”

“No dumbass.  The joke is that they think they can walk into a fucking bookstore and find an out-of-print, special edition of a book with an forward written by fucking Toshinori Yagi himself.  A forward that was retracted and removed from later editions of the book.”

Eijirou’s eyes widened.  Every guy his age and younger knew who Toshinori Yagi was.  The creator of the All Might franchise.  Comic books, movies, video games.  Even now the stories of the world’s greatest hero, The Symbol of Peace, All Might and his hero friends captured the attention and hearts of young and old alike.  

At that moment Katsuki’s phone began to ring.

“Gotta take this.”

Eijirou pouted.

“Fuck, fine.  I’ll look into it, but I ain’t guaranteeing shit!”

Eijirou beamed and gave Katsuki a thumbs up as he swiped his phone to answer it.  He just hoped that this wasn’t going to cause him too much extra work.

***

This fucking book search was going to drive him up a fucking wall.  Goddamn Deku and his shitty request.  If he hadn’t name dropped Dean Aizawa to Shitty Hair and the Dunce, no fucking way would Katsuki be spending this kind of time on this stupid shit.

Not only was this edition out-of-fucking-print, but there were only 100 copies printed in the first fucking place.  And the only goddamn reason there is anything special to it is the forward written by Toshinori.  No one fucking cares about David Shield’s theories on robotics or whatever.  They only cared about the forward.  

And why was the forward retracted after only printing 100 shitty copies of this shitty book?  Because the way Toshinori wrote it, it seemed like he was praising a fucking lover instead of a friend and colleague.  The All Might comics were already a huge success with movies and television adaptations coming out every freaking year.  Impressionable young boys looked up to All Might.  And the shitty parents and shitty politicians of that time freaked the fuck out when they thought that the guy responsible for their son’s hero worship might be a gay man.  

Neither Toshinori Yagi, nor David Shield ever confirmed if they were gay or not but the publishing company for Robotics Theory book was the same one who published the All Might comic, and due to pressure from the public; they were forced to remove the forward from future editions or risk toppling the super hero empire they were building out of Toshinori’s work.  

Katsuki couldn’t get an exact number of how many of those 100 copies were still around.  But the few he was able to find were in high end collections, museums dedicated to super heroes/comics, or gone from the face of the planet.  Fuck, the last one that sold publically went for millions at auction.

There was no fucking way some dumbfuck looking in a goddamn bookstore was going to have the cash to front for something like that, even if by some fucking miracle Katsuki was able to get his hands on one.

The whole mess had given him a fucking headache.

So, instead of pounding the fucking pavement again, instead of making more goddamn fucking phone calls about an out-of-print goddamn unicorn; Katsuki decided to man the counter at his own fucking store for a change.

That and the fact that the idiot spark plug decided it was a good idea to go out and get wasted on a weeknight and call in sick the next fucking morning.  Like Katuski wasn’t forcibly subjected to the group chat that Denki sent fucking club pics to last night.  

He had the gall to act like he was actually fucking sick the next morning when he called in.  

Whatever.

So here he was.   

At least Shitty Hair was doing what a meathead does best and unloading the shipment of books they just got in.  Katsuki could man the counter by himself.  In peace.  

He had just listened to another fucking message from Endeavor Corp about, “Getting back to him as soon as they are able to.”,  when he heard a meek little “hello” coming from behind him.

When he turned, Katsuki felt the breath knocked out of him.  The prettiest green eyes and the sweetest smile faced him in what he could only describe as a religious experience.

The sweet smile faded into a concerned frown.  He saw those plush lips moving, but didn’t know what they were saying.

Katsuki blinked.

“Hah?”  He said.  Smartly.  

“Oh, sorry.  Um.  I asked if Denki was working today?”  

Of.  Fucking. Course.

“Nah.  That idiot called out today.”  He responded.  Miffed that Denki was the one this angel before him was seeking.

“Oh.  Um ok.  Is Eijirou here then?”

Eijirou?  What? Did this guy know those two morons?  If so, then why the fuck did they never tell Katsuki about him?  Was he a gym buddy of Eiji or something?  It looked like it.  But that was no reason for him to ask for Denki first.  Unless Eijirou introduced his gym buddy to Denki.  If that was the case, then that giant good for nothing fucking boulder was a goddamned traitor for not sending him Katsuki’s way first.  Some fucking best friend he was!  Katsuki was gonna kick his fucking ass.  And then Denki’s too, for good measure.

Katsuki realized he hadn’t answered the man when he saw him shuffling back and forth and looking around nervously.

He cleared his throat to rid himself of his straying thoughts.

“Shi - I mean, Eijirou is in the back unloading a shipment.  Is there something I can help you with?”

Those green eyes were back on him.  Cautious, but still stealing his very soul with the way they bore into him.

“Well, I came in here with my friend a few weeks ago.”  He pointed to another man with red and white hair that was just behind him looking at a display of cat picture books.  “We asked them to find a book for us, but we never heard back.  I know they said the owner was going to look into it, but I thought that we would stop by and check on the progress.”

What.

“What?”

“My friend and I came in here a few weeks”

Katsuki cut him off.

“I heard you.”  He said.  Angel face or not, this was the guy who’s request had been haunting his footsteps for weeks now?  “You’re fucking Deku?!”  He knew he had raised his voice, but fuck it.  It was his store, he could yell if he wanted to.

“Who is Deku?”  The guy’s curly hair bounced as he tilted his head.  

Katsuki did not want to think about how the shade perfectly matched his eyes.

“You’re fucking Deku!”  He yelled again.

“He is Izuku.  I am afraid you have the wrong person.”  The man with the dual colored hair had stepped away from the cat book display to join his friend.

Katsuki noticed his eyes were different colors as well, like he was split down the middle.

“I do not have the wrong fucking person.  And that would mean that you are his friend Shouto Tod…. something.”

“Tod something?”

“Yeah, the note was all fucking smudged and I couldn’t read the fucking name. And you!”  He turned back to the first guy.  “Your hand writing is shit and all I could fucking read is Deku!”

“I really think we should go, Izuku.  Maybe we could call and talk to the owner instead.”

“Can it half n’ half.  I am the fucking owner!”

“Half n’ half?”  The idiot parroted back, tilting his head.

“Pffbbtt!”  

It was Deku.  

“Pffbbtt!  Haha!  Hahaha!  Half… Teehee..n’ half!  Hehehe!”  

Deku was fucking giggling.

“Hahah.  Like, cause… Ahahaha, your hair… hehe… and stuff!  Hahahah!

It was the cutest fucking giggle Katsuki had ever heard.  And he couldn’t help the proud smirk that bloomed on his own face for being the one to make Deku sound like that.

Hiccuping a little and wiping his eyes, Deku got a hold of himself.

“So, you’re the owner?  Kats?”

He could still hear the mirth in Deku’s voice so he didn’t yell about the nickname.

“It’s Katsuki Bakugou.  And yes.  I’m the owner.”

“So have you had any luck?  Finding the book that is..”

“You do realize how hard it is to come by one of those books.  Only a hundred were printed and less than a quarter are still accounted for.”

“I know.  I know it’s a long shot, but I really need to find that book.”

“Listen, not to burst your bubble, but after looking into it; I don’t think this is something any of us are going to get our hands on.  None of my contacts know of one that is available for purchase and even if they did… no offense, you're cute and all; but you don’t look like you have the cash for one even if I could find it.”

Deku blushed at his comment, and Katskui smirked.  Heavens above did he look even better all flushed and flustered like that.

“That is why I am here.”  The half n’ half bastard spoke up.

“What?  You his sugar daddy or something?”

Deku’s squeak and his blush spreading to his ears was worth the glare he got from his friend.

“No.  I am just his friend.”

“How the hell am I supposed to know that you are good to pony up that kind of cash?”

“That is why I wrote my full name on the note.  I don’t like using my family’s influence, but it’s to help Izuku.  So I thought it would assuage any financial concerns for you.”

“I told you the note was smudged.  I couldn’t read your whole name.”

“Oh.  Yes.  Well, it’s Todoroki.  My name is Shouto Todoroki.”

The small wry smile on the half n’ half bastard’s face was annoying as fuck.

“Todoroki.  As in ‘The Todoroki’s’?  As in owners of Endeavor Corp, the largest multimedia conglomerate in Japan?  That kind of Todoroki?!”

“Yes.”

“Fuck.  I have been trying to get a meeting with you bastards for months now.”

“I would imagine.  What with my family’s company having a branch involved in publishing and you owning a bookstore.”

“Goddamnit.”

Katsuki bit his lip.  He looked at the two men before him.  If he played his cards right….

“Even if you are good for the cash.  It’s gonna take a lot of effort to find that book.”

“You will be provided a finder’s fee.”  Half n’ half said.

“A finder’s fee?”

“I can’t possibly make any promises on business dealings beyond that.  My brother runs the publishing end of Endeavor Corp.  I have nothing to do with it.”

“Fuck, I wasn’t… ugh.  Whatever, never mind that.”

Katsuki wasn’t sure he wanted to get an ‘in’ at Endeavor Corp this way anyway.  It felt too much like an ‘under the table’ kind of connection.  That didn’t sit well with him.  Especially with what he had envisioned for the future of his business.

“I don’t need a finder’s fee or anything.  I’ll keep searching for that book.  Why do you want it so bad anyway?  And why can’t you just use the resources at Endeavor Corp if you are already willing to take their heir’s money?”

“Number one, Sho is my friend.  It’s not like I am just taking his money because it was offered.  And two, Endeavor Corp doesn’t deal in private collectors anyway.  So even if I was that kind of person, it wouldn’t help me much.”

Deku sounded a little miffed at Katsuki’s insinuation.  But he even found that cute.  He looked like an angry bunny.

“Hey, I didn’t mean to imply anything.  M’just trying to find out what I am getting myself into.”

“It’s nothing untoward or anything like that.  It's just… I need this book.  I want to….  It…. Just… It’s important to me.  That’s all.”

It was obvious Deku didn’t want to tell him why he wanted that book.  Katsuki couldn’t blame him though.  They were strangers.  And Katsuki had yelled at him, called him a name, and insulted his friend.  He knows that he wouldn’t spill his secrets to someone who acted like that.  

“Alright.  I’ll keep looking.  And I’ll let you know how my search is coming along.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh!  That’s really great!  Thank you so much Katsuki.  You have no idea how much this means to me!”

“Whatever.”

***

He talked to that nerd more than he would like to admit.

It started out as a check in every week or so.  Just to let Deku know how the search was going.  (Never good news, but he agreed to keep him in the loop and he was nothing if not a man of his word.)

But then they started chatting more and more.  And it wasn’t about the book either.  It was all sorts of things.  

Katsuki found out that Izuku was just as big of an All Might fan as he was.  The nerd could go on for hours about his favorite heroes and Katsuki would get caught up in his fervor.  

He learned that they had gone to the same university, different departments on different sides of campus, but their friend circles did cross each other’s in a few different ways.

They even talked about their families and their work and their hobbies.

Soon the text’s became meet ups for coffee or lunch, and Katsuki was quickly getting hooked on the cute little nerd.  He was so passionate, and funny.  And Katsuki felt like he could drown in his eyes everytime he looked into them.  

He loved making Izuku blush, loved flirting with him, and smirking when he saw Izuku eyeing him.  It was incredibly endearing when Izuku tried to flirt with him back.

He had it bad for the guy.  And it made him all soft and squishy inside.  

He hated it.

But he loved it too.

He decided to move things forward by asking Izuku to meet him on a Saturday instead of their normal weekday lunch or coffee.

“What are we doing here Kat?”  Izuku eyed the warehouse as he nervously bit his lip.

It was so fucking cute when he did that, that Katsuki didn’t answer for a moment just so he would keep doing it.  When the nerd looked like he was going to vibrate out of his skin, Katsuki relented.

“Book shopping.”

“Book shopping?”

“Yeah, come on.” He smirked and grabbed Izuku’s hand, leading him into the warehouse.

It was like a giant flea market inside.  Only, instead of antiques, odds, and ends, the entire place was filled with vendors selling books.

Katsuki had always loved this place and he thought Izuku would get a kick out of it too.  

He was right if the size of Izuku’s bugged out eyes were any indicator.

“Wow!  This place is so cool!  Do you  come here a lot for your store?”

“Yeah.  But I started coming here when I was a kid.  My parents own a warehouse for their clothing line up the road and I would come here instead of staying there when they would have to do inventory and stuff.”

“Is this why you wanted to own a bookstore?”

“Kinda.  But it’s not just a bookstore.”

“You’ve said that before.  What do you mean?”

“Well, coming to places like this all the time growing up, it showed me how much I loved to read.  I met a ton of people, even a bunch of kids my age.  I found out that they would come here because some of the vendors would let them read the books without buying them as long as they didn’t steal them.  A bunch of the vendors do trades too.  Kind of like a library for those who live too far away from one.”

“That is really kind of them.”

“I agree.  That’s what I want to do.  I want to support markets like this one.  I want to take donations from publishing houses, other bookstores, and universities, and I want to make those books available to people who normally wouldn’t have access to them.  Get textbooks for school age and college students who couldn’t afford them.  Picture books for smaller daycares.  Large print books for senior living centers.  Stuff like that.”

“Wow, Katsuki… that’s…”

“That’s not all.”

“Oh?”

“I want to have literacy classes for all ages, kids and adults.  I want to have scholarship programs for students wanting to be language and writing teachers, and to top it all off - I want to partner with those in the publishing and multimedia industries to support new and up and coming young authors.”

“That’s all so incredible.  But, it is a lot.  How are you going to manage it all?”

“I figured the first step was the bookstore.  Ya know?  Making the connections I needed to in the industry, gaining some capital so I can start setting up some of the community outreach stuff without having to rely on donations and investors.  It’s slow going, but I’ll get there.”

“I know you will.  These last few months have shown me how truly amazing you are, Katsuki.  You can do anything you put your mind to!.”

It was Katsuki’s turn to blush.  He felt all warm inside at Izuku’s praise, at his faith in Katsuki’s vision.

“I wish I had aspirations like that.  I just want to be able to support my mom and stuff.  You want to support the whole community!”

“Don’t down play that Izuku.  Wanting to take care of your family is just as cool as wanting to help your community.”

“Did you just call me cool?”

“Heh, don’t let it get to your head…. Nerd.”  Katsuki wanted to smirk, but he knew it came across softer than that.

After a beat of silence Izuku blurted out, “Yagi is my mentor!”  Turning red and looking away from Katsuki.

“Hah?”  Had he heard the nerd right?

“Yeah.  Um.  So you know how I told you that I went to the first ever All Might Hero camp when I was little?”

“Yeah, can’t fucking believe that you got a spot when I didn’t.”  He pouted.

“Well, Yagi, um, Toshinori was there.”

“It was the only one of those things he ever attended.”

“That’s right.  A bunch of parents were there harassing him.  It was right after the first run of Dr. Shield’s book.  I remember seeing the adults yelling at him, but I didn’t understand why.  And Toshinori looked so sad.  My mom had taught me that when our friends and loved ones were sad, it was up to us to cheer them up.  So, I took my juice box and my All Might figurine and I gave them to Toshinori.  Told him that he would feel better if he had All Might protecting him, and that a yummy drink would cheer him up.”

“You tried to give Toshinori Yagi your All Might toy?”  Katsuki chuckled.

“I know, it’s funny now, but I was serious back then.  I wouldn’t take no for an answer.  After the camp, Toshinori found my address and stopped by to give me my All Might figure back.  He brought some more merch with him and stuff.  I guess he and my mom got to talking and became friends.  Since my dad wasn’t around, he kind of stepped in that role for me a little bit.  He was always there when I needed advice, especially if I couldn’t ask my mom about it.”

“So you want to find this book because it is what started your relationship with your mentor?”

“Not exactly.  I’m sure you read in the news that Toshinori is in the hospital, right?”

“Yeah, I heard he was sick.”

“I’ve been visiting him a lot.  And a few months ago he was talking about Dave and that book.  Said the whole thing totally changed his life.  But, he didn’t regret it.  He just wished he had a copy of the book with the forward he wrote printed in it.”

“He never got his own copy?”

“No.  I know Dave had one, but they don’t talk anymore.  Toshinori was supposed to get one from the publishing company, but they never sent them since the media circus started pretty much right away.”

“You’re getting the book for him then?”

“Yeah.  I want to do something for him.  He has always been there for me.  Guiding me.  Helping me.  I want to do something nice for him.  Something that will make him happy.”

“Well, guess I’ll have to look harder then.”

Katsuki didn’t know how he was going to do it.  But he knew he had to find a copy of that book.  For the man who’s comics inspired him to want to be a hero in whatever way he could.  For the man who took a little boy under his wing during the hardest time of his life.  And for that little boy.  For Izuku, who was quickly becoming one of the most important people in his own life.

***  

It’s been dead end after dead end for months.  Katsuki has tried everything.  Talked with book collector after fucking book collector.  Auction house after fucking auction house.  Hell, he even reached out to some people in California where David Shield was from and couldn’t find a lead.

He was starting to lose hope that he would find this book for Izuku.  It felt like losing and Katsuki hated losing.  He did the shit he said he was going to do, goddamnit!

He was also starting to get worried about what would happen if he did find the book.  He and Izuku spent a ton of time together.  And even more time talking when they were apart.  Once he found the book he was looking for… would Izuku still have a reason to talk to him?

Sure, they made blushing messes out of each other just with words and looks.  But it never went beyond that.  Not that Katsuki didn’t want to take the next step.  He had quickly fallen for the cute nerd.  But did Izuku feel the same?  What did Katsuki have to offer him once the book was found?  What could he give him that someone like that stupid half n’ half bastard couldn’t?

And yeah, he could reason that if Izuku didn’t like him back, then he wouldn’t flirt with Katsuki as much as he did… But…. Well, Denki flirted with everyone whether he liked them or not.  So that wasn’t proof enough that they were on the same page.  Izuku could just be doing this all to keep Katsuki from giving up his search for the book.

He didn’t really believe that, of course.  Izuku didn’t seem like that kind of person.  But doubt still gnawed at him.  The mean little voice inside his head that told him he wasn’t good enough yet was getting louder and louder the longer this went on.

Of course he was stewing in these negative feelings as Eijirou barged in his office.  Ugh.  Could a man not get a moment’s peace to wallow in doubt and despair?!  Fuck.

“Hey Kats?  Are we supposed to be getting a delivery today?”

“No, why?”  He said gruffly.

“Cause there is a truck out back with boxes full of books and the little angry man telling me I need to unload them….”

“What the fuck?”

Katsuki groaned as he stood from his desk.  What in the fresh hell was going on now?

“Sorahiko you old coot!  What the fuck are you doing?”  He yelled when he saw who was standing by the truck out back.

“Watch your language you brat!  Is that the kind of greeting I get for bringing you all this free inventory?!”

“Who the fuck says I want your shit old man?”

“The youth of today truly has no hope.”  The smaller senior citizen grumbled as he hobbled to the back of the truck.

“You there!”  He pointed his cane at Eijirou.  “Unload this truck.  I have places to be!”

“Me?”  Eijirou pointed at himself, confusion evident on his face.

“Where do you get off ordering my employees around ya fossil?!”

“He’s as big as a mountain, unloading another truck won’t hurt him none.  And I need to get this stuff outta there so they can load up the things from my place.”

“What the hell?”

“I told you two months ago I was closing up shop and retiring.  Chiyo and I are moving to the coast where it’s warmer.  You said you would take the books I couldn’t sell.”

“Ya never told me when you would be closing up, asshole.  How was I supposed to know!”

“So disrespectful.  And here I was gonna offer to help with some of your community projects when I got bored.”

“Goddamnit.  Eiji - unload the geezer’s truck.  I ain't gonna say no to more inventory.  If I can’t sell it, I’ll use it for one of the donation programs.”

Sorahiko grinned and Katsuki flipped him the bird.

It didn’t take long for Eijirou to unpack the truck, there wasn’t a ton in there, but Katsuki was sure he could find a use for all of it.

“Don’t fall asleep dozing on the beach, you’ll look more like a prune than you already do gramps.”

“Don’t let that foul mouth of yours get in the way of your business you brat.”

They grinned at each other and the older man clambered back into the truck and drove away.  Katsuki knew he would see the old fart again soon.  He wasn’t the type to stay retired.

“Well, that dude was, um, interesting…”

“Yeah, he owned a small bookstore on the other end of town where I grew up.  I used to give him hell all the time when I was younger.”

“Used to?”

“Fuck off.  Let’s unpack this shit and see what we got.”

They were down to the last two boxes from Sorahiko.  Katsuki figured he could use about half of it in the store.  The other half was the older and well loved “used” books that Sorahiko tended to keep around for people to buy on the cheap or to trade with.

“Um Kats?”

“What now?”

“What was the name of the book you’ve been looking for again?”

“Why?”

“I think this is it…”

Katsuki stopped unpacking his box and moved to Eijirou with his heart in his throat.  There was no way that senile old fogey had the book he was looking for this entire time!

Sure enough, Eijirou was holding a copy of David Shield’s book in his hand.  And it did look older….  Katsuki’s hand shook as he took the tome from his friend.  

Did it have the forward?

He held his breath as he opened the cover and flipped the first page.  

No.  Fucking.  Way.  This was it.  This was the book.  It had been across town in that dusty old shop this whole time.

“Holy shit.  I gotta call Izuku.”  He whispered.

“It’s really the one?!  That’s awesome dude!  You're gonna make him so happy!”

Katsuki’s hands were still shaking as he pulled out his phone to dial Izuku.

“Hey!  Katsuki!  What a coincidence!  I was just about to call you!  Can you meet me for coffee in like 10 minutes?  I have some great news!”

“10 minutes?  Yeah.  I got some great news too.”

“Perfect!  See you soon!”

***

His nerves and shaking hands didn’t abate the entire way to the coffee shop.  What was going to happen after he gave Izuku the book?  Was he still going to want to see Katsuki?  Would he still want to talk and hang out?  Would he want more?  Or would he be done and walk away?  Even though he was afraid of the answer, Katsuki was tired of not knowing.  He’d hand over the book, and tell Izuku how he felt.  If the nerd didn’t feel the same, then that was that.  No more worrying, no more stewing in his negative emotions.  Today, it seemed, was the day to finally bring this chapter to a close one way or another.

He spotted Izuku at a small table outside the coffee shop.  He was sitting next to a large, well built and well dressed man with white hair and a jawline that could cut diamonds.  Katsuki felt the anxiety roil in his stomach.  Who the fuck was that guy?

Before Katsuki could lose his nerve and walk away, Izuku looked away from the guy he was sitting with and spotted him.  He waved to Katsuki like an excited little kid.  It was so fucking adorable that he couldn’t help but smile and pick up the pace.

“Katsuki!  HI!  I’m really glad you were free!  I have such great news!  Oh!  Sorry, um.  I mean…. We have great news!”  Izuku gestured to the man he had been sitting with.  

The guy stood up from his seat and bent over to shake Katsuki’s hand.  And when he says bent over, he means bent over .  The dude easily had a few inches and at least 50 pounds of muscle over Eijirou, and Shitty Hair was a big dude on his own.

“Katsuki Bakugou.”  He introduced himself.

“Oh!  Omigosh!  Sorry.  I’m just so excited.  Yes.  Introductions.  This is Katsuki Bakugou, the one I told you about.  Katsuki, this is Natsuo!”  

Izuku beamed.

Natsuo put his hand on Izuku’s shoulder.

Katsuki felt his heart drop to his feet.

He thought Izuku was single.  Turns out he wasn’t worrying for nothing earlier.  Izuku didn’t want anything with him because he was already in a relationship with the impeccably dressed mountain of a man standing next to him.  

He felt a prickle in the corner of his eyes.

Natsuo cleared his throat.

“Before we get to talking, I’m going to get a cup of coffee.  I’ll be right back.  Izuku, Katsuki, do you want anything?”

“I’ll take my usual.  Katsuki drinks the same.  Right?”

Izuku turned those emerald pleading eyes on him and he couldn’t do anything but nod.

Natsuo left and Katsuki could tell Izuku was gearing up to gush.  He knew the nerd’s mannerisms enough now to know when he was going to go on a mumbling overexcited rant.  He also knew he needed to stop him before he did.

“So, I found it.”  He rushed out as Izuku took a breath to start talking.

“Found what?”

“Your book.”  He gingerly pulled out the book from where he had it tucked into his messenger bag.

Izuku’s eyes widened and they began to glisten.  His voice was shaky when he spoke.

“Really?  Is this…  Is this really the book?”  He took it carefully from Katsuki’s hands, like it would break if he moved too quickly or too rough.

“See for yourself.”

He watched as tears gathered in the corners of those beautiful eyes when they read the forward on the first page.

“Oh.  Oh, Katsuki.  This is it.  You really did it.  You really found it.  How, when?”  His voice was barely above a whisper.

“Old bookstore owner I knew retired.  Gave me the inventory he couldn’t sell.  This was in the boxes.”

“So, just like that?  You found it just like that?”

“Crazy right?”

“How much?”

“What?”

“How much… Do I owe you for it?  If he owned a bookstore, he had to know what it was worth...”

“Actually, he gave me all of his leftover inventory at no charge.  So the book is yours.  Didn’t cost me a dime.”

The tears started to flow in earnest then.  Izuku snuffled and sniffled as he carefully set the book on the table.  

He looked at Katsuki through verdant and watery eyes, tears tracking over the starscape of freckles on his cheeks.  And he threw his arms around him as he began to sob.

With a grunt Katsuki took Izuku’s weight and returned the embrace.  Not without guilt, since his boyfriend was just inside the shop, getting them all coffee.  But Katsuki decided if this was all he was going to get, his guilt could fuck off for a moment.

And another moment, and another.  

It didn’t seem like Izuku was going to stop anytime soon, and the longer Katsuki held him like this, the harder it was going to be to let him go.

“Hey, nerd.  It’s ok.  You’ll be ok.  Don’t want to make your boyfriend jealous, so you better let go now.” He said through gritted teeth.

Izuku sniffled again.  He pulled away a little but didn’t let go of Katsuki.

“What?”

“Time to let go.”

“No, what did you say before that?  About my… my boyfriend?”

“Yeah, your boyfriend?  Natsuo?  The guy currently getting you coffee?”

“What?!?!”  He screeched.

“Ow.  Fuck, that was like directly in my ear.”

“But you called Natsuo my boyfriend!!”

“Quit yelling in my ear nerd!.  And yeah, I did.  He is, isn’t he?”

“No!!!!”

“No?”

“Of course not!  You… You think I would be spending so much time with you if I had a boyfriend?”

“Then what was with the stoic act and the hand on your shoulder and shit?  That was a protective boyfriend move if I ever saw one.”

“Ohmygosh.  Katsuki!  No!  Natuso is Shouto’s older brother!  I’ve known him for years!  He’s just like that!”

“Like what?”

“Like the strong silent type?”

Katsuki raised his eyebrow.

“Really!  That is just the way he is!  He’s not… not, my boyfriend !”

“Good.”  Katsuki smirked.  “Cause I wanna be.”

“What??!!?”

“Izuku, you have to stop yelling in my ear, I’m gonna go deaf.”

“You wanna…. Wanna, be, be wha?”

“I said.  It’s good that he isn’t your boyfriend, because I want to be.  I’ve fallen for your cute nerdy ass and I wanna like, take you out and hold hands, and dance in the rain, and shit.”

“You really want to do that?”

“Hey, I say what I mean.”

Izuku blushed and looked away from him.

“Oh.  Oh wow.  Ok.  Well, then, yes.  I would like that.  To be your boyfriend.”

The blush crept up to Izuku’s ears and spread down his neck.  It made Katsuki want to kiss him.    But before he could, he heard someone clearing their throat.

“Not to interrupt or anything, but I have a meeting I need to be getting too soon.  Could you two postpone this… whatever it is… for a few minutes?”

Katsuki looked over and saw Natsuo holding a small drink tray with three coffees.

“Sure Natuso.  Sorry!  Kinda got swept up.”  Izuku blushed again.

“Yes.  I saw.”  He leveled a look at Katsuki and continued on. “So, Izuku tells me that your bookstore has big plans for community outreach, literacy programs, scholarships, as well as some of your aspirations to assist new and upcoming young authors.”

“He told you all that?”  Katsuki eyed Izuku.

“Of course Katsuki!  Hearing your plans for the future, how could I not?  It sounded amazing!  And when Natsuo was talking with Sho on the direction he wanted to take the publishing branch of Endeavor Corp, I just knew a partnership with your store would be a good fit!”

“Yes, and I agreed.  My father is retiring at the end of the year, and all of the Todoroki siblings have discussed the direction we want the company to take once we are fully in charge of it.  Each of the branches will be looking at similar avenues.  More community outreach, more contracts with smaller businesses, more investment into the youth of this country, and so on.  After listening to Izuku, I thought that you might be a good place for me to start.”

“You want to work with me?”

“Yes I do. And if you are interested, here is my card.  We can set up a meeting and you can go over your official plans with me, and we can see where Endeavor Corp might fit into all of it.”

“Uh.  Thank you.”  Katsuki felt a bit shell shocked as he took the card from Natsuo.

“Look at your calendar and give me a call.”  He said.  “ Apologies, I must get to that meeting now.  It was nice to meet you.  Izuku, I assume I will see you on Sunday with Sho for dinner?”

“Yes Natsuo!  See you then.  And thank you so much for coming!”

“Yeah, thanks.”

Natsuo gave a small smile as he walked away.

“This day is crazy”  Izuku said, as he blew out a long breath.

“No fucking kidding.”  Katsuki agreed as he turned the business card in his hand.  “Thank you.”

“For what Katsuki?”

“For having him meet with me.  You.  You didn’t have to do that.”

“Of course I did.  You have some really amazing ideas, and I just knew you would be a good partner for them!”  The soft smile that graced his face sent Katsuki’s heart racing.

“Com’ere.”  He said as he pulled Izuku back into his arms.  

Izuku went willingly and Katsuki felt his racing heart skip a beat.

He smirked down and the cute boy who now leaned into his embrace.

“Been wanting to do this for a while now.”  He dipped his head and captured Izuku’s lips.

They were as soft and as plush as he dreamed they would be.  And they both melted into each other.

Katsuki knew he was about to get very busy very soon, but he knew he could handle it as long as this sweet gorgeous man was by his side.  As long as he could take him out on dates, and kiss him silly, then Katsuki would be a happy man.  One could say he had a lot to look “forward” to.