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It's the last few weeks of middle school and Katsuki was feeling particularly sluggish. From the moment he woke up to the walk to school, his head was spinning and his legs threatened to give up on him. A few more steps, he kept telling himself, a few more steps and you can go find Izuku...
He rounded the corner and got to the block where the main entrance to the school was. Immediately, he recognized the bushy green hair of his childhood friend. "Hey, Deku--" his voice trailed off as he saw the girl beside Izuku-- the girl that the nerd was kissing. "Deku!" he gathered all of his energy to stomp up and pull the boy off of her.
"Irk!"
"Eep!"
"Deku! What the fuck are you doing?!" Katsuki yelled at him as both Izuku and the girl stared at him with wide eyes, "What are you even doing here? You're not from our school!" Katsuki bared his teeth as he spoke to the girl, who was shaking in fear of Katsuki.
"I-I'm very sorry, I just--" she began, but Izuku stepped between the two of them to frantically explain.
"K-Kacchan! It's my fault! N-None of hers," he quickly waved both hands in an apologetic manner, "I saw that she was a little low on energy so I offered to try giving her some of mine a-and it worked s-so... Anyways! I'm sorry, Kacchan! I just couldn't help it, she needed help!"
"Tsk," Katsuki didn't want to hear any of Izuku's explanations and grabbed him by the head, pulling him away and behind him. "Well! You got your energy now scram!" he hissed at the girl.
"R-Right! I'm sorry!" the girl ducked and bowed once quickly before hurrying on her way.
"Kacchan, you didn't have to be so angry--"
"Shut it nerd!" Katsuki started walking away, "You better have saved enough energy for me!"
Izuku forced a weak smile, "...Of course. Would you like to charge up right now?"
Katsuki glared at him, "Yea, I do. Let's go find somewhere private."
The two boys opted to use the boy's bathroom. It was still early enough that there were few students hanging around and even fewer in the bathroom. Still, the two of them decided to do the exchange behind a closed stall. Katsuki hated the idea of being seen during the exchange. The less people who know about the relationship between him and Izuku, the better.
As soon as the bathroom stall was locked behind them, Katsuki pulled Izuku close and tilted his head up for a kiss. He immediately flinched at the bitter taste of the girl Izuku had just kissed and backed away slightly. Izuku noticed his reaction and hesitated, feeling somewhat bad for what he had done.
But it's important to help others in need. ...I thought Kacchan would understand.
Moving forward and ignoring the taste, Katsuki pressed his lips against Izuku's and felt the exchange begin. He felt warm and bubbly and for the nth time this month, Katsuki considered going further. What if he started kissing Izuku harder? Pressed him against the wall, ran his fingers through his curly hair...?
The kiss ended and Katsuki felt his head clear up. The exchange finished, the two boys separated from one another and Katsuki straightened up his uniform. "I'll see you later," Katsuki said as he exited the stall and the bathroom, "And don't exchange with anyone else!"
"...Got it," Izuku sighed as he walked out of the bathroom a few minutes after Katsuki. In the end, he was just Katsuki's own personal battery. There was no doubt in his mind as to how Katsuki thought of him.
Before they started developing quirks, the people of this world have a strange partnership with each other. Starting at the age of four, their bodies either produce too much energy or do not produce enough energy on their own. So between a supplier and a receiver, a supplier must give some of their excess energy to a receiver through their lips-- in other words, a kiss. Some people exchange better with others and for that reason, they are matched up by the doctors for people who have the same wavelength as them.
And just Izuku's luck-- his life-long partner was Bakugou Katsuki.
The two had known each other since before the doctors paired them up. The two of them had been neighbors and were forced to interact with each other. They were often babysat together when one of their mothers had business to attend to and as a result, they often played with each other. They'd go on grand adventures in their backyards or they'd pretend the playground was a giant pirate ship they've set sail.
That all changed when Katsuki found out he was a receiver rather than a supplier. Katsuki had always been full of self confidence. He walked with his head held high, occasionally pushing Izuku around. When he got his quirk, he was ecstatic because it was such a powerful and unique one. Everyone loved him. He had felt so powerful as a four year old...
And turning out to be a receiver made him feel weak.
"I don't want to be a receiver!" Katsuki wailed at his mother. Their mothers had been having afternoon tea when the reports came. "MOOOMM!" he yelled as little explosions were set off in his hands.
"Katsuki! Stop it!" his mother warned as she smacked him on the butt as punishment for making a fuss in front of a guest. Instead of obeying, however, Katsuki only wailed louder now that he was being scolded.
Later that evening, Izuku would return home with his mother to find out that he was a supplier. Izuku didn't understand why Katsuki was so upset about it. To this day, he still couldn't completely understand it. It was about pride, he guessed.
But it still sucks to be treated like a battery.
On top of that, Katsuki's treatment towards him only seems to get worse and worse. He remembered when they first discovered they were partners. Their parents had been informed ahead of time and they were lucky to have known each other. Both were a little surprised that they were same sex partners as it was a rare occurrence. Still, science is science and they can trust science. They decided to keep it a secret from the boys until their first day at the kindergarten meet and greet.
"Deku's a supplier?! No way!" Katsuki threw another tantrum in their kindergarten class as Izuku stood idly by. He had absolutely no idea what to do when Katsuki was crying and setting off mini explosions. ...It made him wonder how he was going to deal with Katsuki for the rest of his life.
"K-Kacchan! I-I'm s-sorry," Izuku grumbled, but Katsuki would have none of it, even setting off a small explosion in front of Izuku's face. At that point, Izuku had started crying as well and the teachers intervened. By the end of the session, they still haven't done their first exchange. Instead, the two boys sat next to each other by the stairs as they waited for their parents to pick them up. Izuku was still hiccupping while Katsuki was fuming.
"Stop crying!" Katsuki growled and Izuku tried to comply, but couldn't, "What are you crying about anyways?!"
"W-Well, Kacchan's angry at me. ...And it's something I can't fix."
"..." Katsuki was silent for a moment before he mumbled, "Then there's nothing to cry about. You're not the one I'm angry at."
Despite his words, for the rest of the week, at every session, Katsuki refused to charge with Izuku. "I don't want to!" Katsuki screamed, "I won't be a receiver! I won't!!"
"Ah..." Izuku looked at the screaming Katsuki with teary eyes.
"Kacchan, just give it one try, won't you?" Katsuki's mother pleaded. All the other kids at the session had first exchange already. They were the last pair. "It feels really good," his mother promised.
"I don't--" Katsuki gasped for air as his eyes fluttered open and close, "need--" Katsuki collapsed to the ground.
"Kacchan!" Izuku immediately ran over to see what was wrong with his friend.
"Oh no, he ran out of energy!" his mother, who was a supplier, made to supply her son, but was stopped by the teacher.
"Hold on, this is a chance for them," the teacher turned to Izuku, "Izuku, would you try charging with Katsuki? Just go on and kiss him. The energy will flow through naturally."
"O-Okay," Izuku nodded and knelt down by Katsuki. With much hesitation, he leaned down and kissed the unconscious boy. His body automatically knew what to do and the extra energy he was storing in his body began leaving, transferring over to Katsuki.
For Katsuki, the feeling was so warm, so perfect, he wanted to reach out and grab hold of it and keep it for himself forever. "Mnn..." his eyes opened slightly as he pulled Deku closer, "... ...?! Ahh!" Katsuki quickly shoved the other boy away, causing him to fall begin tearing up.
"How was it, Kacchan?" his mother asked, "It feels good, doesn't it?"
Katsuki's face turned red as he stared at Izuku. Then, slowly, he reached out a hand to help Izuku up.
...And that should've been the end of it all. But, somehow, the older they grew, the bigger the inferiority complex grew. By third grade, Katsuki asked Izuku to pretend to be a receiver. It wasn't too difficult until Izuku got the urge to help any near-fainting receiver he passed by. It didn't help that Katsuki could always tell whenever he kissed someone else, too. By the time they entered middle school, Katsuki pretended that Izuku wasn't his partner. Instead, he'd go around parading the fact that he was so special that he didn't need a supplier or receiver. Whether or not people believed him, Izuku didn't know. It didn't change the fact that Katsuki's arrogance was getting out of control.
Katsuki glared as Izuku entered the classroom after he did. Immediately, his classmates began teasing him about being a quirkless wonder. Quirkless wonder. Katsuki would rather die before letting someone find out he depended on a quirkless wonder to survive. While he could've gotten a different partner, he wasn't sure he wanted to. His mind flew back to fifteen minutes ago, when he saw Izuku kissing that girl.
He hated it! It made him so angry!
And then he stopped and thought about why he was so angry. He couldn't come up with an answer.
Izuku took his seat at the other side of the room. Most partners were seated next or near each other. Katsuki particularly asked his teacher not to have them seated near each other. On some days, like today, Katsuki regretted the decision. More than anything, he just wanted to hold Izuku tight to make sure they would always be together.
When Izuku announced that he wanted to go to Yuuei, Katsuki wasn't pretending to be angry. He was angry. Even though it was a given that partners had to attend the same school, he still hated the idea that he had to depend on Izuku. He wanted to be strong and independent, dammit!
Yet, here he was, hiding behind the school, kissing and receiving power from Izuku.
"Kacchan," Izuku whispered after they parted.
"...What?"
Izuku looked up at him with big eyes, as if waiting for something. ...Shit! He wasn't waiting for an apology was he?! Anger flared up in Katsuki. To hell with that! He quickly turned to leave, "If you've got nothing to say, don't waste my fucking time, Deku!"
Later that day, he got attacked by the mud creature and of course, who other than Izuku would come to save him? Izuku, Izuku... Of course it was Izuku. Once again, the other boy proved that he was stronger and braver than Katsuki.
It was so frustrating!
It was late at night, but Katsuki didn't care at this point. He pushed off his blankets and stomped out of his room. They were partners so both of their parents had given both of them a key into each house. That way, in case of emergencies, they could find each other. Katsuki wasted no time in unlocking the door and dashing up to Izuku's room.
It was quiet. The room was dark. It sounded like he was asleep.
"Deku," Katsuki whispered as he shook the boy awake.
"Hmm? Huh? Kacchan? What's wrong? Are you feeling low on energy?"
"Shut up!" Katsuki said, possibly a lot louder than he had wanted to. Without waiting for the other boy to prepare himself, Katsuki pulled him in for a kiss.
"Hey! Kacchan, wait a minute--" Katsuki didn't stop. This time, he pushed Izuku down, crawling on top to drain him of power. When he finally broke contact, they were both panting. "K-Kacchan," Izuku gasped, "You took t-too much! We've got school tomorrow."
"Good," Katsuki replied, getting off the boy and landing on the floor, "I'll see tomorrow, then."
"...?"
Good.
He still had power over Izuku.
He hadn't lost to him completely.
It was a week later that Katsuki noticed the change. It was the morning before classes. They were exchanging power in the boys bathroom again. "You," Katsuki narrowed his eyes, "You've been working out?"
"Oh!" Izuku looked at him surprised, "You can tell?"
"Of course, you fucking idiot!" Katsuki growled out, "I can tell whenever there's a change in your body or even your mood! We're partners for a fucking reason--" Katsuki froze at the sight of the face Izuku was making.
For whatever reason, Izuku's face had turned slightly red and the other boy was staring at him with wide eyes, full of disbelief, shock, and... happiness? W-What the hell was that look for?! Katsuki could feel his ears heating up and his cheeks were soon to follow. "I'm leaving to class, fucking nerd!" he quickly said as he unlocked the stall and left.
Shit. He was going to have dreams of Izuku with that look on his face for weeks to come.
Class wasn't much better. He kept thinking about the kiss. About the look on Izuku's face. What?! What did he say that made Izuku look like that!? Was he happy? Was he embarrassed?! Either way, the image wasn't leaving his head any time soon. "Arrrghhhh--"
"Mr. Bakugou, do you need to be excused from class?" the teacher stopped in the middle of what he was writing to face the class. In turn, the entire class faced Katsuki.
"What? Fuck no. Continue on with whatever the fuck you're teaching."
Of course he got sent to the principal's office after school.
"Wait for me after I get my lecture, I'm running a little low on energy--" he was telling Izuku when Izuku suddenly leaned in, standing on his tip toes to reach him. The kiss was quick, Izuku transferring a small amount of energy to Katsuki.
"Sorry, Kacchan! But I have to go! I can't wait today," Izuku quickly apologized, "I-It's okay, I made sure no one was around when I did the exchange. I have to go now!" Before Katsuki could even think up a proper response, Izuku had run off already. Behind him, the principal walked out with a dark aura around his head.
"Mr. Bakugou, stop flirting outside my office and come in for your lecture."
"I! I wasn't flirting!" Katsuki yelled, "It was just an exchange! An exchange!"
Izuku felt a little bad as he ran down the streets to the beach. He was hiding something from Katsuki and giving him less energy than usual. However, he needed his energy for his training and Katsuki was sure to get through the Yuuei entrance exam anyhow. He didn't need any extra training.
"All Might!" Izuku called as he reached the beach, "I'm here!"
"Good, good," All Might greeted, "You were a minute or two late, but I see that you've been running here so that's forgiven! Now, get to work!"
"Yes, sir!" Izuku grinned. He'll tell Katsuki all about it later, when they both get into Yuuei.
On the day of the Yuuei entrance exam, Katsuki pulled Izuku into a corner of an empty hallway for the exchange. Outside, he could already see other partners doing their exchange as they entered the school. They had no qualms about doing the exchange in public, unlike Katsuki.
"Hey, why the fuck are you giving me less than usual?" Katsuki asked as they parted. The kiss tasted different, but he had a much more pressing issue ahead of him. He had noticed it for a while now, but he just figured the nerd needed the energy to study or something. But, today, Katsuki was going to need the energy for his exam into heroics. Izuku shouldn't be holding back...
"B-Because. Kacchan," Izuku hesitated with his words, "Me too. I'm going to be taking the heroics exam."
"WHAT?!" Katsuki yelled, "Why?! We just need to be in the same school! You can just join the general academics program!"
"K-Kacchan," Izuku steeled his resolve as he looked Katsuki directly in the eyes, "I know you don't like it, but I'm going to be a hero." He turned and left, leaving Katsuki in shock.
"Dammit," Katsuki hissed, "Fucking dammit!" Like this, he'll never escape at this rate.
Even with less energy, Katsuki got the highest score on the exam. Izuku passed as well, although on some strange, unexpected means. Even though the exam was over, Katsuki couldn't stop his mind from replaying the events during it. Katsuki had been doing well, crushing all the enemy bots the moment they appeared on the scene. He didn't care about what others thought of him. He had one goal here-- and that was to pass this exam and get into Yuuei.
So when the zero point bot showed up, Katsuki didn't even bother to give it a second glance.
SMASH!
That was when he turned around to see Izuku falling through the air. Holy shit! What just happened?! Deku! His thoughts were all over the place. At this rate, Izuku was going to fall to his death. His partner was going to die!
...Die?
Katsuki felt his throat tighten and the world slow down around him. It wasn't him who was falling, but if Izuku dies now, if he dies now--
Smack!
The girl that Izuku had jumped in to save used her quirk to save him in return. Everyone who had been watching began to approach them now. Katsuki stayed rooted to where he was standing. It's fine. Izuku's safe now. He's safe now... Katsuki watched as Recovery Girl fixed Izuku up and everyone else wonder why Izuku had rushed forward. Katsuki couldn't walk up to him. He couldn't possibly face him right now.
The two of them didn't talk for a week. Izuku was still stunned at a zero point achievement during the exam while Katsuki... just didn't want to face Izuku. They still exchanged power in the mornings, but that was it. No words exchanged.
It tastes a little odd, Katsuki had thought after each kiss, but he didn't dare ask about it.
It was only when their homeroom teacher announced that both of them got into Yuuei that he started throwing his usual tantrum. And it was only later that he regretted it. Great. After a week of ignoring Izuku, his first words to him weren't of apology or concern, just words of hate and anger.
Their high school days started and things had gone back to normal-- or at least in Izuku's mind. It was a new school, a new bathroom, but the same routine. Quick morning kisses in the bathroom.
"...Kacchan?" Izuku asked after the parted, "Is something the matter?"
"What?!" Katsuki yelled, probably a little louder than he should've because Izuku jumped at the sound. "Did you taste something?" his hands immediately went up to cover his mouth.
Izuku shook his head, "No, suppliers can't do anything like that." A hesitation, then he continued, "We barely speak now. I want to know if something's the matter with you, too. I don't want you to be the only one who can tell if something happened to me."
"..." Katsuki tried to think of something to say and when he did, he couldn't force the words to come out. So instead, he shouted, "Shut the fuck up, you nerd!" He unlocked the stall, ready to stomp back into the classroom for their second day of class, but the stall door opened to reveal Iida standing in front of the sink.
The two of them stared at each other for a moment before Izuku peeked out from behind Katsuki, "Kacchan, what is it-- ?!? Iida!"
One death threat from Katsuki and three apologies from Izuku later, they had the situation explained to Iida, who promised to keep silent about it.
"There's really nothing to be ashamed about," Iida stated before leaving the bathroom, "There's been great heroes who were receivers, too."
"Shut up!" Katsuki yelled as he stomped out before the two of them.
"What is his problem?!" Iida grumbled in frustration.
"I'm... sorry," Izuku apologized again, "It's a... sensitive? Subject for Kacchan?"
Izuku won. The nerd had won. That fucking nerd! Katsuki's rage was hitting explosive levels as he left school that day. Even worse, Izuku had even caught him afterwards for some half-hearted explanation of his new quirk. "Fucking shit!" Katsuki grumbled. He didn't care. He didn't care if Izuku had some new quirk. In fact, that barely caught his attention.
Deku won. Deku won. FUCKING DEKU WON!!
Thinking about it just made him angrier and before he knew it, he had blown a small tree into pieces. Oops, that caught the attention of a few people, "What are you fucking staring at?!" he yelled at them. He better not explode any more trees or the police might be on his tail. "Fuck off!" he growled at anyone who got too close. He's a student in Yuuei now, he can't be acting as a delinquent anymore--
"Fucking shit!" he yelled on the top of his lungs as he got near his house.
Izuku got home rather late that day. After Katsuki had stomped off angrily, All Might had a long talk with him about disclosing the information on his quirk. He had apologized profusely, but he didn't really feel regretful. He had to tell Katsuki at some point. They were partners, after all.
As he approached his house, he noticed there was a figure sitting in the shared driveway between the Midoriyas' house and the Bakugous' house. Cautiously, Izuku approached it. "...Kacchan?!" Izuku quickly knelt down to shake Katsuki awake. The other boy groaned slightly at being shook awake, but didn't make any move to push Izuku away. "Kacchan, are you alright?! You look so pale... Oh no, you didn't run out of energy, did you?!"
Izuku quickly leaned in and kissed Katsuki on the lips. It was a quick one, he just wanted to make sure Katsuki wasn't going to die. Immediately, Katsuki seemed to come back to life and he quickly shoved Izuku away, "Fuck off. I don't need you."
"...Kacchan?"
"You fucking heard me. Get out of my fucking life already!"
"K-Kacchan, that..." Izuku stared at him with wide eyes as the other boy stood up to leave. Izuku reached forward to grab him by the hand, to give a little pull so that he would stay with him, "Kacchan! I need you, though!"
"Tch," Katsuki grit his teeth and shook his hand free, "Don't you fucking pity me!"
"Kacchan--"
But Katsuki had already run back into his own house without turning to look back at Izuku.
Izuku let him be and returned to his own house. Katsuki was fuming and there was nothing he could do about it. He could only wait until Katsuki had blown away all of his temper, whether through explosions or other means. I'll see him tomorrow anyways, Izuku told himself.
They kissed a lot less frequently, with Katsuki taking enough power to last through the whole day without a second recharge. It would usually leave Izuku pale and weak in his legs, but he normally regenerated the energy in an hour's time. They talked a lot less frequently, too. Any time they did often ended with Katsuki yelling about how much he didn't want to be around Izuku.
And as much as Izuku tried to not let it get to him, it hurt.
Thankfully, at Yuuei, there were lots of distractions. Izuku were meeting people who didn't see him as a useless "quirkless wonder" anymore. He was making friends, he was having fun! He was doing extraordinary, heroic things!
So even though there was a chasm between the two of them, they were distracted enough that their strained relationship wasn't constantly on their minds.
"I need to get stronger. Stornger!" was constantly on Katsuki's mind as they started the Sports Festival.
"I need to show the world that I'm strong," was the goal Izuku had set for himself, for All Might's sake.
...And as Izuku laid on a bed in the nurse's office with Recovery Girl scolding at both him and All Might, he could only feel regret at the fact that he couldn't complete his goal.
For Katsuki, whose only goal was to get stronger felt deeply frustrated as he stood tied to the first place post. His temper had grown bad enough that no one could approach him during nor after the sports festival. It was only as the school day ended and that Katsuki was feeling particularly sluggish that he went to look for Izuku.
Turning to look at his partner's seat, Katsuki saw that Izuku wasn't in class. Wait, had he even returned after the festival for Aizawa's closing remarks? Katsuki was so busy seeing red that he hadn't noticed. "Aizawa-sensei," Katsuki walked up to their homeroom teacher. Despite using a proper honorific, the tone he used would've put him in the principal's office had Aizawa not been used to Katsuki's personality.
"Yes, Bakugou?"
"Where the fuck is Deku?"
"Midoriya? He's in surgery right now."
"...S-Surgery?!" Katsuki's mouth fell open. He had watched Todoroki and Izuku's fight, but he didn't think it was so bad that he needed surgery--
"Haven't you paid any attention to the people around you?" Aizawa sighed. It's been a long day. He was about to go and clock out, "At least pay attention to your partner."
"I..." there was nothing Katsuki could say in response to that. It was true. He was supposed to keep an eye on Izuku, "Where... Where is he having his surgery?!" Strangely polite. Aizawa decided to give Katsuki directions to find Izuku, to which Katsuki ran at full speed to.
When he got there, the light above the room told him that Izuku was still having his operation. He considered just knocking the door down, but he realized that would just cause more trouble than it was worth. So Katsuki opted to sit and wait outside.
At some point, he had fallen asleep because he awoke to a nurse shaking him awake, "Are you alright?"
"Fucking perfect," Katsuki grumbled back. He almost expected that Izuku would be the one kissing him awake, but he suppose he took that for granted. The nurse was clearly not happy with his tone towards her, but she helped him up anyways and asked if he needed energy. "No, just fucking tell me where the fuck Deku is!"
"...Deku?"
"The idiot that was in the operating room just now!"
"Oh, yea... They wheeled him to room..." even before she finished her sentence, Katsuki had dashed off to find Izuku. "Wait," she tried to yell as he ran off, "He's still resting so don't wake him up!"
Ten minutes later, Katsuki arrived at Izuku's room. He came to a stop as he recalled the nurse's words about being quiet and decided that, maybe, he should follow them. Softly, he turned the doorknob and opened the door.
"...Kacchan?!"
"Deku!" Katsuki's eyes widened as he saw Izuku sitting on the edge of the bed with both arms wrapped up, but otherwise looking fine. "You... You... What the fucking hell?!"
"Huh?"
Katsuki stomped over and glared down at Izuku, who shrunk back slightly. He thought Izuku was in serious trouble! But it looks like he was perfectly fine anyways! What gives?! Katsuki could feel the rage building up again. What did he spend the last hour or so frantically worrying about?! The little fucker was alright.
"K-Kacchan, why are you--"
He's alright...
"...Tch," Katscuki grit his teeth and turned around to rub his eyes, "What the fuck, Deku?! I fucking hate you-- You--" Shit. It was all coming out unnaturally now. Even his voice was breaking.
"Kacchan, um, you--"
"Shut up!" Katsuki yelled as he turned and pushed Izuku down onto the bed. He hugged his partner tightly, "Just don't fucking say anything anymore. I'm too tired to listen to your shit!"
"H-Huh?! What? You need a transfer...?!"
"Yea, but you went and had to get fucking surgery! Now I can't possibly fucking charge up. It's your fucking fault, you fucktard."
"Um... Yea, it's... It's my fault," Izuku grumbled, figuring that accepting defeat here was probably the better option.
Katsuki was silent for several minutes, long enough for Izuku to wonder if the other boy had fallen asleep on top of him. Just as he was about to tap Katsuki to see if this was the case, he suddenly spoke up.
"It's not," Katsuki said softly-- so softly that had Katsuki not been hugging him tight and whispering in his ear, Izuku was sure he'd never have heard it, "I'm sorry." There was so much more Katsuki wanted to say! He wanted to apologize specifically for all the things he had done-- for being the shitty person that he was, but it wouldn't come out. Be it pride or frustration or just the fact that Izuku was far too nice for his own good, he couldn't bring himself to say it. Not unless he wanted to start crying his eyes out in front of Izuku again. And that would only make him feel even more frustrated.
"What?!" Izuku's eyes widened as he processed what Katsuki had said, "K-Kacchan, you... I mean, I forgive you. It's not a big deal--"
"It is!" Katsuki hissed, "Stop it. This fucking makes me feel worse."
"Oh, uh, oops... I, well," Izuku was at a loss for words, but he did want to portray how he felt-- somehow, someway... "Katsuki," he whispered, reaching up and picking his head up slightly so that they could both face each other now instead of Katsuki burying his head into Izuku's shoulder.
Slowly, Izuku closed the gap between them in a kiss. As soon as their lips were connected, Izuku reached up to grab hold of Katsuki's hair and the first thing Katsuki noticed was that Izuku wasn't transferring any energy to him. "...Deku?" he mumbled in confusion as they broke the kiss.
"Kacchan, let's be heroes together, okay?" Izuku smiled and pulled Katsuki into a kiss again. This time, it gave the familiar warm feeling of energy being transferred and Katsuki could sense every emotion that Izuku was feeling at that moment.
Happiness...
Respect...
Admiration...
How had he missed all of this the past few months?
"Izuku," Katsuki mumbled as the energy transfer ended. He didn't feel any need to be afraid now as he kissed back, pushing the other boy into the bed, running his fingers through his hair-- just like he had thought of months ago.
"Okay, let's be heroes together."