Chapter Text
By the time Katsuki noticed, it's been almost 3 months since he last heard from Izuku.
Deku was in the news now. The wide screen TV at the lounge was showing footage of that morning’s villain attack in downtown Endor. None of the heroes from Katsuki’s agency were involved. It seemed Izuku was in the area by chance, on his way to attend an inter-agency meeting. Metalworks, their agency’s youngest sidekick, made a sound of pure awe as hero Deku made short work of the villains, face fierce with determination, green lightning coursing over his skin.
The news shifts to a reporter interviewing Deku. With the threat neutralized, Deku reverts to his more usual self-deprecating self, blushing at the compliments thrown his way, one hand scratching the back of his neck. Body built like a brick house paired with a shy smile and brilliant green eyes.
It was ridiculous. A devastating combination but still ridiculous.
Metalworks turns to Katsuki and begins gushing, how awesome it must have been to go to school with Deku and how seamlessly they work together, each complementing the other. The Wonder Duo. Katsuki scowls but the sidekick was much too excited to be cowed. He grunts and leaves the lounge. Thankfully, the sidekick doesn’t follow him out.
Katsuki takes out his phone and pulls up his messages window with Izuku. The last text was close to 11 weeks ago. Katsuki frowns. This wasn’t alarming in itself, just unusual. Katsuki couldn’t have shaken off Deku if he tried (and he has tried!) so the lack of contact was odd.
He texts Izuku.
[Hey, nerd]
Katsuki doesn’t expect an immediate response and didn’t get one. He was already done with the day’s patrol, showered and about to leave for home when his phone buzzed with Izuku’s reply.
[Hi! :)]
[Saw you on the news. Ramen?]
It’s Tuesday. Unless there was a change in rotation, Katsuki knew Izuku’s shift ends pretty much in time with his own. Katsuki had planned to have leftovers for dinner but ramen sounded good.
[Love to! But still stuck with paperwork. Can meet at 9?]
Izuku names a small place, off the beaten track and near Katsuki’s apartment. They’ve frequented it before. The staff was discrete, the food good and the servings hero sized.
The timing wasn’t ideal. It’s still two hours before the appointed time and it’s only a 30 minute commute to the ramen place. He had already showered and can’t kill time by sparring or doing weights. Katsuki’s frown deepens and he briefly debates on going back on his offer to dinner.
Instead he walks back up to the third floor where the hero offices are and knocks at Kirishima’s door. He pushes it open without waiting for a response.
Kirishima looks up from the file he was reading.
“I thought you left?” he asks, eyebrows raised at Katsuki who had plopped himself at the chair in front of the desk.
“Getting ramen with Deku. Waiting for the nerd to finish his shit,” Katsuki says, sliding the chair back so he could put his feet up on the desk. Kirishima ignores the shoes on his desk, long since used to Katsuki’s less than ideal behavior.
“Oh, yeah? Say hello to Midoriya for me. Haven’t seen him since that event last month,” Kirishima said.
“What event?”
“The JHA dinner. Midoriya was there, remember?”
Katsuki nodded. Kirishima was referring to a small fundraising event, aimed to raise awareness for some worthy cause or another. Their PR team made a half-hearted effort to recruit Katsuki before giving up and getting Kirishima to do it.
He hadn’t known Izuku would be there. Not that that would have made a difference in his decision not to go. Katsuki has come a long way since the days he referred to the people around him as ‘extras’ but he will never have the patience for long evenings made longer by long winded speeches.
Katsuki played with his phone for the next 30 minutes, checking news and social media. Conversation between him and Kirishima was sporadic, one or the other tossing comments at random intervals, as the other hero returned to studying the case file.
When Katsuki got up to leave, Kirishima didn’t ask if he could eat with them and Katsuki didn’t invite him. Ramen nights was his thing with Izuku.
The ramen dinners started almost as soon as they graduated from UA. It was Katsuki’s first week at his new agency and he ran into Deku while doing their patrols, their areas overlapping in one neighborhood. They agreed to meet for ramen after their shift.
6 years later and they still meet up for ramen.
It wasn’t anything close to regular. They didn’t have a schedule. There was no “usual” ramen place. They ate at different ramen shops but tend to pick quiet ones, discretion and privacy more important than location or taste.
But while they didn’t have a regular weekly routine, 11 weeks is too long to pass without contact between them. Katsuki can’t remember the last time he hadn’t heard from Izuku in almost 3 months.
Katsuki arrived at the ramen shop early. He had expected Izuku to run late but he arrived with 5 minutes to spare, eyes bright and soft green curls tousled, as if he jogged the last distance. He entered the shop to the chorus of welcome greetings, green eyes scanning the room before settling on Katsuki.
Katsuki has known Izuku for most of his life but being on the receiving end of that slow, dawning smile never got any fucking easier.
“Hi!” Izuku chirped in greeting, settling himself at their table. Katsuki grunted back.
They ate their meal the way they usually did, two orders of the largest bowl the place had to offer, one spicy, one not, both with extra heaping of pork slices and soft boiled egg. Izuku talked. Katsuki made enough snorts and grunts in reply for it to be called a conversation.
The nerd seems to be okay, Katsuki observes. A little tired, but then who among them wasn’t. Katsuki wasn’t sure what he was expecting really. He knows Deku has been major injury-free for the last several months. He would have heard about it otherwise, if not from Deku himself, then from the news or their nosy classmates. Izuku asked after Katsuki's parents (they were annoying as always but fine) and he learned in turn that Inko was doing fine as well, so it’s not about that.
But whatever, Deku will fucking spill if he wants to or won’t. It’s not really Katsuki’s problem.
They were standing shoulder to shoulder outside the ramen shop, fussing with jackets and gloves when Katsuki realized Izuku meant to go his own way.
Katsuki frowned. It wasn’t that he had pre-arranged this or made plans but it’s been a while and he and Izuku were usually on the same wavelength about these things.
“Hey,” he said nudging Izuku by the shoulder. “Come over to my place?”
Katsuki thought himself well-versed with all things Izuku Midoriya but the expression that flashed across his freckled face came and went too fast for him to decipher. All too soon Izuku was smiling at him, a soft blush coloring his cheeks, and nodding his agreement.
It was a brisk 15 minute walk to his place. Izuku attempted to make conversation, his breath coming out in cold puffs but soon lapsed into companionable silence.
He opened his front door and they entered quickly, escaping the cold wind, Izuku bumping into him with an apology and an easy laugh. They shucked their jackets and gloves efficiently, Katsuki taking Izuku’s black and dark green scarf to hang it. Katsuki left his boots in a bit of disarray but Izuku meticulously arranged his on the genkan before entering the premises with a cheerful “sorry for the intrusion.”
Katsuki turned towards Izuku and placed his hands on either side of his cheeks. He kissed him. Hard and deep.
“Okay?” he asked, after a while.
Izuku nodded, a little breathless, and Katsuki kissed him again.
Stress-release sex was another one of their things. Friends with benefits, it was called. No strings attached. Just a bit (or a lot) of fun under the sheets.
They haven’t been doing it quite as long as they have been having ramen together, and not all ramen nights lead to sex, but it’s been a few years nevertheless and Katsuki knows just how to make Izuku moan.
Katsuki realized they won’t make it to bed. He usually has more control than this but it has been a while and he lifted Izuku’s shirt with an impatient noise, trailing kisses down the hard chest as he slipped down to his knees and opened Izuku’s fly with hasty fingers, digging in for his prize. He took in Izuku down to the base, fighting against the urge to gag, and was rewarded by stuttered breaths and restless fingers clutching at his hair in desperation.
He pulled back, licking and slurping around the head and met Izuku’s eyes, looking down at him, the green just thin rings with the way the pupils are blown in arousal.
“You wanna come this way?” he asked, hand still working Izuku in a rhythmic motion.
Izuku pulled him up in answer and kissed him, his arms thrown around Katsuki’s neck. Katsuki herded them towards the couch, lips still locked in a kiss. The back of Izuku’s knees hit the side of the couch and he fell back with a final push. Katsuki caught Izuku’s legs and pulled the jeans free. With synched movements worthy of their title as Wonder Duo, Katsuki took off his own clothes while Izuku reached for the unassuming black box on the lowest drawer of the side table. He threw the bottle of lube to Katsuki and positioned himself on his hands and knees on the couch, freckled ass lifted towards Katsuki.
Katsuki’s heart stuttered at the feast that was laid bare before him. It really has been too long.
Despite Izuku’s apparent non-interest back at the ramen place he was ready and eager for this, moaning and pushing back against Katsuki’s fingers, and then finally his cock. Katsuki tried to last long - he really did - but it’s been weeks and Izuku is so fucking hot and tight and chanting “Katsuki, Katsuki, Katsuki!” He gripped Izuku’s cock and began pumping it, praying he lasts long enough to get Izuku off and Izuku is suddenly clamping around him and keening and Katsuki comes in a near white out while biting down on Izuku’s shoulder.
He pulled out to the sound of Izuku whining. He slapped his butt lightly, telling him to wait, and reached over to pick up his discarded shirt, using it to wipe Izuku’s cock and the mess he made on the leather couch. Izuku whined again.
“Yeah, yeah, it’s done,” Katsuki said with another slap to his butt and Izuku finally collapsed on the couch.
He padded to the bathroom, taking care of the condom and washing off cum and lube. He came back to the living area clad in fresh boxers and armed with a wet washcloth. He sat on the edge of the coffee table and wiped off Izuku's ass and thighs, just this side of tender.
“Mmm. Thanks,” Izuku said without opening his eyes.
“Don’t fall asleep there, nerd,” Katsuki said gruffly, discarding the washcloth to the floor.
“I won’t,” Izuku replies, eyes still closed.
He soothed the teeth marks on Izuku’s left shoulder with his thumb. He didn’t break skin but the area would bruise.
Katsuki frowned down at Izuku, still naked and prone on his couch. He has an early patrol tomorrow. They both do.
Katsuki usually prefers to have sex in Izuku’s place because he can dress up and leave after a short period of post-orgasmic skinship. Katsuki is not much into cuddling, his body is too warm and things gets sticky, but he knows that Izuku likes it and he’s not such a boor as to say no when a few minutes of tracing the constellation of reddish dots across Izuku’s back keeps the other man happy. It’s a small price to pay for the great, uncomplicated sex.
The problem with having sex in Katsuki’s place is that he can’t boot Izuku out. Many a time Katsuki just let’s Izuku be and he ends up staying the night, then scrambling the next day to get back to his place so he could shower and get to work on time. It’s idiotic and very like Deku.
He moves from the coffee table to sit on the couch beside Izuku’s hip.
“Oi! I said don’t sleep there,” he grunts out, the rough tone belied by the gentle fingers threading through green curls. “Get your ass home or into bed,” he says, fully expecting to lead a whining Izuku to his bedroom.
Izuku opened his eyes and looked at him long enough for Katsuki to feel uncomfortable.
“What?” he asked, irritated. He’s tired and sleepy and wishes this nerd would just get up so they can both lie down on the perfectly good bed.
Izuku finally gets up with a put-upon sigh and picks up his discarded boxers from the floor. He had already put on his jeans before Katsuki realized what he was doing.
“You going home?” he asked in surprise.
“Ah, yeah! There’s work tomorrow,” Izuku said, voice muffled by the shirt he was pulling over his head.
Katsuki frowned while Izuku patted his jeans pockets, checking that his keys and wallet were still there.
“Thank you for tonight. Ramen was a great idea. The sex too!” Izuku grinned, with a smile that would almost be wolfish if not for the blush coloring his cheeks.
He silently followed Izuku to the door, and stood there bare chested while Izuku put on his shoes, coat. The scarf came last, the dark green of the fabric playing off Izuku's clear eyes. Izuku bid him goodnight and with a final kiss, left.
The sound of the door closing echoed in Katsuki’s empty apartment.