Chương 38: First Date
Izuku somehow manages to miss the chaos that came in the form of reporters. He was just feeling that happy. He felt like he was practically floating. By the time he realized the chaos that was ongoing, he was already seated in the cafeteria at lunch time. He looked around blankly at everyone else, turning puzzled eyes on Kacchan, only to find him staring back with an amused spark in his eye. His Aura felt fluffy.
"Eh?" murmured Izuku. He was missing a part of his memories. How did he get here? He felt bewildered. He tried to scan his memories for what happened but came up short. The last memory he had was taking a shower yesterday – then nothing. He really had to stop doing this. It wasn't good for a Hero to be unobservant.
"How could you just completely blank you like that," said Katsuki. He turned his attention to his tray of food to avoid looking Izuku in the eye. "Well, it's fine since I'm here, but you better not be dazing off without me around."
The green-haired teen blanked out again. The embarrassment was practically radiating off Kacchan. He clamped down on the urge to squeak and coo over him. He just wanted to squeeze Kacchan with how cute he was acting right now. Kacchan is so moe!
Katsuki watched with bafflement as Izuku silently convulsed on the lunch table. What exactly was he doing? He eyed his boyfriend before shrugging it off. It didn't seem like it was anything harmful, so he just let him be for a moment.
"Awww," cooed Ochako, "you two are just so cute together! Who knew Bakugou was a tsundere."
"Haaa?!" twitched Katsuki, slamming down his chopsticks. Izuku felt the embarrassment in his Aura from earlier returning with a vengeance.
Ochako watched them with starry eyes. "You make such a cute couple."
Izuku pinked from the compliment, feeling happy that they were being praised on their compatibility as a couple. Even if she was wrong, hearing about it felt really good. Or rather, he was happy that they came across that way to others even if they did have their ups and downs.
"Speaking of which, I'm sure you'll make a great class president, Bakugou."
Heh? Kacchan was going to be class president? Izuku widened his eyes in wonder. Didn't Kacchan hate doing paperwork of all sorts? You'd think paperwork was his archenemy with how much he loathed doing it.
Katsuki growled. "I don't want to be class president."
"Why not?" piped in Tenya from the side, evidently puzzled. "We saw how you reacted when Midoriya was hurt. You also performed well in the battle simulation, showing tactics and adaptability. If it comes down to reliability, then I'm sure you would do a fine job."
Ochako nodded, grinning.
The blonde frowned. "I didn't do anything particularly noteworthy. It was just me panicking when Izuku got hurt. Being class president means I have to free up training time to do paperwork." With the way the blonde spat out the word, you'd think it was something particularly foul, and not just something that all Heroes had to slog through.
Tenya and Ochako looked like they were about to disagree but kept their mouth shut after receiving a subtle head shake from Izuku. They shot Izuku a glance, asking him to persuade the blonde, but Izuku merely looked resigned. Most of the time, there was no changing Kacchan's mind when he had set his heart on something, and you had to be delusional if you thought Kacchan would willingly take up extra paperwork instead of his training time.
"Don't you want to be president too, Iida? You have the glasses and everything," said Ochako, munching happily on her lunch.
Iida nodded, looking solemn. "Ambition and suitability are different matters. I humbly made the decision that I felt was correct."
Izuku felt like covering his metaphorical eyes with how Iida was burning with justice, duty and righteousness. He could feel that Iida believed every word that was coming out of his mouth. It was almost refreshing, how his words were steeped in truthfulness, as compared to other people's. His Aura was bright and gentle, but thrumming with intensity, seemingly clean of impurities.
Ochako gasped. "The way you talk… Iida, are you a rich kid?"
Iida coughed, choking on his spoonful of rice, causing Ochako to thump him on the back, feeling slightly worried. "W-well," he gulped down a mouthful of his water. "I usually don't like people knowing," he said, pausing for the briefest of seconds. Izuku could feel the slight hesitance before he powered through. "Yes. I come from a renowned Hero family. I'm the second son."
Iida's Aura lit up with excitement and pride, showing on his face. "You know the Turbo Hero, Ingenium? He's my brother." He pushed up his glasses, making them glint in the light. "He leads the people with unwavering adherence to rules and regulations. A truly beloved Hero! It's admiration for my brother that's inspired my own desire to be a Hero."
The navy-haired teen's lips slowly curved into a smile. "It was Bakugou that got my vote because I realized that compared to him, I'm not yet ready to lead anyone. The worry and decisiveness you barked out at us before dashing with Aizawa-sensei to see Recovery Girl proved that."
Izuku could feel the changes that went through Kacchan's Aura as he heard Iida speak. Part wavering, part pride and reluctance.
"No, I'm not sure if I might have acted that way if it were anyone else but Izuku," he said gruffly, "so I'm still going to deny the role."
Ochako beamed at him, making Izuku feel fluffiness that his friends were getting along with Kacchan. "It's true that we can see how deeply you care about him, but it still leaves the fact that you were able to make split second decisions even when you were feeling anguished. I wouldn't worry if you were class president."
Izuku nodded. He was sure that if Kacchan took up the role, he would take the role seriously, as he did with all of his other duties, even if he didn't want them. In middle school, Kacchan had protested being saddled with the duty of feeding the class' pet fish, complaining all the while, but he still snuck in early every morning to feed it, rain or shine. Kacchan was adorable. Or maybe that was just his biasness speaking.
The shrill shriek of an alarm cut him off. He immediately snapped back to attention. What was happening? Green eyes scanned the chaos that had erupted. He frowned at the onslaught of emotions that were crashing up against his slight mental barriers. He tried to reinforce his barriers, but certain emotions were still making their way through his barrier easily. The green-haired teen couldn't stop his breath from quickening slightly, a fact that was not overlooked by Katsuki.
"Izuku!"
Izuku looked unsteadily at Kacchan, feeling overwhelmed by anxiety and panic as chaos ensued. His hand was gripped tightly.
"Look at me," Katsuki said, causing him to calm down slightly. "Focus on me. Don't be affected by their emotions. Look only at me."
The overwhelmed teen took a deep breath, focusing his senses on Kacchan's Aura. It was calmness and steadiness, tinged with a hint of possessiveness, causing Izuku's lips to curl into a smile involuntarily. Kacchan was so cute. Was he jealous?
"Everyone! Everything's fine!" a voice louder than all collective sounds of chaos penetrated the haze of everyone's panic. "It's just the press! There's nothing to panic about! We're UA. We need to behave in a way that is befitting our institution!"
Under the influence of Iida's encouragement and leadership, the chaos that filled the busy cafeteria slowly calmed down and the previously panicking students regained their reasoning, calmly exiting and heading back to their classrooms.
-
Izuku looked with shining eyes at Kacchan, having an inkling about what he was about to do as he stood in front of the class together with Yaoyorozu.
"Alright, listen up, extras. I'm handing the class president role to Iida," Katsuki said bluntly, already heading back to his seat with hands shoved into his pockets.
Izuku locked eyes with Kacchan as he walked back, looking at him pleadingly. Kacchan's Aura fluctuated with emotions so fast he couldn't sort them out before settling on resignation and fondness.
"He managed the crisis just now acceptably, and I didn't see anyone else doing that, so you won't have any objections, right?!" he followed up, little explosions popping from his palm.
Immediately, Kaminari and Kirishima stepped out to agree with Kacchan's decision, adopting the pose that he used back in the cafeteria.
"Emergency exit Iida!" they cried.
Iida made a funny strangled sound.
"Just get on with it… what a waste of time," Aizawa-sensei said, looking like death warmed over. He threw a glare at the class. Izuku could feel from his Aura that he wasn't really that annoyed. In fact, he even felt slightly amused.
-
They were walking out of the school on the way home when Kacchan spoke up.
"Izu," Kacchan muttered, his face slightly pink.
The green-haired teen's eyes widened slightly. His heart did a strange flip in his chest. This was the first time Kacchan was giving him a nickname that hadn't stemmed from something derogatory. He felt slightly hopeful that this meant Kacchan was feeling a little less guilt from before.
"Kacchan…?" he asked tentatively. He couldn't stop the hope that was blooming in his chest.
"Izu," Katsuki said firmly, almost challengingly, like he was daring him to comment on it.
Izuku let it slide, feeling a prick in his eyes. Dare he hope…? Only time would tell.
"Let's go on a date," Katsuki blurted out, looking at anything but Izuku. The green-haired teen could spot how the red crept down his neck and his ears.
Did he hear that right? It wasn't just his imagination, right? "Okay," he said, his blush matching the one that Kacchan was sporting.
Katsuki took in the way his boyfriend's eyes sparkled, his green eyes contrasting against his red cheeks, feeling satisfied in a way that he'd never felt before. "Good," he said, dragging his boyfriend by the hand. He still felt a bit embarrassed but made no move to hide his emotions from the green-haired teen.
Izuku didn't question where they were going to go, happy just by spending time with Kacchan, even if the blonde did seem to be sticking close by nowadays. He knew that the guilt festering within Kacchan was well hidden, but ever-present. He'd tried to resolve him of his guilt, but it had only seemed to make things worse and not better, so he was left worrying about it, but helpless.
The two teens ended up standing in front an arcade near their old school. Izuku's eyes widened. He'd never been in one before. He knew what it was, sure, but he always tried to be discreet when he passed by, because Kacchan and his gang used to hang out here after school. He'd been spotted by the blonde once, and the way he felt Kacchan's emotions change from generally pleasant to downright hostile at the drop of a hat had left him feeling distraught for days. He'd never entered afterwards for the same reason.
Izuku took in a subtle breath and took a step inside, aware of how Kacchan's Aura radiated anxiety. Kacchan was trying to make up for it. It seemed that he still remembered that one time that he'd blown up at him when all he was doing was pass by. He beamed at the blonde, letting his feelings show, feeling relieved when the anxious feelings abated somewhat.
He looked around with wondering eyes, taking in the sights for the first time. Out of the corner of his eye, something attracted him. He looked towards the bright lights, a yellow little kitten with an angry expression coming into his sights. Without realizing, he'd walked towards the machine, pressing up against the glass to get a better look.
Loud music blared, causing him to jump, startled. Beiside him, Kacchan nonchalantly steered the joystick, eyeing it with a critical eye. Izuku eyed him appreciatively. Kacchan's serious face was so handsome. He turned his attention back towards the machine.
"I think you have to go back a bit more," he said, eyeing the cat dubiously.
Katsuki looked at the stuffed toy and squinted. "I don't think so," he said, both teens watching the claw drop, grabbing at the cat.
The claw grabbed the cat, lifting it before dropping it. The two teens on a date made a similar sound of dismay and anger.
"You try," Katsuki said, stepping a bit to the side.
Izuku inserted a 100-yen coin, staring at the cat. He moved the joystick. Two pairs of eyes watched the claw attentively.
The cat dropped again, causing a huff to leave Kacchan's lips. The blonde inserted another coin, his inner perfectionist flaring again. Izuku's lips quirked. Why was it that everything Kacchan did was so charming? He was afraid that when Kacchan went Pro-Hero, he'd have to end up competing against thousands of fans for Kacchan. He hid his smile when he saw the tiniest peek of a tongue sticking out of Kacchan's mouth in his determination.
Izuku looked at the next machine, eyes widening at what it held. He hurriedly walked to the machine to change some 100-yen coins. He plunked himself in front of the machine, starting his quest.
Fifteen minutes later, both teens held their respective prizes, winning them at the same time. Izuku stole the yellow cat that reminded him so much of Kacchan and placed the green cat he'd won in his boyfriend's arms.
"Look," he said teasingly, "It's you and me."
Katsuki looked at the green cat in his arms. It did indeed remind him of Izuku. A smile surfaced on his lips. He gathered the other teen in his arms and squeezed him. Why was Izuku so damn cute? He'd have get a bigger stick to beat everyone else off. A stick with nails.
He walked out of the arcade entwining hands with Izuku, when they came across this former gang.
"Oh…" he heard Izuku say, sounding slightly nervous.
Katsuki frowned, tugging lightly on Izuku's hand to walk away from them, when he heard what they said.
"Hey, it's that Quirkless fag!"
"Wait, isn't that Bakugou? What's he doing with the Quirkless Wonder Deku?"
"Hey, you're right. That is him. Look, they're holding hands. I guess that fag ended up turning Bakugou into a fag too! Gross!"
Katsuki stopped dead in his tracks, Izuku bumping into his back. He slowly turned around, placing his Izukitty in Izuku's arms. Then, he made a dash back to the two from his old group, slamming a fist into one's face and a kick into the other. They collapsed like a house of cards, groaning on the sidewalk.
"What the fuck, man!"
The blonde scoffed. "You can say whatever the fuck you want about me but say anything about Izuku and I'll kill you!" He took the stuffed toy back from Izuku, entwining their hands once again, shoving it in their faces.
"We're dating now, so fuck off!"
He pulled Izuku with him, walking back to his house. Both their faces were burning red with the blatant acknowledgement of their dating status.
"Don't let anyone talk to you like that anymore, got it? Even if it's me, you have to give them a good old punch and get them to shut up! Even if you really were Quirkless, it doesn't give them the right to say things like that."
Izuku directed a giddy smile at the other, feeling adoration and happiness. The blonde had really changed in the past year. "Hehe, Kacchan, you were like that too, you know?"
Katsuki scowled, the blush on his cheeks becoming more pronounced. "Shut up. I'll treat you right from now on, so don't you go letting other people look down on you anymore," he said, tilting his chin up arrogantly, "You and I are in this together. What's wrong with being gay, huh. If I like you, then I like you!"
Izuku discretely scrubbed at his face, the tears were happy tears. The way that Kacchan treated him now and a year ago was practically the difference between heaven and hell. The way his boyfriend had reacted instantaneously in the face of abuse towards himself gave him a little bit more confidence that Kacchan really liked him.
By the time they made it back to the apartment complex where Izuku currently lived with Kacchan and his parents, it was already dark. He pulled Kacchan to a stop in front of the door, smiling at him after he unlocked the door.
"Thanks for the date, Kacchan. I had a great time today," he said, smiling shyly at his boyfriend.
Kacchan's Aura was pleased but slightly alarmed. Was Izuku not coming into the house together with him? No, he wouldn't allow it. The thoughts of Izuku staying in the apartment where he tried to commit suicide always made him feel like he was about to go mad.
"So, for the end of a perfect date, here's a kiss," Izuku said, leaning in to kiss him chastely before Kacchan could react.
Izuku pulled open the door and walked in confidently, calling out "I'm home!" getting an instantaneous reply from Mitsuki.
Katsuki felt like he could have melted into a puddle on the floor.
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