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Izuku and Katsuki haven’t been friends in a long time. From the moment Katsuki developed his quirk, he’s had a problem with Izuku.
Now, with the dorms in place, his dislike has become more obvious — whenever Izuku used something like the blender, he disinfected it. Being in the same room as Izuku? No, thank you. His presence alone seemed to tick Katsuki off.During their second year, Izuku overheard Mina and Denki talking about him and Katsuki. After that, it became clear to Izuku why Katsuki hated him — he was gay. Izuku had openly come out to Kirishima at the start of the first year to Kirishima, and Katsuki must’ve overheard.
Now, in their last year, things have changed. While Katsuki may act like he absolutely despises Izuku’s presence and everything he stands for, Katsuki always ends up in his bed at night.
Around 2 a.m. every night, Katsuki sleepwalks into Izuku‘s dorm room and cuddles up to him, his head on Izuku‘s chest and one leg over his.
At first, Izuku thought Katsuki might be confusing his dorm with his own, but Katsuki‘s room was at the other end of the hall.
Izuku wasn’t about to find out either. He always woke up before Katsuki and left his room. Both of them are too prideful to mention it to each other.
That night, around 1:50 a.m., Izuku‘s door opened and closed. Katsuki made his way to his bed and cuddled up next to him. It has become second nature for Izuku to gently caress his hair and whisper, “sweet dreams.” Just before falling asleep, he’d sling his arm over Katsuki’s waist and pull him closer.
That’s the position Izuku would wake up in — if Katsuki didn’t wake up before him and yell,
“What the actual fuck?!”
The sleeping boy was ripped out of his dream, his body immediately on edge. “Kacchan, what’s going on?” Izuku asked after assessing the situation and seeing no immediate threat.
“Get your filthy faggot hands away from me!” Katsuki shoved the confused boy off him while standing up.
The words stung in Izuku’s heart. He knew Katsuki hated everything he stood for, but hearing his former best friend using slurs still hurt like nothing else. The two boys stared at each other without moving.
“Kachhan, I can explain-“ Izuku stammered out while making a move to stand up. He quickly realized that was the wrong thing to do as Katsuki pulled up his hands in front of him, ready to blast Izuku into the wall.
“Don’t you fucking dare come any closer,” the blond ordered, “you will never fucking touch me again, you pig! Do you understand me?”
Without waiting for a response, Katsuki marched out of the room, slamming the door behind him. Izuku couldn’t process what had just happened. Taking a deep breath, he slowly stood up and got ready for class, deciding not to dwell on it too much. Katsuki has been disliking him openly for the majority of his life — Izuku could handle this.
Walking into class, Izuku found Katsuki already sitting at his desk. The blonde paid no attention to his childhood best friend, acting like he didn’t exist. Izuku sighed before sitting down at his own desk.
Soon, Aizawa Sensei walked into the classroom, settling everyone down. “We are going to do another training exercise at ground Alpha. Starting from the back, your partner will be the person sitting in front of you. Meaning Yaoyorozu will be in a team with Mineta and Midoriya, in a team with Bakugo, and so on. The team in front of you will also be the team you will be going against in the exercise. Now, put on your hero costumes and don’t make me wait.”
Truth be told, Izuku didn’t really listen when Aizawa Sensei explained the exercise. Something about a hostage and villains. No, his mind was stuck on his partner. The very same partner who didn’t once look at him since this morning. Izuku tried going up to him mainly to talk about the exercise, but Katsuki still pretended like he didn’t exist. Which is exactly why, when it was their turn to go up against Yaoyorozu and Mineta, they didn’t have a plan.
“Kacchan, please,” Izuku begged the other, “I know you’re still mad about this morning, but we gotta at least make a plan.”
“Fuck off and stay out of my way. I’m gonna finish this alone, I don’t need you.”
With that, Katsuki stormed into the building, Izuku right on his tail.
It was foreseeable that without a plan, the two of them would lose. They were both strong, yes, but they couldn’t win a partner exercise without being partners.
So even though Katsuki retrieved the hostage, which was just a dummy, and managed to disarm the villains, they still lost.
“I don’t get it. The stupid hostage is safe, and the villains are disarmed. I won.” Katsuki insisted.
Aizawa sighed, “Katsuki, this was a partner exercise. Not only did the two of you not even talk once but you didn’t even give Izuku the chance to participate. I’m sorry to disappoint you, but you both failed.”
Katsuki growled and gave a hateful look toward Izuku. “This is all your fucking fault, Deku!”
“Kacchan, I tried talking to you, but you just ignored me-“ Izuku tried to reason, but the former was already storming off.
“So now it’s my fucking fault?” Katsuki roared, “If you didn’t—if you weren’t gay, maybe you could be a hero.” Katsuki yelled while turning around.
“What does that have to do with anything?” Izuku finally caught up to Katsuki and shoved him so that the other was looking at him.
“Well, if you weren’t so fucking busy crushing over me, you —“
“Crushing over you?” Izuku let out a baffled laugh. He couldn’t believe what Katsuki was saying. Why would Izuku have a crush on someone who hated his guts so much?
“Of course you have a crush on me!”
In the distance, Kirishima was jogging up to the two boys.
As soon as he was within earshot, he could hear the two boys arguing.
“Hey, wow, what’s going on with you two? You’d normally ace an exercise like this,” Kirishima asked worried, after catching up to Izuku and Katsuki.
The two stopped arguing when Kirishima caught up, giving each other nasty side glances.
“Well, Kacchan thinks that it’s all my fault just because I’m gay!” Izuku explained.
“Yeah, like I said, you’re too busy being a faggot.” The blond claimed.
With that, the two started arguing again, Kirishima standing next to them, completely at a loss for words.
“I- okay stop!” he yelled and took a deep breath, “I’m failing to see how Deku’s sexuality has anything to do with this-“
“Thank you!” Izuku exclaimed before letting out a sigh. You could clearly see that Izuku was slowly losing his patience.
“You have no idea what you’re talking about, shitty hair.”
“You’re right, I have no context of what happened previously — but I can say with confidence that it’s pretty unmanly for you to reduce Deku to his sexuality and call him slurs! You’re supposed to be a hero.”
Katsuki looked at Kirishima with shock. He thought his best friend would be on his side, see how disgusting it was to be gay. So without saying anything, he just walked away.
Thinking about it, he should’ve realized sooner that Izuku was gay. From the way he looked at Katsuki, it was crystal clear that Izuku had a crush on him. It was a shame, all the muscle Izuku had built up over the years would go to waste. He had imagined being choked by Izuku’s arms. How good it would feel if Izuku was a woman. Katsuki scoffed. He didn’t want that illness spreading onto him.
For the next few weeks, the two ignored each other. While Katsuki still came to Izuku’s room every night and tried cuddling up to him, Izuku started to turn his back on the other. He didn’t cuddle him back, didn’t gently caress or kiss him good night. Izuku did not touch Katsuki anymore.
Every morning when Katsuki would wake up, Izuku pretended to be asleep until the other left his room.
Kirishima tried talking to Katsuki multiple times, telling him that he should just talk it out with Izuku. Assuring him that, no, Izuku did not have a crush on him. But he wouldn’t listen.
Katsuki’s mood soured over time. It seemed like everyone was starting to be against him. As soon as they heard why Katsuki and Izuku were fighting, they stopped talking to him. Even Sensei was being harder on him than usual, and it was getting on his nerves.
So one day, after practice, when everyone was gone, he cornered Izuku in the locker room, not letting the other finish getting dressed, leaving him shirtless.
“This is all your fucking fault!” Katsuki huffed.
Izuku looked at him with shock. This was the first time in three weeks that Katsuki had talked to him.
“I’m not sure what you mean, Kacchan.” He answers truthfully.
“Don’t act fucking innocent,” he punched the locker next to Izuku, “no one is fucking talking to me because of you!”
Izuku sighed, “Kacchan, I didn’t do anything. They are not talking to you because you’re being irrational.”
“I’m being irrational? It’s you who’s fucking gay! How is it my fault that I don’t want you crushing over me, hmm?” Katsuki pushed and leaned closer to Izuku.
“Oh my god, can you stop thinking I have a crush on you? I’d never, and I mean never, have a crush on you. You’re so mean to me without reason. So what if I’m gay? It has nothing to do with you!” Izuku growled and pushed Katsuki away from him.
“Of course it has something to do with me! Your illness has already spread. It’s because of you that I always wake up in your bed!” Katsuki accused Izuku.
Izuku laughed. “Kacchan, I- oh my god. Have you ever stopped to think that maybe it’s you who, deep down, wants to end up in my bed?”
Katsuki’s brows furrowed. He’d never end up in Izuku’s bed on his account…, right? His eyes slipped to Izuku’s body, admiring him before quickly averting his gaze.
“Tch, stop fucking saying shit like that.”
“You’re normally so smart, Kacchan,” Izuku took a deep breath, “anyway, think about what I said.” With that, Izuku put on his shirt and left, leaving Katsuki with his thoughts behind.
Katsuki punched the locker again. He isn’t gay. Never was and never will be. Izuku was just being a handsome asshole.
That night, Katsuki was lying wide awake in his bed, thinking about what Izuku had said. He wasn’t gay. He couldn’t be.
However, without meaning to, he started to admire Izuku. He was pretty, no doubt. And maybe that’s what scared him so much.
Katsuki grew up with the ideology that only women and men belong together. It was pushed into his brain by his mother. So when he started waking up next to Izuku and finding himself not caring, he panicked.
The only reasonable thing to do in that situation? Call Izuku slurs and push him away. If Izuku hated him, he’d get over his sinful thoughts faster. Or so he hoped. His eyes still lingered too long on Izuku’s muscles, and how good they looked in his hero costume.
Katsuki closed his eyes, trembling.
He was utterly fucked. Because he, Katsuki Bakugo, had a fucking crush on his childhood best friend.
There was nothing he could do, except-
“You were right,” Katsuki confessed.
It was 11 pm, way past his usual bedtime, and Katsuki found himself facing Izuku. Izuku, who was leaning against his doorframe, only looked down at him.
When did that bastard get so tall, Katsuki wondered.
“With what you said earlier, I mean.” Katsuki clarified.
Izuku raised an eyebrow, and Katsuki crossed his arms in front of his chest.
Izuku let out a hum, “Would you like to come inside, Kacchan?”
Katsuki hesitated before giving a short nod. Izuku let Katsuki through the door before closing it behind them.
Neither of the two talked for a moment before Katsuki broke the silence, “I’m sorry for what I said. It was uncalled for.”
“Yeah,” Izuku agreed, “thanks for apologizing.”
“It’s just—I'm fucking scared, okay? This isn’t supposed to happen. I’m supposed to fall in love with a girl, not with you!” Katsuki confessed.
Izuku’s eyes widen, “You love me?”
The other shrinks back into himself and shrugs.
Izuku chuckles while sitting down on his bed, “Sorry, I’m not a girl.”
“Don’t fucking say that,” Katsuki snaps. “Don’t-don’t say things like that just because I’m having a hard time!” He takes a step closer to where Izuku is sitting and takes a deep breath, “Izuku I feel in love with you before you came out. And god, I hoped you were into women because that would’ve meant that it was just a stupid crush. But then you came out to shitty hair and-,” tears swell in his eyes, “I panicked okay? I thought if I made you hate me, I could move on, but…you take my breath away whenever I look at you, and it’s hard. I don’t want you to change because in my mind you’re so perfect-“
Katsuki was interrupted by Izuku pulling him into a hug. For a moment, he was shocked before leaning into the warmth of his crush.
Izuku was first to pull away, “Kacchan, it’s okay. I understand, trust me. It’s scary, and it always will be. Thank you for telling me.”
Katsuki let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding and finally let his tears fall.
Izuku gently touched his cheeks and wiped them away.
“I love you, Izuku.”
“I love you too, Kacchan."