Chapter Text
Kirishima was in his room again, a few days after he’d initially been introduced to cat Aizawa. Katsuki sat at his desk studying while Kirishima sat on his bed, going off about something he and the idiots had done during lunch a few days ago when Katsuki’d been distracted.
“Denki got into so much trouble! It was— oh!” Katsuki glanced up from his work just in time to watch Aizawa jump onto Kirishima’s lap, kneading and purring. “Aw man, he looks so comfortable..”
Kirishima pouted, no doubt thinking about the conversation they’d had earlier about the quirk wearing off. Katsuki rolled his eyes and grabbed a cat laser from his drawer. Aiming it at the floor, they both watched Aizawa as he perked up, ears going back and pupils growing wide.
“Owww,” Kirishima whined, “He’s digging his claws into me.”
“Shut up.” Katsuki huffed a laugh at him. The both of them were silent for a few moments, the only sound in the room Aizawa as he chased after the laser, claws scraping on hardwood.
“So,” Kirishima started slowly, “What are you going to do when the quirk wears off?”
Katsuki frowned, the tips of his ears going pink as he recalled their conversation on the matter. In truth, he’d elected to ignore the possibility, not really wanting to put too much thought in the possibility of the quirk wearing off in some… awkward ways.
“I dunno.” He admitted, shrugging. Aizawa grew bored of the laser, not moving since Katsuki’d gotten distracted by Kirishima’s question, and he rubbed his head against Katsuki’s leg with a meow.
“Hey…” Kirishima squinted, tilting his head. “Is, uh, is Aizawa… trans?”
“The fuck?” Katsuki snapped out of his previous musings, turning on Kirishima again with a scowl. “That’s not any of our business.”
“No! It’s just–” He glanced down at Aizawa again, though doubt began to creep into his voice. “That cat’s a girl… Are we sure that’s Aizawa?”
“Hah?” Katsuki smacked Kirishima’s arm before he gestured to the cat–Aizawa, it had to be–with a scowl. “Fucking look at him, looks just like him.” To prove his point, Aizawa rolled over onto his back again, waving all three paws in the air. The stump at his back leg just wiggled, emphasizing Katsuki’s point. Kirishima frowned in thought, but didn’t say anything else.
“You doubting me?” Katsuki narrowed his eyes. Kirishima just gave him a look, the same one he gave Kaminari whenever he questioned something that should’ve been common knowledge after a long night of playing video games. Katsuki scowled, then glanced down at Aizawa, who was clawing at his sheets. He peeled him off the bottom of his bed, holding him up and staring him down. “It’s gotta be Aizawa.”
Kirishima blew out a long breath. “Yeah, I guess it’d be a weird coincidence.”
“Exactly.” Katsuki affirmed, putting Aizawa down again. “It should wear off soon anyway, a day or two maybe.”
—
The next day, Katsuki figured he’d stay out of his room for most of the day. He kept thinking back to Kirishima’s questions, mulling over the possibilities in his head. On the off chance the next few days resulted in an awkward situation, he decided he’d rather stay in the common room–or Kirishima’s room–and let Aizawa deal with it.
Kirishima sat down next to him, slapping his work down on the small table before leaning against the bed. His knee brushed against Katsuki’s, and he glanced at him out of the corner of his eye just in time to catch a small smile.
“You’re gonna hang out with me for the next while?” He asked, lips pulling up into a smirk. Katsuki grunted.
“That’s wrong.” He said, pointing to a question on Kirishima’s paper.
“Oh, really?” Kirishima turned his attention back to his work, pencil scribbling away at the page. Katsuki scrolled on his phone, having finished his work the day it was assigned.
Their silence was broken by a loud thump from nextdoor, and Katsuki looked up to the wall that separated Kirishima’s and his room.
“Do you think that was–?” Kirishima nudged his shoulder, slowly turning to face him.
Katsuki shrugged. “I’ll check.”
Shouji was peeking out from his dorm when Katsuki walked out, watching him curiously. Katsuki just shook his head, waiting until he disappeared into his room again before he turned to his own door, opening it just a crack to peek inside.
“Aizawa?” He whispered when he didn’t see anything. When there was no answer, not even the meow he’d gotten used to being greeted by, he opened the door a little bit more. A blur shot past him, the small mass slamming into his legs and stalling long enough for Katsuki to realize it was Aizawa before he took off again. “Fuck!”
Aizawa took off down the stairs, Katsuki shortly behind him. He could hear Kirishima stumbling out of his room behind him, asking a question that was lost when Katsuki and Aizawa turned onto the next floor. And then the next, all the way down until they were tearing across the common room, Aizawa sprinting toward the door. Katsuki didn’t stop, panic coursing through him as he moved without thought.
“Is that a cat?” Kaminari asked him as they passed by the kitchen. Katsuki didn’t wait long enough to answer. He watched as the door opened, Ojirou coming back in from his solo training, and dread filled him as Aizawa took that opportunity to scramble past the open door and into the evening.
“What–?” Katsuki shot past Ojirou, coming to a pause just outside when he realized he couldn’t see Aizawa anywhere.
A hand landed on his shoulder, startling him. Kirishima was there, probably having followed him outside.
“What’s going on?” He huffed, out of breath.
“Ai–” Katsuki glanced at Ojirou, who was watching the both of them with a concerned expression. He lowered his voice. “He ran out.”
Kirishima looked past him, scanning the horizon line. “To be alone maybe? While it wears off?”
Katsuki nodded, slowly, then shrugged. “I don’t know, he didn’t seem too aware of himself.”
Kirishima frowned, sticking his bottom lip out unconsciously as he thought for a moment. “Good point..” He shivered suddenly, rubbing at his arms with a huff. “I’ll grab a sweater, then we can go look for him?”
Katsuki couldn’t resist, even if it wasn’t the greatest timing. “You? Cold? Mr. I’m allergic to shirts?” Kirishima attempted to flick his forehead. “Whatever. I’m gonna check the woods.”
“We have an hour until curfew.” Kirishima reminded him as he went back inside, shoo-ing everyone in with him. The door closed with a click, and Katsuki took a moment to breathe in the chilly air before taking off towards the tree line.
Once he felt he was sufficiently away from the dorms, far enough that no one would hear him, he clicked his tongue. Replicating as many noises as he could think of to call a cat to him, he weaved through the trees, scanning the roots and bushes for any sign of Aizawa. Other than the sound of leaves and sticks crunching under his foot, it was silent. Growing desperate, Katsuki stood straight up, cupping his hands over his mouth. “Aizawa!”
He went silent, staying still and straining his ears for any sound in response.
He tried again, “Aizawa!”
A faint meow met him, coming from his left. He turned and ran, footsteps thudding as he followed the sound of meows. Distracted, he didn’t notice the root sticking out of the dirt. His foot caught on the exposed wood, sending him sprawling to the ground. “Shit!”
He glanced down at his foot with a groan, sitting up and hissing when his ankle twinged in pain. “Ugh, damn.” He rested there for a short while, catching his breath and trying to listen for any other sign of Aizawa in the trees. He threw his head back with a frustrated shout when he was met with silence. A chill set into his bones, making goosebumps form along his skin the longer he sat on the cold soil.
“Damnit, stupid–”
“Bakugou.”
He jumped, a yelp escaping him as he whirled around to face the deep voice. Aizawa stood between two trees, staring down at him with a disapproving stare, though his eyebrows were knitted together in concern.
“Aizawa? What–”
Aizawa sighed. “What are you doing out so late? It’s almost curfew.”
Katsuki shoved himself to his feet, brushing dirt off his pants. “I knew that!” He scowled, crossing his arms. Aizawa stared at him, his usual tired expression on his face. Katsuki opened his mouth to explain, when a meow caught his attention.
“Huh?” Aizawa–the cat–strolled out from behind another tree, trotting over to Aizawa–his teacher–with a happy meow. Katsuki stared, jaw dropped as Aizawa leaned down to let the cat sniff his hand, before scratching behind his–its–her?–ear. “What?”
Aizawa breathed out a sight, scooping the cat up into his arms, who seemed fine enough with the situation and quickly snuggled up to him. “Her name is Mocha.”
Katsuki gave him a blank stare, just in time for Kirishima to come crashing out of the woods next to him.
“Bakugou! Did you find—oh! Aizawa!” He noticed the cat in his arms then. “And… Aizawa? Oh.”
Katsuki glowered at Kirishima as he began to laugh, throwing his head back and clutching his stomach with the force of it. Aizawa glanced between Katsuki, who was still staring blank faced at Aizawa holding the cat he’d been taking care of for the past week, and Kirishima laughing so hard he was struggling to breath.
“Explain.” He demanded, voice flat and unimpressed. Kirishima inhaled and tried to calm down, opening his mouth to talk despite Katsuki hissing at him to ‘shut up.’
“Bakugou, h-he—“ Kirishima lost it again, collapsing into a fit of giggles again. Aizawa turned tired tired eyes—well, eye—to Katsuki. He sighed and mentally prepared himself for the inevitable humiliation.
“I thought—Present Mic said you were on a mission.” He closed his mouth, then opened it, then closed it again, stumbling over his words. Aizawa seemed to take pity on him, and nodded slowly to stop him.
“Yes, I.. I took a week off to look for Mocha.” He grit out. He was clearly weighing the pros and cons of telling them what he’d been doing, deciding whatever was making Kirishima giggle against Katsuki’s side was worth it.
“Oh.” Is all Katsuki said, and Kirishima chose that moment to finally recollect himself.
“He thought you were the cat!” Kirishima shouted, throwing his arm around Katsuki.
“What.”
“Bakugou thought you’d been hit by a quirk!”
Aizawa turned to look at Katsuki again, and he swore he could see grey hairs forming as he scrutinized him, eyes squinting. “Bakugou,” He finally said, “Why.”
He shrugged weakly. Aizawa wormed one hand free to knead at his head, rubbing the skin between his eyebrows with a grimace.
“Okay. We’re having a review class on quirk accidents and information gathering tomorrow.” He sighed and hefted Mocha higher in his grip, adjusting both hands before nodding at them both. “Go back to the dorms.”
Kirishima snickered again once they were out of earshot. “I told you, man.”
Katsuki landed a hit to his crotch and left him doubled over next to a tree.