Chapter 28

Many emotions ran through Katsuki's system. Shock. Excitement. Eagerness. Regret. Disbelief.

It was like he was stuck in a trance, not being able to look away from Izuku's eyes. A silly little spell that had been cast upon him the moment their lips touched. Why couldn't he look away?

Whatever background noise there was wouldn't register in either of their brains. The world outside of their little moment long forgotten and not important enough to gain their attention. They were utterly fixated on each other.

"You...like me?" Katsuki whispered with wide eyes, breath still heavy. The skin below Izuku's fingers burned with need and affection. His touch was like a kiss of the wind, soft and delicate. He could feel the slight bumps on Izuku's skin due to the battle scars, but even so, his touch was nothing but gentle.

Izuku blushed, slowly retracting his hands. "W-Well, uh, I thought..."

Katsuki suddenly missed the greenette's hands on his face, tempted to grab them and place them back where they were. But he held back. He so desperately needed to hear him say what he have wanted to hear for so long. His heart was beating wildly in anticipation.

"Deku—fuck, no. Izuku," Katsuki said with a stronger voice now, looming over Izuku with an expectant gaze. "Do. You. Like me?" Please say yes.

Izuku's eyes widened as he noticed the hopeful look the blond was giving him. His heart almost leaped out of his chest. Feeling excited and relieved, he finally whispered. "Y-Yeah."

"Fuck," Katsuki whispered as he let himself slide down the wall behind him to sit on the ground. Izuku watched with alerted eyes as the blond ran both hands down his face in exasperation. Izuku didn't understand, did he read the situation wrong?

All of a sudden, Katsuki started laughing in disbelief. Izuku began to feel awkward, his cheeks flushing in embarrassment. "A-Are you ok?"

"All of this time I've been wracking my brain, trying to figure out who the hell you liked, only to now find out that it was me," Katsuki whispered, relief and happiness flooding through his veins.

"I mean, uh, y-yeah..." Izuku mumbled, scratching the back of his head self-consciously. He had never seen Katsuki act in such way.

"Goddammit, nerd," Katsuki said, looking up at him with a steady gaze. "You drive me fucking crazy."

"In a good way?" Izuku asked, wincing and avoiding his gaze. Now that the adrenaline of the kiss had worn off, he was feeling extremely nervous. His confesion and Katsuki's random mood swings were confusing him. Although, he wasn't all that surprised about it.

"Shut up," Katsuki growled, standing up and grabbing him by the front of his shirt. Izuku feared the worse. That he had read the situation wrong and that the blond did not like him. But when Katsuki grabbed his chin and pulled him to meet his lips, all of his worries melted away.

He answered the kiss as fervently as it was received. Their eyelids fluttered shut as they enjoyed the feeling. Both let out content sighs, fingers slithering to the backs of each other's necks and into their hair.

At that moment, their hearts felt whole.

All until a loud screech ruined it.

They separated from each other, their head whipping towards the sound in alarm. A certain brunette stood at Katsuki's door, one hand on the door handle and the other holding a frying pan. Izuku ran towards her, getting behind her and placing his scarred hand over her mouth.

Without saying a word, Izuku quickly backed away from the blond's dorm room, dragging Uraraka with him, and got into the—thankfully—opened elevator. He punched the button to his floor level rapidly, and just before the elevator doors slid shut, Kirishima's door opened up and said redhead popped his head out.

Izuku let go of the brunette the moment the doors closed completely, shooting her a glare. "What the hell, Ochako!"

"I'm sorry! I just- I wanted to check on you since you were gone for a long time, and I couldn't find you anywhere, and- and I thought, 'oh well maybe he's in Bakugo's room', because, you know, he wasn't anywhere to be seen either, and—"

"So you just opened the door without even knocking?!"

"I was going to! But, you see, it wasn't fully closed, and my curiosity got he best of me, so I opened it without really thinking about it!"

"And what's with the frying pan?!"

"I did tell you that I would hit him with a frying pan if the moment called for it," she mumbled with a huff.

The ding of the elevator alerted them of their arrival at Izuku's floor level, and when the doors slid open the greenette dragged Uraraka by her arm to his room. "Well, the moment clearly didn't 'call for it'!" He whisper-yelled, looking back at her.

"With Bakugo, you never know," Uraraka defended. She lifted her gaze stopping in her tracks and hiding in Izuku's chest. She looked up at him with a sheepish smile, causing him to look down at her with a raised eyebrow.

"What the hell is up with you now?"

"Shh, don't look behind you. It's the devil in disguise," she whispered loudly with a giggle.

"Haah?!" Katsuki exclaimed, stomping over to them. Izuku whipped around, locking eyes with the blond.

"Oh no! He's going to eat me alive!"

"K-Kacchan, weren't you—?"

"You do know that it is faster to just go down the stairs, right?" Katsuki deadpanned, then glared at Uraraka. "And I ain't interested in eating stupid, annoying girls."

Uraraka giggled. "You didn't deny about being a devil...wait, if you're not interested in eating me, does that mean—?" she gasped and looked at Izuku.

"Okay!" Izuku exclaimed, already knowing where her mindset was headed to. He instantly flushed bright red, fumbling to open the door to his room. The moment it was open, he pushed both teens inside and made sure to actually close the door behind him.

Uraraka had her arms crossed over her chest, a silly smile on her face while she still held the frying pan. Izuku sighed and ran a hand down his face, looking at her. "You can put the damn frying pan down already."

"Ouch, you just kissed and you already caught Bakugo's personality," she sighed dramatically, shaking her head. "I knew this was a bad idea."

"Watch it, Pink Cheeks!" Katsuki growled, crossing his arms with a glare. He then looked at Izuku, narrowing his eyes at him. "How long has she been in on this?"

"Huh?" Izuku asked, genuinely confused.

"Oh, do you mean how long I've known about your frustrating, mutual obliviousness?" She giggled, inspecting her nails mockingly. "Oh, you know, for quite some time now."

"Ochako!" Izuku hissed, hating how his best friend was now messing with him.

"Wait, so you told her?" Katsuki asked in disbelief.

"Not quite—"

"Nah, I figured it out on my own. To be fair, it was very obvious. I wouldn't be surprised if others caught on to it."

"How the fuck was it obvious?! If it was I would've know already," Katsuki grumbled.

"Oh, trust me, it was obvious. The reason neither of you knew was because you're both stubborn knuckleheads who have been in denial all along." Uraraka deadpanned, making the two boys share a glance and look away simultaneously.

"You better not tell anyone," Katsuki warned, sending her a glare. She rolled her eyes, waving him off nonchalantly.

"Calm your horses, Blasty. Your secret is safe with me," she chuckled, looking down at the frying pan. "I guess it's a good thing that I didn't have to use this."

"Agreed," Izuku mumbled.

"I'll leave you two to your business then. I already got what I came here for. And don't worry, I'll make sure the door is closed on my way out," she giggled, sending them both a wink and leaving the two to themselves. They shared a minute of silence after the door closed shut, processing whatever the hell just happened.

The fact that they were now alone, again, downed on them. Izuku looked up at him awkwardly, clearing his throat. "Uh, why did you come down here?"

"Did you think that I would just let you scurry off after what happened?" Katsuki snorted, looking back at him. He finally got what he wanted, he wasn't going to let it go just like that.

"I mean, I thought we got our points across..." Izuku trailed off. Truth be told, he was still waiting for Katsuki to verbally confirm that he, in fact, liked him back.

"I haven't," Katsuki pointed out. "If only Pink Cheeks wouldn't have fucking ruined it, I wouldn't have had to come down here."

"O-Oh," Izuku mumbled, nerves coming back at full force. For a moment, he forgot about the whole ordeal with Uraraka and the frying pan. All he could focus on now was Katsuki's red eyes and every single expression he made. The slight, worried crease between his eyebrows. The way he gently gnawed at his bottom lip as he thought about what to say. Izuku was completely mesmerized.

"I don't know what made you like me, or how long it has been for," Katsuki started gently. "I'm probably the most unlovable, unapproachable prick out there. But you? Fuck, Izuku, you have always had a big heart and put others before you. It's a trait that both infuriated and resonated with me."

Katsuki sighed, running a hand through his hair and frowning slightly. "I have hurt you enough as it is already, you shouldn't—"

"You're changing," Izuku interrupted, not wanting to hear the rest of Katsuki's sentence. "You are aware of the consequences your actions have had, and you're learning from it. That's already a big step."

"That's my point!" Katsuki hissed, eyes starting to burn. "You have every right to hate me, yet here you are, forgiving me. You know all the shit I've put you through, you're suffering because of it, I know you are. I don't deserve your kindness, much less your affection."

"Yes, you hurt me," Izuku started, his own eyes full with unshed tears. "You bullied me, threw me under the bus, hit me, degraded me, made me feel like shit. That much is true. But you want to know why I forgive you?"

Katsuki watched him intently, a traitor tear rolling down his cheek as he felt a pang of hurt with each word he said.

"I forgive you because I know that it was all an act. It was a mask you wore to hide your insecurities. I won't say that what you did was right, because it was far from right. I won't say that your actions are validated, because they aren't. But I will say that I understand why you did it."

Katsuki sucked in a deep breath as Izuku's gentle fingers brushed away his tears. He felt so vulnerable—so full of pain and regret. The greenette's touch made him feel at ease, made him feel whole. He let himself lean into the feather-like touch, not even trying to stop the tears from coming.

"I also know that your quirk forces your body to be in constant adrenaline," Izuku smiled softly, watching as the blond's eyes fluttered shut. "Your explosive personality is the result to that, so that doesn't really bother me. If you couldn't tell, I've gotten quite used to it."

Despite his best efforts to make Katsuki crack a smile, the blond didn't. Instead, he slowly reached up to cup his scarred hand, giving it a tight squeeze. No matter how hard he tried not to, his body trembled as more tears left his eyes. He had bottled up his frustrations long enough, and to know that Izuku forgave him despite everything he has done just made him break down.

Izuku frowned as Katsuki slowly sunk down to his knees. The blond held the back of his hand against his forehead, a sob breaking through. "Kacchan—"

"I'm sorry," Katsuki sobbed. Izuku teared up, kneeling down in front of him. "I'm so, so, sorry."

"I know, Kacchan," Izuku whispered, quickly engulfing Katsuki in a tight hug while tears started to run down his face as well. "I know."

Katsuki buried his face in the crook of Izuku's neck, letting himself be vulnerable. They held each other as they cried, a huge weight being lifted off their shoulders. Katsuki held the greenette so tightly, as if he feared that Izuku would go away. But Izuku wasn't planning on leaving anytime soon.

Finally, after years of loneliness and sorrow, Izuku found a reason to wake up in the mornings.

That reason going by the name of Katsuki fucking Bakugo.