Chapter Text
Izuku stared at the numbers on his Ground Zero alarm clock: 5:59 am. The clock was the sort of thing that Kacchan signed off on only after being threatened by his PR team. It was silly and fun, and just the sort of hero memorabilia that Izuku loved buying. The chunk of plastic sat in the middle of his bedside table, a large half sphere with colorful spikes poking out of it, obviously meant to look like an explosion. Ground Zero stood in the midst of the explosion, arms out with his own tiny explosions at the end of his palms. He looked angry, which was both on brand and the only thing Kacchan liked about the clock.
Izuku watched the angry, plastic Kacchan carefully, clutching his brand new All Might sheets to his chest (Bronze Age, limited edition, VERY hard to find, very expensive and totally worth it). The time changed to 6:00 am in a blink of an eye and the clock counted down from 5 in a robotic voice.
5…
4…
3…
2…
1…
An explosion sounded and his best friend’s voice shouted at him from within the device.
“Wake the fuck up! Wake the fuck up! Wake the-“
Izuku slammed the snooze button, quickly switching the clock from ‘alarm’ mode to ‘off’ mode.
This was how he started every morning. He woke up to Kacchan’s voice, yelling at him as usual, and would throw off the covers to start the day with a smile. He would cheerfully shower, going through his personal hygiene routine, until it was time for breakfast and coffee. He’d hum while making eggs, sigh into a freshly made cup of liquid heaven and be out the door after a quick change into a dress shirt and a pair of slacks.
Except today he wasn't feeling quite so chipper and he wasn’t bounding out of bed to get started on his routine. Instead, Izuku rolled over to face the wall, face digging into his All Might pillow case.
Today was the day. Today, he would have to face the thing he was trying SO HARD not to do for a month now.
He had to break up with Bakugou Katsuki. Or…not break up with him. Stop sleeping with him? Stop hanging out with him and then somewhere allow him to slip his penis into places it shouldn’t be? Izuku groaned, burying his face into All Might’s.
It has been 1 year, 1 month, and 3 days since they made their arrangement, if you can call it that. Kacchan and Izuku had been out of high school for years, working together at Endeavor’s Agency. Though technically it’s not Endeavor’s Agency anymore, as he passed away in battle a few years prior. Shouto had been given the agency in his distant father’s will and had been running the place ever since, keeping Endeavor’s name on the building. This didn’t make Kacchan happy, to have Shouto as a boss, but very little made him happy so it was par for the course.
Working with Kacchan was everything Izuku dreamed it could be. Every day Deku and Ground Zero took to the streets, fighting villians as an unstoppable team. Their PR reps barely had to do anything, and all of Japan loved them. It took one year for them both to break the top 200. It took two years before they were in the top 100, three years and they were in top 50, and now they sat at 20 and 21. Kaachan made sure Izuku always remembered that he was one rank above him.
And they weren’t just great partners, they were friends! Good friends. After high school was over, Izuku came over to Kacchan’s apartment a few nights a week for homecooking, video games and catching up on their favorite TV shows. It was amazing and so much more than Izuku ever thought he would have with Kacchan.
Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how you spin it, the amazing-ness took a weird turn. Izuku remembered the moment exactly, trying to pinpoint what he did that made Kacchan react that way. Izuku had beaten Kacchan in a video game, Kacchan scowling at Izuku as he danced around the living room. It had been so long since Izuku won at anything against Kacchan and he wanted to celebrate the victory. Shortly into the happy dance, Kacchan had tackled him to the floor. This wasn’t normal behavior but it had happened before. It usually meant Kacchan wanted to rub Izuku’s face into his penthouse carpet and twist his arm behind his back. That wasn't what happened this time. Instead, just as Izuku shut his eyes tight and prepared for the carpet burn on his face, Kacchan pinned his hands above his head and kissed him. They were not sweet kisses, Kacchan's tongue rough and demanding in his mouth. What followed wasn’t sweet either, as clothes flew off their bodies and they moved together urgently. His body reacted to Kacchan as Izuku dreamed it would, with the same fire and explosions Kacchan brought to battle. It didn't take long before Izuku was crying out his release from beneath his best friend.
Izuku blushed thinking about it. He did not think he was doing anything that particularly screamed, ‘Come and get it!’ But, Kacchan came and got it, and there they were.
Izuku really should have seen this coming. He had looked at Kacchan longingly for years, ever since they were small. What started as awe for Kacchan’s abilities developed into wishful thinking, even as the blonde would often take his head in between his strong arms and slam him to the ground. There really must be something wrong with him to have had to try and hide his erection from his bully while being beat up, but if Kacchan ever noticed, then he didn’t say anything.
So, when Kacchan had growled and bit his neck, hands undoing his belt, Izuku didn't protest. He counted his lucky stars that the thought even went through Kacchan’s mind. There was only one problem…
They never talked about it.
After all was said and done, Kacchan pretended the sex didn’t happen, and just hoisted Izuku off the carpet to catch up on their favorite Anime. Izuku was so caught off guard that he didn’t say anything either, and after a very silent viewing, they parted ways like usual. A few nights later it happened again, and then again, until Izuku was guaranteed to have sex with Kacchan every time he went over to his apartment. Not that he minded! Not in the least! But since they never talked about what was happening between the two of them, Izuku’s mind and feelings were a hopeless mess and he had to come to terms with something he never thought he would have to do…
He had to end it.
Izuku sighed into All Might’s face. Well, he had to get started on the day sometime. That morning, he meandered through his routine lazily, a frown painted on his face. Everything he did was leading up to one of the hardest decisions he ever made in his life, and he was not excited to get it over with. If Izuku had the choice, he’d just tell Kacchan that they were in a relationship and that was that. Not even ask him, just tell him. No more weird middle ground. No more pretending it didn’t happen. They’d cuddle and kiss and after Izuku was properly drunk off of all that affection, they’d have their crazy sex. The kind that always managed to make Izuku’s toes curl as his eyes rolled back in his head until the intense orgasm overtook him…
Wait, why was he doing this again?
Izuku physically slapped himself. Focus! Love, affection. He wasn’t getting this from Kacchan, so he needed to just cut everything off. Izuku frowned into his eggs as he scrambled them. Even if it meant giving up mind blowing orgasms.
Eating quickly, he boarded the train to the office as usual. People often didn’t stare at him on public transportation, but sometimes Izuku would get a small child looking at him with wide eyes. That was the sort of thing he loved to indulge and would give the kid a wink and a wave. The kid would usually gasp as they tried to hide themselves behind their parent. It always made Izuku's day better.
Today there was no such child on the train to dissipate Izuku’s mood. Instead, his melancholy aura followed him as he walked through Endeavor’s agency, waving hello to the agent at the welcome desk. It followed him as he bowed briefly to the receptionist once he reached his floor. Worst, it followed him into the office that he and Kacchan shared. Their desks were pushed up against each other in the middle of the very tiny room they called an office. They usually just worked facing each other since there wasn’t much room for two desks in the oversized broom closet, anyway. Izuku never minded that until today.
As usual, Kacchan had gotten there early, so Izuku knew he had to perk himself up and fast. Izuku put on his best pretend-I’m-so-happy face and greeted his best friend and….lover? No. Sex partner? God, that was awful. What could they even call each other? This was ridiculous. There were so many problems with this arrangement. He needed to break things off yesterday.
“Morning Kacchan!” Izuku chirped, quickly making his way to his seat. Kacchan just grunted in response. That was usually how they spent their days: Izuku would talk and Kacchan would barely answer. It was comforting in its own way, especially when Kacchan smirked during parts of Izuku’s monologues where he was actually interested.
Izuku knew he had to focus, but Kacchan looked far too distracting lately. He’d been wearing his hero costume (at least partially assembled) to work lately. Last week he took too long to change and missed out on sticking it to a particularly gruesome villain. So, instead of the dress shirts he usually wore (which were bad enough. His biceps barely fit in the tight fabric, good lord) Kacchan displayed his arms and shoulders for all to see in a black tank. Those powerful, thick arms that could choke him out in a second. Why was that thought so hot? There most definitely was something wrong with him. No doubt now. Could anyone tell that he’s thinking these things? They probably could. Izuku always knew he was going to die of embarrassment, though he wished he could go out in Kacchan’s choke hold. Oh boy. Izuku made a mental note to get in touch with his therapist during his lunch break.
A quick rasp on the doorframe had both their heads turning towards the visitor. Kacchan frowned and Izuku smiled quickly.
“Todoroki-san!” Izuku said, and Shouto grimaced. Navigating how they spoke to each other was one of the weirdest things for the two friends now. Shouto was his boss, so it wasn’t appropriate to call him by his informal name in front of other people, thus the formal moniker. This wasn’t a problem for Izuku but Shouto would often get visibly uncomfortable.
“What do you want, IcyHot?” Obviously, Kacchan did not have the same problem.
“HR needs your paperwork completed today. You two are on desk duty until it’s done.”
Izuku groaned, head falling on his desk. God, this was the worst part about being a hero. If it was paperwork day, then he and half the pro-heroes in Endeavor’s Agency were going to be grinding away at that horrible practice of collecting information on their patrols and villains and all of that. He knew it was important, but it was terribly boring. He could hear Kacchan audibly growling. He hated it as much as Izuku did.
“What about idiots like Kirishima? He texted me just this morning about saving an old hag downtown.”
Shouto rolled his eyes, which did not help with Kacchan’s mood.
“Kirishima finishes his paperwork after every encounter. He does not wait until the end of the month for me to enter his office and tell him to do his job.”
Kacchan stood up quickly, hands braced on his desk. Izuku stood up as well, trying to to put his body in between the two.
“Thank you, Todoroki-san! We’ll get right on it!” Izuku said, doing everything in his power to tell Shouto non-verbally, ‘Get out of here before Kacchan kills you.’ Shouto took the hint, walking away and Izuku could feel Kacchan relax. Still, he took a moment to slam his fist on his desk a few times before sitting back down. Izuku followed suite, carefully. He opened his desk to find the mountain of paperwork he had been procrastinating on. This was going to be a long day.
“Oi, nerd.”
Izuku looked up to find Kacchan’s deep red eyes focused intensely on him. Izuku was often shocked to be the center of his attention now that they were adults. Hell, Izuku was shocked by it when they were kids too, but now it was usually positive. His attention was especially positive when they were alone at Kacchan's place where Kacchan chuckled and smirked and gave Izuku heated looks that Izuku would mentally store away for when he was alone. Right now, Kacchan just looked tired and irritated.
“You coming over tonight?”
He always asked so nonchalantly, almost like Kacchan’s hands didn’t end up in Izuku’s pants by the end of the night. Did he ask Kirishima to hang out like this? Wait, did they sleep together too?! Izuku couldn’t follow that line of thinking, his brain would short-circuit. Snapping fingers got his attention back.
“Earth to Deku!” Kacchan yelled, more irritated than before.
Izuku yelped and immediately began blushing harder than he already was. He covered his eyes and mouth with hands, shaking his head to rid himself of his blush.
“Uh, sure, Kacchan!” he said, his own hands blocking most of what he said. When he didn't hear anything else, Izuku peaked through his hands to find Kacchan still staring at him, scowling.
“Um, do you still need something?”
“You’re acting fucking weird.”
Well, he couldn’t deny that. Izuku sighed, dropping his hands to the desk.
“You get your copy of the latest Street Fighter?” Kacchan smirked, holding up the video game so Izuku could see the cover: Street Fighter/Heroes Edition?! Izuku grabbed at the copy, holding it close to his face and tracing the outlines of his friends in the picture on the cover. Years ago, the graduates of UA were asked to lend their voices and images for the classic fighting game, and it looked like many of them made it to the cover art. Deku and Ground Zero were back to back in a corner, Deku’s signature green lightning activated and Ground Zero’s grenade gauntlet already in the process of firing a blast.
“I can’t believe this is finally out,” he said in amazement, looking up at Kacchan with a grin.
“Believe it, nerd. My PR team wants me to test it out so they can update my social media with my recommendation,” he said and his smirk turned into a sadistic smile as he leaned back in his chair. “I’m going to beat your ass, tonight.”
Izuku held his breath. Yeah. He probably would.
+++
He could do this. He could do this. He could do this.
Izuku stood before the elevator to Kacchan’s penthouse suite, trying to psych himself up. It was ridiculous how much more money Kacchan made than him! Kacchan knew it too. Whenever Izuku mentioned it, he would just shrug and talk about how many teeny boppers loved bad boys. He wasn't wrong, either. Most of the money that heroes made came from sales of their merchandise. Izuku has seen the forums and comment sections: Kacchan was POPULAR.
Izuku took another deep breath. Slowly in and out. Ok. He was ready. He entered the elevator, pressed the Penthouse button and up he went.
Izuku knocked on the door at the end of the hall as usual, and heard a voice telling him to come in as usual. He entered hesitantly and struck again by how minimalist the apartment was. Kacchan was not a decorative type, so there were no decorations. All the furniture was black, including the few bookshelves set up in the living room, the three person sofa and TV mounted on the wall. The cream colored living room carpet led into the black and white tiled kitchen, home to a small black dining room table with four chairs where Izuku and Kacchan often ate. Izuku was dying to put up some color, but it was not his place. Plus, Kacchan would sneer whenever he brought it up.
Kacchan stirred something delicious in the kitchen while Izuku toed off his sneakers by the door. As Izuku got closer, he noticed Kacchan was not wearing his typical, “Kiss the cook and DIE!” apron. Instead, he wore a teal apron that Izuku thought looked very familiar.
“Italian ok?” Kacchan asked, wiping his hands on a spare towl and turning to Izuku. Izuku’s mouth dropped open. Where did he get an apron from the Deku kitchen collection? The straps of the apron were extra padded to resemble Deku’s ears which lead to a startingly accurate image of Izuku’s eyes while the Deku mask was on. Kacchan wore Izuku face on his chest! Izuku couldn't breath. Why was he wearing it today of all days, when Izuku had to control himself around him?
“Hey! I asked you a question!”
Izuku physically shook his head, wild green eyes meeting stern red.
“I’m sorry, what?”
“You know what? Forget it. We’re having Italian. What’s with you today?” Kacchan yanked silverware from a drawer near the oven and shoved it in Izuku’s face. Izuku took it, but didn’t move. He was way too fascinated by the contrast of teal on Kacchan’s black shirt and jeans. He looked great in Izuku’s hero colors and Izuku's mind supplied him with the image of Kacchan in that apron and nothing else…
“Wait, are you serious?” Kacchan's eyes went from glaring at Izuku down to his apron and back. “Are you trying to give me shit because I’m wearing a Deku apron? My other one is in the wash. This is the only other one I have. Fucking set the table already, you idiot!”
Kacchan punctuated his monologue by returning to stir the red sauce like it offended him. The spell on Izuku was broken and he hurriedly set the silverware and plates on the dining table for the two of them. Kacchan placed a lid over the sauce.
“It’s got to simmer. Come on. Just for all that, I’m planning on beating you at this game. HARD.” Kacchan took Izuku’s wrist to lead him into the living room. He never took off the apron. Izuku was so screwed.
+++
“No, no, no, no, NO!”
Izuku whined as he watched the characters on the TV battle it out. The Deku on the screen was getting pounded in by Kacchan’s Uravity. “How did you figure out how to do that?!”
“If you quit button mashing for two seconds and figured out your own fucking character, you might stand a chance,” Kacchan said, Uravity once again floating Deku into the air, only to release him to the ground.
K.O. flashed on the screen. Izuku groaned, releasing the controller to fist his hair while Kacchan moved to the kitchen to check on the simmering pot of pasta sauce. He hit Izuku in the head as he walked by.
“Hey!”
“Stop being dramatic and come taste the sauce.”
Izuku groaned again, lifting himself off the carpet to follow Kacchan into the kitchen. He leaned against the kitchen counter next to the sauce as Kacchan stirred it before tasting it. Izuku wasn’t usually so weird about being beaten at these sorts of games, but the weight of the night was starting to get to him.
He had to focus. He was going to break off their friends with benefits arrangement soon. No, not soon. Now. He had to do it now. Do it, you coward. Do it now!
His erratic thoughts were interrupted by a spoon covered in red being shoved into his mouth. Izuku closed his eyes and moaned around the spoon, licking up as much of the sauce as he could. He must have looked lewd and desperate but he didn’t care. Kacchan’s cooking was always incredible. Izuku opened his eyes to see Kacchan staring at him, eyes heated. Oh no.
“Good, huh?” Kacchan's smirk caused Izuku's face to flush, body heating at the light teasing. Kacchan swiped some sauce from the side of the pan onto his index finger, holding it near Izuku’s lips. Kacchan’s eyebrow lifted as he his eyes drifted to Izuku's lips, daring the green haired man to back down.
“Want some more?”
Izuku wanted to say no, needed to say no. He couldn’t keep doing this. Sleeping with Kacchan was amazing, of course it was, but he had his own feelings to consider. Izuku was already in such dangerous territory and he had to get out.
Still.
What’s another little taste?
Izuku bent down to Kacchan’s finger, holding his eyes while he took the tip of the finger into his mouth. He sucked hard, swirling his tongue as much as he could, reveling in Kacchan’s intake of breath, the small groan. Izuku released the finger, standing to his full height, still maintaining that heated stare.
“So good, Kacchan,” he whispered, and found himself being lifted onto to the countertop while Kacchan kissed him harshly from between his legs. Clothes disappeared as they grasped at each other. Groans and growls were the only sounds in the kitchen until Kacchan opened a drawer for a bottle of lube and condoms. Always so prepared. In minutes Izuku was a sobbing mess on Kacchan’s fingers, begging for Kacchan to finally give him what he needed. Izuku was never disappointed, gasping at Kacchan's entrance into his body like he always did. They moved together roughly, Izuku trying to hold onto the counter, the cabinets, anything, as Kacchan set a brutal pace, knowing exactly how to make Izuku unravel. When they came, it was within seconds of each other, Izuku’s whines eclipsed by Kacchan’s deep groans until there was only heavy breathing between the two of them. Izuku’s mind always left him in times like this, unusually quiet and calm.
Ok. He had to stop this. But he had to do it gently. Calmly. Let Kacchan see reason so that they could keep their friendship. That was what Izuku meant to do. What came out was-
“Ochako and I are going on a date on Friday.”
Shit.