Archive of Our Own ^beta

It's a Tuesday morning when Katsuki opens his door to the most ridiculous sight ever.

A man that he's never seen before is panting on his doorstep, drenched in some kind of brown liquid that smells a lot like coffee, and is grinning up at Katsuki like they've known each other for years. He had just finished his morning jog when he heard pounding on his door so loud he thought the building must be on fire.

"What." 

"Hey! I'm your new neighbor!" The man chirps, sticking out his hand for a handshake. It looks sticky. Katsuki doesn't take it, and just raises an eyebrow. "I'm Izuku!"

"Uh-what?" He doesn't even have it in himself to keep up his usual gruff tone.

"I moved in across the hall?" The man, Izuku, sounds confused too at this point, gesturing to his open door. Katsuki can spot a plethora of brown boxes half open and skewed about the apartment. 

"Okay?"

"Okay then!" He says shifting from foot to foot. "I'll um, I'll just head home now, nice meeting you!"

He steps back, clearly dejected and turning to leave when Katsuki reaches forward to grab his wrist. Then he immediately regrets it cause now his hand is sticky and gross and he's praying the liquid actually is coffee. "Why did you come?"

Izuku raises an eyebrow. "Uh, to introduce myself?"

"That's it?"

"Well, I was going to bring you coffee to try and make a good first impression, you know, be a good neighbor. But then I kinda spilt it." He laughs.

What the fuck? The man's shirt was clearly white before the liquid stained it, and here he is at 8am cackling maniacally on Katsuki's doorstep instead of changing. He's definitely got some screws loose, maybe he's unstable and Katsuki should super polite in case he decides to go rogue and start killing. Well, he's pretty strong so he could probably take this guy. The wet shirt clings to his frame showing he is pretty muscular, but he's got nothing on Katsuki's wide stature. 

"You came anyway?"

Izuku smiles even wider. "Of course! I still wanted to meet my new neighbor!"

"While drenched in coffee?" He knows he isn't schooling his expression very well, but he's been told he never really does that anyway so whatever. "You live right across the hall, why didn't you just change and then come introduce yourself."

Izuku glances between his own place and Katsuki's, eyes widening. "Oh."

"You didn't think of that?" He raised an eyebrow.

"No."

"Katsuki Bakugou," He rolls his eyes, a smirk pulling at his lips. "You seem like a disaster."

"Hey! I wouldn't have been able to change anyway cause I haven't unpacked my next set of boxes and I'm out of clothes from my backpack so!" He exclaims, sticking his freckled nose in the air triumphantly.

"You realize you're just proving my point."

"Oh." Izuku frowns, smacking his shoulder. "Shut up."

"Wait, you moved in like a week ago. Why haven't you unpacked your clothes yet?"

Izuku smiles sheepishly, playing with his fingers. "Well, I was gonna wait to unpack them after I built my dresser drawers. You know, so I could put the clothes in the dresser drawer. And I was gonna build the drawer after I built my desk. But then I started building the desk and it was kinda way harder than I expected and I kinda got really stuck and cried on the floor for two hours while trying to read the manual which I swear is made for some genius engineers or something it's ridiculous so then I didn't end up finishing the desk that night and I've been really busy since and haven't had time to try again so then I never got to the dresser so I couldn't unpack my clothes."

"Jesus."

"Yeah."

"You really are a disaster."

His jaw drops open, offended. "I'm not! The manual was really confusing, I swear! Anyone would've had the same problem."

Katsuki raises an eyebrow. "Let me see it."

"Wh-you want to build my desk?" He looks baffled at the idea. Katsuki kinda wants to bite his cheeks. His ears burn at the thought. He might be losing it. 

"Well you're covered in coffee, and if I let you go back on your own then you won't be able to change since you don't have a dresser for your clothes. You said you're not building the dresser until you finish the desk, and we both know there's no way in hell you're finishing that desk on your own." Katsuki looks him up and down teasingly.

"I could build it on my own!" He puffs out his chest indignantly. "I just haven't had time to try again after that first day, I could've figured it out!"

"So if I let you go back now, you won't knock on my door in a few hours asking for help?" He tips his head, eyebrow raised.

"Well..."

"I'm offering free labor, just take it dumbass." Katsuki pushes past him, shutting his door and walking to the other's apartment. 

Izuku scrambles after him. "Ignore the mess, it's just been really hectic I swear I'm not usually this messy."

"Sure you aren't."

"I'm not!"

The apartment is pretty bare, despite the clutter of boxes everywhere. The kitchen counters have a coffeemaker and a pack of energy drinks. The unfinished furniture is sitting in the middle of the room with the manual skewed out next to it and a wrench. Katsuki sits on the floor and starts flipping through the manual, ignoring how his ears warm when Izuku stands right behind him.

"Freckles?"

"Yes?" He perks up.

"What the actual fuck were you using a wrench for?"

Izuku's jaw drops. "What do you mean? I was following the manual."

"That's a fucking hammer, are you blind?" Maybe Izuku was dropped on his head as a child. Wait if that happened would he have a weird dent in his head? Maybe Katsuki should inspect his skull to make sure. That would probably be kinda weird though, asking to inspect his head. His curls look really soft though so he wouldn't mind ruffling through them. His fingers twitch slightly. He's starting to crave the coffee he would normally be drinking by now.

"I've never built something before it's not my fault!"

Katsuki stands up and ruffles green curls before he can talk himself out of it. "I am gonna go to my place and grab a hammer so I can build this shit for you. Is there any possible chance you've gone to the grocery store and bought milk recently?"

"Fuck you, I grocery shop!" Izuku juts out his lip, pouting. "I do have milk, thank you very much."

Katsuki raises an eyebrow and heads over to the fridge, Izuku grabbing at his arm to slow him down. He yanks open the door to see that he does in fact have milk. That is also the only thing that he has. His entire fucking fridge is empty other than milk. Katsuki can feel his blood pressure rising. How the fuck has this guy survived up to this point? Has he never lived alone in his entire life? What the fuck does he eat?

"You have milk." 

"I do!" Izuku crosses his arms. 

Katsuki just sighs, and heads to his place to grab the hammer and a coffee pod. 

By now he should've already been done brewing his coffee and making his breakfast. He should be sitting at his kitchen table, flipping through a self help book and waiting until it's time for him to get dressed to work from home.

His entire schedule is fucked just because this dumbass can't put furniture together.

Although, technically, Katsuki is the one who offered to help build it. Izuku didn't even ask for help at all really. But Izuku seems like a walking disaster, and it's probably considered some kind of cruelty to not help him build his furniture. It's not like he offered to be his live in maid or some shit. Building furniture is a one time thing, and then Katsuki can go back to living his regular life and never speaking to any of his neighbors except for yelling at them for being too loud in the middle of the night. He's doing charity. He can practically hear Mina saying, "Aww, you really do have a heart, Blasty." He kind of wants to strangle imaginary her.

He steps back into the messy apartment to see Izuku sitting on the floor and studying the manual intently, table parts strewn around him. He chews his lip and taps his fingers across the floor, and he looks like he doesn't even realize he's doing it. He squints at the paper as if he can't see properly. Katsuki wouldn't be surprised if the idiot needed glasses but decided to raw dog life instead. He seems the type.

Shit, Izuku would look good with glasses.

He would also look like a fucking nerd, and Katsuki could make fun of him. See his cheeks turn pink and shit.

He files that idea away for later and taps Izuku's shoulder just to see the way he shrieks in surprise. 

"You scared me!" He clutches his chest dramatically. Katsuki resists the urge to grab his hands and yank them away.

"Not my fault you weren't paying attention."

"Well forgive me for trying to understand the manual."

Katsuki raises an eyebrow. "And did you?"

"...I can make you more coffee?"

"Watch and learn, Freckles."

He grins as Izuku's cheeks flush a bright red.

Izuku is freaking the fuck out.

Like seriously.

He had wanted to get to know his neighbors cause his mom was always telling him to do it in case he locked himself out like he always would do back home and in college. So he went to this local coffee shop that always has the cutest pastries in it's display and ordered some fancy coffee that the person at the counter recommended. Izuku doesn't even drink coffee. Well he does, if he really needs energy. But Ochaco always says it doesn't count as drinking coffee if you take straight shots of espresso and that it's psychopath behavior. Whatever.

Anyway he finally got this coffee and headed back to the apartment but some guy with a shit ton of luggage was waiting for the elevator and Izuku didn't want to have to wait for two whole trips- the coffee would get cold. So he decided to climb the 8 flights of stairs himself so he could deliver this shit. He's pretty dedicated, okay. But he's also really fucking clumsy and tripped halfway up the stairs and spilled the entire thing on himself. Of course he did.

He then sat on the stairs and laughed maniacally for a second, contemplating his life. Then he decided some stupid spilt coffee was not going to ruin his day, marched up the rest of the stairs and right up to his neighbors door, pounding on it with determination.

And once again, Izuku is the unluckiest person in the world.

Cause the man who opened the door stares at him with piercing red eyes, a chiseled jaw and the most unimpressed face he's ever seen. I mean, the guy's was in a fucking wifebeater, for god's sake, and he wass sweaty. Someone in the universe must hate him. Seriously. He could see every single muscle in that guys arm, and trust, there were a lot. He would know. He's replayed that image every time he's closed his eyes since.

And then his voice. Holy shit. By the time Katsuki was in Izuku's apartment, he was absolutely gone. Every last piece of his sanity, taken by the guy sitting on his floor with a toolbox and coffee in Izuku's favorite mug that he had to fish out from one of his boxes. He's definitely ruined his next few bowls of instant ramen by using the coffeemaker for it's actual purpose, but he can't even be too mad about the coffee flavored ramen. I mean, he's got all his shit built by the absolutely beautiful man next door while he stood there still drenched in coffee.

His life is an actual fucking joke.

And even worse, he hasn't talked to the guy since.

He lives across the hall, and Izuku hasn't run into him even once. It's life ruining.

"What do I do, Sho?" Izuku moans, flopping onto his couch after recounting his recent turmoil.

"Why don't you just knock on his door?" Shoto says.

"Don't be ridiculous! I can't do that!"

"He lives across the hall?" He tips his head in genuine confusion.

"Like physically I can," Izuku sighs. "It would just be really fucking weird to just knock on his door with no actual reason."

"Weird like barging into a strangers apartment to build their furniture?"

He squints at the raised eyebrow. He hates when Shoto has a point. It honestly shouldn't happen as much as it does considering he generally has no idea what's going on, but somehow Shoto always manages to clock him. It's infuriating.

"He hates me." He muffles into a pillow.

"Maybe. Can we play Mario Kart now?" Shoto sits carefully beside him.

Izuku sits up with a huff. "If you can figure out how to fix the fucking TV, then sure."

He cocks his head. "What happened to the TV?"

"Nothing, probably? Like I don't think it's actually broken perse, more I just don't have a fucking clue how to set it up and ended up just pressing a bunch of random stuff that did not lead to a working TV."

"I see." Shoto nods simply.

Izuku sticks a finger in his face. "Don't you mock me! TV's are hard, okay."

"I didn't say anything mocking?"

"Do you know how to fix it or not?"

"No?"

Izuku flopped back into the pillow.

"Ah, I have an idea on how to fix it." He feels Shoto stand from the couch, but doesn't move to follow. Until he hears his front door being opened.

"What are you doing?" He jolts up, hurrying over but Shoto is already outside. Fuck.

"...fix his TV?" Shoto says. To his beautiful blond buff neighbor who probably thinks Izuku is a fucking idiot and can't put anything together. Who is now turning to look at him because Shoto is pointing. His entire face burns. 

Katsuki folds his arms over his muscled chest and leans on his doorway, smirking. "You can't set up your TV, nerd?"

"Wh-" Izuku squeaks. "I totally can, he just has no faith in me." He glares at Shoto to try and keep his eyes away from all the places he shouldn't be looking. 

"You said you were just pressing random stuff to try and get it to work?" Shoto tips his head in confusion. Izuku might actually kill him. He could dig him a nice pretty grave in the buildings' courtyard, and then dig himself one next to it.

"Who was it?" Another head pops out beside Katsuki's. He feels his face get even redder. 

"We are so sorry, we had no idea you had company!" Izuku yelps.

"How would we have known?" Shoto asks. Izuku kicks his shin.

"You're the guy who spilt the coffee, right!" The redheaded man exclaims. "Who Katsuki built all the furniture for?"

Izuku sighs. "Yeah, that's me." 

Another voice yells from inside. "What is going on there? I need you and Kiri to come back, Kaminari keeps fucking red shelling me!"

Katsuki rubs his forehead with his hand, as if this entire interaction is exasperating. "Shut the fuck up, Tape Arms. I don't give a fuck what Dunce Face is doing to you, I'm dealing with shit right now."

"The coffee neighbor is here!" The redhead (Kiri??) yells giddily.

Another head pops up in the doorway almost immediately, as if the words were a summoning. He stares at Izuku for a good few seconds before his eyes wander to Shoto, and his jaw slackens a little. Which is fair, Shoto tends to have that affect on people. 

"Are you guys playing Mario Kart?" Shoto asks.

"Y-yes?" The brunet replies, chewing his lip.

"Can we join?" Izuku kicks his shin again, harder. "Ow."

"Eijirou Kirishima has to agree too since he brought the Wii." Katsuki nods at the red head to introduce him before raising an eyebrow at Shoto. "You really want to play Mario Kart with these idiots?

"Well we can't play in Izuku's since his TV isn't working. I'm unsure of the intelligence of your friends, but considering you fixed all of Izuku's furniture on your own, I assume you know what you are talking about. But even if your friends aren't that intelligent, I don't mind. Based on this one, their looks make up for it." He gestures at the brunet while he speaks, who's jaw drops even further.

"Did he just call you hot and stupid, Sero?" Kirishima laughs. "Also, I'm cool with it if you are, Bakubro."

Sero just responds with a noise that kind of sounds like a dying goose. Or a cat being electrocuted. Maybe a mix of both.

Shoto tends to have that affect on people. Izuku has watched him accidentally flirt with people all the time, and they usually look like they're having a minor stroke. Which like, fair. He's not into Shoto, but like, he has eyes. The man is gorgeous. And completely oblivious. It makes things really messy, and extremely entertaining for Izuku. He usually goes around thinking that loosely giving out compliments is just positive interaction and nothing more. It's even funnier when he actually is interested in the person and has no idea what to do about it. 

Katsuki closes his eyes and tilts his head up towards the ceiling for a minute. Then he groans, "Fine, fucking come in. Don't blame me if you leave here with a screw loose."

Izuku beams at him.

Katsuki might be dying.

After his first encounter with his disaster neighbor, he vowed to avoid the man for the rest of his life. Or at least for the rest of the time they're neighbors. He cannot have his life derailed in the way that Izuku seems to do to him. Like fuck, within the first 10 minutes of meeting him he scrapped his entire morning routine to build a bunch of fucking furniture. He ended up going to work without drinking coffee or eating actual food, and he contemplated murder by lunchtime. 

Katsuki never lets his routines fall through. Even if he goes out with his friends on a Friday night and blacks out, he will still wake up at 6am and go to workout. So the fact that this complete fucking stranger can just smile at him all pretty and get him to drop everything is absolutely fucking ridiculous. He will not stand for it. So he does what any mature adult would do, and avoids him. Every time he goes to step into the hall, he glances through the peephole in his door to ensure there's no green hair in sight. And it works!

Until Izuku Midoriya decides to show up on his doorstep.

Well technically his weird half-and-half friend knocked on his door, but Izuku was with him and smiled that stupid little smile and he never lets anyone join their game nights, including Mina when she begs, but he somehow he ended up folding like a fucking tent. 

And then the idiot had to go and get along with all of his friends ridiculously well and giggle in a way that haunts Katsuki's dreams. Fucking great. 

He's somehow managed to fuck with the routines in Katsuki's head.

He fucking hates it. He hates having his scheduled messed up, hates that Izuku comes and knocks on his door randomly at all hours of the day and he's immediately up and opening it. He hates that sometimes he has to cook dinner for two instead of one and now he has to add new recipes that differ from his usual rotation. He especially hates how he's started knocking on Izuku's door too, laughing at the grain of rice stuck on Izuku's lip as they sit at the table he helped build.

His life is falling apart.

He needs to start putting it back together.

He grabs a pencil and paper and writes down, 'Things to do to get my SHIT TOGETHER', at the top. He underlines it three times for emphasis. He goes to start the first bullet point, but then he hears a knock at his door. 

He finds himself opening it without even thinking.

"Kacchan!"

That's also a new development.

Turns out Freckles can be a little shit when he wants to be.

He also doesn't take kindly to being called useless, even when he can't figure out how to assemble a chair. Seriously, it's a fucking chair. How do you possibly get confused?

So now he continues to call Izuku, 'Deku', as a way to counter being called fucking 'Kacchan' which he hasn't been called since he was fucking four years old and leading an army of brats across the playground. Even worse, his heart fucking clenches when he hears it, like a damn middle schooler with a crush.

"What..." He raises an eyebrow suspiciously at the grin on Izuku's face.

"How would you like to be a dad?"

"What?" He yells, eyes bulging out of his head. Deku must have finally lost it. Gone off the rails. He's clumsy as shit, he probably fell and hit his head so hard he thinks he's a housewife in the 1960s and Katsuki is his long-term loving husband waiting to have their eleventh kid. What the fuck. "What the fuck are you on, Freckles? Don't tell me you're pregnant, cause it's not mine. Not sure if you noticed, but we're both guys."

"Huh?" Izuku gapes back at him. "Either way we haven't-" He cuts himself off, face flushing a deep red. His cheeks look like strawberries. Katsuki wants to bite them. "I meant like, a cat dad, for the cat I adopted."

"You adopted a cat?" 

"Yep!" Izuku grabs his wrist and tugs him towards his apartment, making Katsuki stumble and almost face plant in the hallway. He swears under his breath, but follows Izuku inside. "Here she is!"

A fat gray cat lays on his couch, licking its paw intently. He resists the urge to reach out to her. 

Katsuki has always really liked cats. People always expect him to be a dog person, which like yeah he likes dogs too, he likes that they can play and match him in energy. But cats understand him in a different way. As much as he loves being loud and explosive, he also likes sleeping early and reading comics, and cats are chill as fuck with that kind of thing.

"Did you name her?"

"Yep! Her name is Burrito!"

Katsuki stares at him. "You named your cat Burrito?"

"Yeah?"

He rubs the bridge of his nose in exasperation.

"So what do you say?"

Katsuki blinks at him in confusion.

"About becoming a coparent with me? I don't want Burrito to grow up in a broken home!" Izuku fakes wiping a tear for dramatics. Katsuki wants to strangle him. Or maybe just squish him. 

"Fine, whatever."

"Yay!" Izuku throws his arms around Katsuki, who stands as still as humanly possible. "We are gonna be the best parents ever! We're gonna spoil her so much, we gotta get her a cat tree, and treats, oh and probably one of those laser pointers-"

"Oi!" Katsuki yelps, pulling Izuku back by his shoulders. He seriously can't think straight when the man is that close to him. And his face feels warm as shit. It's fucking weird. "I did not agree to all of that, what the hell?"

"Are you really gonna deprive Burrito?" Izuku pouts at him.

Fuck. 

Katsuki is a weak, weak, man.

The next day Izuku was woken up at 8am by the mailman, asking him to sign off on a massive parcel, and about a hundred small ones. 

His wallet fucking hurt, but Izuku looked so damn giddy while showing him Burrito settled in the massive cat tree surrounded by toys, that he couldn't even find it in himself to regret the purchases.

His 'Things to do to get my SHIT TOGETHER' list remains untouched.

Katsuki wakes up to slamming on his door.

He groans and leans over to glance at the clock, which reads 1am back at him. Whoever woke him up is going to fucking die.

He hauls himself out of bed, throws on a shirt, and heads over to the door, swinging it open violently. Just to be met with the sight of Izuku, with his lips wobbling and face streaked with tears. "What the hell happened, Freckles?"

"Kacchan," He sobs, throwing himself into Katsuki's chest. He panics for a second, arms staying rigid at his side. But as Izuku continues crying into his shirt, he tentatively wraps his arms around freckled shoulders. He slowly rubs circles into his back with one hand, resting the other on the nape of his neck the way he saw his father do once. Izuku's sobs quiet, turning into soft hiccups as he pulls back. "I'm sorry for waking you up."

Katsuki rolls his eyes, leading him inside by the small of his back. "I don't give a fuck about that, nerd." He leads Izuku into his kitchen, where he grabs him by his waist and hoists him onto the countertop to sit as he begins to brew tea. After putting the water on, he turns back to Izuku, resting his arms on either side of him. "Are you going to tell me what happened?"

"Well I was at this gay bar with my friend Ochaco cause she was hoping to find a cute girl to pick up." He kicks his legs slightly as he speaks, hitting Katsuki.

"And?"

"So she did find a girl to talk to. And obviously I don't want to make it awkward for her, so I step away to try and talk to some other people. So I go up to the bar to drink and start talking to this other group of guys, and obviously I'm not like hitting on them- not that there would be something wrong with that I'm just not into them like that I already have- so anyway, I'm just talking to them and I guess one of them thinks I am flirting with him and he acts like super disgusted? And then the entire group starts acting like I'm some predator, and they say that they're straight and that I'm disgusting for trying to hit on them and stuff. Which I wasn't! But they like caused a scene and it was just so humiliating."

Katsuki thumbs away the few tears that roll down his cheeks. "Tell me who they are so I can go murder those bastards."

Izuku laughs wetly. "It's so dumb, I mean I know I wasn't doing anything wrong so I shouldn't care."

"Nah, you're valid." Katsuki ruffles his hair gently. "They're a bunch of homophobic assholes in a gay bar, you're not the one in the wrong for being upset, Deku."

"I guess so." He sniffles. "You didn't have to make me tea."

"It'll make you feel better." His dad always made him tea when he was having a bad day. He didn't even like tea all that much, but the warmth would hit his chest just right so he'd drink it anyway. Now he makes himself tea when he's upset.

"Thank you." Izuku smiles softly, grabbing the steaming mug with both hands. "I'll get out of your hair, I really am sorry for waking you up like that."

Katsuki raises an eyebrow. "You can leave if you want. But I have all the All Might movies recorded."

Izuku's face lights up at that. "Are you sure? You don't have to."

"Do I ever do things I don't want to, nerd?" 

A blinding grin is sent his way as Izuku places his teacup on the coffee table and flops over onto the couch, yanking the pile of blankets on top of him. "Can we watch the first one? That one's the best one. Well, the third one is really good too. Maybe I just like the first one cause of nostalgia? But it's so well made-"

"Oi! Are my coasters a joke to you?" He gestures to the teacup Izuku placed directly next to the coasters he has laid out.

"My bad, Kacchan." Izuku rolls his eyes, moving the cup. "Didn't know you were so passionate about coasters."

"I'm not! But why would you see a coaster, and then put your cup right next to it? That's just fucking stupidity!"

"Whatever, coaster man."

"Coaster-" Katsuki takes a deep breath, narrowing his eyes at his instigator. Who is giggling. Who is absolutely fucking adorable and curled up on his couch snuggled into his blankets. "You're a fucking dumbass. I'll play the first one." 

He puts the movie on and sits beside Izuku, acutely aware of the few inches between their thighs. He's seen this movie a million times as a kid, but what he hasn't seen are all of Izuku's reactions and live commentary. His eyes light up every time he remembers a stupid new fact that he can tell Katsuki. He wants to squeeze the life out of him.

He isn't even really watching the movie at this point, mainly watching Izuku. How could he not?

Of course he mixes it with a healthy amount of staring at the screen and zoning out thinking about Izuku, so he doesn't look like a complete creep just watching the man next to him. He's not crazy.

He feels a warm body press against his side. He thinks he might have a heart murmur. He glances over quickly to see Izuku's eyes drooping, as he slowly leans into Katsuki. He looks like he's seconds away from falling asleep completely. The mix of alcohol, hot tea and high emotions must've been enough to knock him out. He sits as still as possible, not even breathing really, and keeps his eyes trained intently at the TV screen. Izuku's hand is warm, where it rests on his forearm.

Just as he starts figuring out how to breathe properly again, grabs his arm and wraps it around himself, snuggling into Katsuki's chest fully.

He might actually be having a heart attack this time. He glances down to see Izuku's eyes fully shut, cozied up on him. He lets the TV keep playing for another 10 minutes, but Izuku shows no sign of stirring, so he finally reaches over gingerly with his free arm, grabs the remote and turns it off. He wishes he was in his own bed, and Izuku in his own. Then he wouldn't have to worry about lines getting blurred, about crossing into new territory he might not be able to get out of. But the thought of waking Izuku makes his stomach turn.

He looks so peaceful when he sleeps. Despite his death grip on Katsuki, his face holds no tension. His eyelashes look soft.

Katsuki leans over and gently presses his lips against the top of his head.

Then he leans his head on top of Izuku's, and falls asleep.

"Hey, are you home right now?" Izuku holds his cell phone to his ear with his shoulder, both hands pressing down on the tissue covering his knee. 

"Uh, yeah? Why?" Katsuki replies. 

"Okay! I'll be right over!"

"What? Why the fuck did you call you usually-" He hangs up before Katsuki can finish the rest of his sentence. 

He slowly peels the tissues back, which are completely soaked with blood. He grimaces, gingerly touching the massive gash on his knee. He immediately regrets it, it fucking hurts. There are still some pebbles imbedded in there but trying to get them out hurt too much. He grabs another handful of tissues out of the box and presses it to his knee again, before awkwardly standing up. He's weirdly leaning down to keep pressure on the wound while wobbling towards his door.

He didn't realize until now, but when he moved in, he completely forgot to get any sort of first aid. And considering his history with injury, that's a pretty stupid mistake.

But Katsuki has everything in his house. Seriously, the man is prepared for everything. He has a fucking fire extinguisher and even working smoke alarms. Who the actual fuck has working smoke alarms? What's even more ridiculous is he has one of the ones that detect carbon monoxide. Why the fuck would he ever need that, Izuku cannot fathom. He probably has ten different medicine cabinets for every type of sickness and injury possible.

Katsuki is worried about everything. Izuku makes fun of him for it constantly, in which he always says 'It's not worrying, dumbass, it's called being prepared', and then Izuku makes fun of him even more.

Right now, he's very, very, relieved his neighbor is a worrywart.

He hobbles up to the door, using his other hand to press down on his knee as well since the pressure of one hand doesn't seem to be enough. The door is fucking closed though. He leans forward and smacks his head against the door, hard.

He hopes it doesn't bruise. He also hopes it was loud enough for Katsuki to hear, because fuck he does not want to do it again.

Luckily, the door swings open. "What the fuck?"

"Hey!" Izuku grins up at the man, still hunched over his knee.

"What the actual fuck is happening here?" Katsuki raises an eyebrow. "Why did you slam on my door like someone was dying?"

Oh. Maybe he did that a little too hard. Oops. No wonder his head is throbbing. "Oh. My bad. My hands were busy."

"Hah?"

"My hands were busy, so I used my head to knock." Katsuki's staring at him like he's grown a second head. Which is odd. He's not sure where the confusion is, he thinks his explanation was pretty clear.

"Your hands were busy so you used your head to knock." He repeats back in disbelief.

"Yep!" 

Katsuki rubs his forehead in exasperation, which like, rude. Izuku's the one with a bruised forehead, not him. "Why are you hunched over your knee like a deformed shrimp?"

"Well I went to the drugstore to grab some candy, cause the fourth All Might movie just got added back to Netflix and I wanted to watch it, so obviously I needed candy. So I walk over there, and right outside there's this kid who's skateboarding, and he like shrieks cause he's about to hit this small rock. So naturally I run over to get the rock out of the way, but then he ends up hitting me instead and I like fell over or whatever. So then I helped him up, and the drugstore didn't even have any Sour Patch Kids so I just came home and then I realized I didn't have any band aids in my house so I called you."

Katsuki stares at him blankly. "You went to the drugstore after injuring yourself, and you didn't get bandaids?"

Which like, fair. Not something he had really even considered, to be honest. He says that, and the look he gets in response makes him smile sheepishly.

"You're a fucking dumbass. Move your hand, lemme see the damage."

Izuku slowly peels the tissues back, wincing at the pain. Katsuki gapes at him. "You're fucking joking."

"What?"

"Deku, you don't need a bandaid, you probably need fucking stitches." 

"Oh..." He presses the tissue back onto it and glances at the elevator. "Should I go to the hospital then?"

Katsuki sighs. "Just fucking come in, I'll do it."

He hobbles through the door and Katsuki guides him towards the bathroom. "You know how to stitch someone up?"

Katsuki side eyes him and presses his lips together. "I was a stupid kid."

"I'm gonna need a story time." 

"Just sit on the fucking counter."

Izuku looks behind him, unsure of how to hoist himself up without letting go of the tissues. Katsuki seems to come to the same realization, and before Izuku realizes what's happening, calloused hands wrap around his waist and lift him onto the countertop. He feels the tips of his ears burn. Katsuki lifted him so easily, which like yeah, Izuku knew he was muscular, but like Izuku isn't light himself. His body is thick with muscle as well, but Katsuki lifted him like he weighted fucking nothing. Katsuki could probably throw him around. His entire face is warm now, and he's really hoping Katsuki can't tell. Or read minds.

"Okay, you're gonna have to remove the tissues so I can clean it and then stitch it up." Katsuki instructs, opening the first aid kit and lowering himself to one knee so he's eye level with Izuku's knee.

He does, and winces at the visual and pain. It's pretty fucking gross. Katsuki must have heard him, cause he's shaking Advil into his palm and handing him tap water to swallow it. He then meticulously removes each pebble with a pair of tweezers, careful to not press hard or cause additional pain, which Izuku is extremely grateful for. He follows it up with an antiseptic wipe which hurts like a bitch, but is apparently necessary so he doesn't get an infection and die or whatever. Then Katsuki pulls out the needle.

Izuku is brave about many things. Needles are not one of them.

"Are you sure you can't just bandage it?" He asks hopefully.

Katsuki looks up and furrows his eyebrows at the look on Izuku's face. "Are you scared of needles?"

"No!" He lies through his teeth. Katsuki has been so kind in helping him, he's definitely not going to throw a fit about him giving him stitches. Even if he can feel his heart in his throat and kind of wants to vomit.

"Good, that'd be dumb as fuck. I'm starting then, hold onto your knee here." 

Izuku holds his breath when Katsuki leans in to pierce his skin. He doesn't even realize his other hand has a death grip on the countertop until a warm hand pries it off and links their fingers together. It's grounding, and he squeezes it tightly, staring at where they're connected. 

"Thank you." He whispers. 

"Yeah, whatever, I'm not just gonna leave your dumbass to bleed out."

He smiles at that and looks down to see his knee. An involuntary whimper leaves his mouth, and he grips Katsuki tight enough for his knuckles to go white.

"The first time I needed stitches cause I saw the All Might movie and wanted to try flying like him."

"What?" He glances up, trying to see what he can of Katsuki's face while he talks.

"Yeah, I was a dumbass kid. Made myself a cape and everything, then tried jumping off this rock. Ended up smashing my leg into a bunch of other rocks and needing stitches. My mom was pretty pissed."

He laughs at that. "Oh my god. You can never call me dumb again."

"I was like, 5, okay." Katsuki whines.

"Did you say 'the first time'." Izuku giggles. "Like there's just a series of times you've needed stitches."

"Well..." 

"What!" He struggles to control his laughter so he can hold his knee still.

"There was this other time I when I was like 10 and all my friends would sit on top of the monkey bars. Obviously I had to one up them, so I stood up like a fucking idiot and then immediately fell and cut my chin open."

"Kacchan." He wheezes. "Holy shit."

Katsuki glances up, grinning. "Don't laugh at me! I was an adventurous child, okay!"

"Adventurous or stupid?" 

"Hey, at least I grew out of it." Katsuki pulls back, releasing their interlocked hands and patting his thigh. "Stitches are done. Let me just grab a bandaid to put on top."

Izuku blinks in surprise. He'd been so distracted that he hadn't started hyperventilating. Katsuki had read his every need and matched them perfectly, from the cleaning to the stitches. He stares at the blond unwrapping the bandaid, warmth flooding his every muscle. "Really, thank you."

Katsuki gently presses the bandaid on, and then leans forward, his lips lightly brushing the skin above it. "Of course." The words are whispered like a secret, as if they aren't bleeding through his every movement. 

Every nerve in his body is lit up. He thinks his hand might be shaking. He hopes Katsuki will hold it again if it is.

Then his stomach growls loudly, and the moment is shattered.

"Sorry, I-uh, I told you I didn't end up getting the candy so I didn't end up eating."

Katsuki raises an eyebrow and stands back up. "Candy isn't a meal?"

"It can be." He argues, kicking Katsuki's stomach lightly.

He catches his ankle. "I'm guessing your dumbass doesn't have actual food in your apartment?"

"I have ramen!"

Katsuki sighs. "I said actual food. I'm making you dinner, come on, idiot."

Izuku's hands are free but Katsuki still grabs his waist to lift him off the counter.

He doesn't mind in the slightest. 

Izuku is down bad.

Down horrendously bad.

Every single one of his friends know about his super hot and sexy neighbor, solely because he can't bring himself to shut up and stop gushing.

He already thought Katsuki was hot, obviously. And funny, and really kind for helping build all his furniture. But then he took care of snotty, slightly drunk Izuku at 1am. Could the man be any more perfect?

He stirs his instant ramen which he's cooking on a stove now, since Katsuki yelled at him and then gave him a bunch of pots and pans. He still uses the coffee maker when he's feeling exceptionally lazy, and just doesn't tell Katsuki.

His doorbell rings.

He opens the door, and feels his jaw drop involuntarily.

He might pass out.

Standing in his doorway, is Katsuki. In a suit.

His incredible gorgeous beautiful sexy neighbor is in an even sexier suit and he might actually die. His sleeves are rolled up to show his muscled forearms, ones Izuku knows feel even better than they look after snuggling up with them. His collar is pulled down and slightly disheveled in a way that's so distinctly Katsuki. He knows he's gaping like a fish and staring, and a few seconds later he realizes the faint wheezing sound is coming out of him. 

"You good?" Katsuki smirks.

"Yep!" His face feels extremely hot. He knows he's probably very, very red.

"Yeah, okay." He sounds smug, like he's enjoying killing Izuku.

"Why are you even here?" Izuku whines.

"I came to get my umbrella."

Izuku blinks at him in confusion. "You wore a suit to come and pick up your umbrella?"

"No, dumbass, I'm wearing a suit for a work event and I need my umbrella."

"Oh. Okay. One sec!" He hurries into his bedroom to retrieve the umbrella. He knows bedroom looks like a disaster to most people, considering how often Shoto and Ochaco complain about it. But he knows where every single item is kept, and he knows Katsuki's umbrella is sitting on the floor right next to his pile of notebooks. Burrito watches him from her spot on his bed, but doesn't move in the slightest. He pats her head and grabs the umbrella, heading back to the kitchen where Katsuki is pouring his ramen into a bowl. "What are you doing?"

Katsuki fixes him with a death glare. "Why would you have the stove and leave?"

"Oh. I kinda forgot." Izuku rubs his neck sheepishly. "Wait, I've seen you do other things while cooking!"

"Yeah, that's cause I have more than three braincells." Katsuki rolls his eyes. "You barely even know how to use a stove."

"That was one time, and I swear it wasn't me, the stove wasn't turning on!"

Katsuki gives him a deadpan look. "You weren't pressing down while turning the knob."

"Sounds like a design problem." He sticks his nose in the air.

"You're just a dumbass." Katsuki crosses the room in two strides and grabs the umbrella out of his hands. "Now I gotta go to this networking event." He looks pained as he says it.

"Not excited?"

"It's a bunch of pretentious assholes pretending to like other pretentious assholes while secretly all hating each other, drinking, judging each other for drinking, and waiting for anyone to slip up and reveal too much information. So no, not excited."

Izuku twists his fingers in his hands, staring at the ground as he speaks,"Well, you could always come here after."

"Yeah?" Katsuki tips his chin up, and red eyes bear into him. "You want me here?"

He wants to make a joke, but he can't help the raw honesty that slips out.

"I always want you here."

His heart clenches at Katsuki's grin, and he swears he sees a slight pink tinge to his cheeks.

"Whatever." He ruffles Izuku's hair before heading toward the door. "I'll see you later, Deku."

He just smiles at the door, dazed. Then he calls Shoto.

Fifteen minutes and a bowl of ramen later, Shoto is on his bed and petting his cat. 

"You don't understand Shoto, he looked so fucking hot I couldn't breathe."

Shoto scrunches his nose. "Are you sure you aren't allergic to something in the fabric of his suit? That could cause your throat to swell, obstructing breathing. If that is the case, you should probably stop him from coming here later."

"What? No." Izuku groans. "What should I do?"

"Huh?"

"About him!" He flops down on the bed, making Burrito jolt.

"I don't understand what the problem is." 

Izuku sits up, taking both of Shoto's hands in his. "We're friends. Like really good friends. And I don't want to ruin it. But sometimes I think he might be interested too, but I could also be reading too much into things."

"Why don't you just ask?"

Izuku opens his mouth to explain why, and then closes it when he realizes he has nothing. 

"Perhaps if I am here while he is here, I will be able to decipher if he is interested in you?"

Izuku squints at him. "You think you'd be able to tell?"

Shoto shrugs. "I dunno. Ochaco thinks I'm perceptive sometimes."

"And you won't embarrass me?"

"I'll try not to?" 

Izuku sighs. "Fine, but we're opening the bottles of wine I got. I cannot do this sober."

He pops open the bottle and pours them both a glass. And then another, and another, until they finished two whole bottles. Somewhere along the line Shoto had decided to start trying on Izuku's clothes, mainly his silly t-shirts. Shoto pulls the shirt that says 't-shirt' on it off, right as a loud knock startles all of them. It startles Burrito the most, sending her flying off the bed and into the bathroom. 

"Shit, she's probably terrified. It's definitely Kacchan, can you get the door while I calm her down?"

"Yeah, of course!"

Izuku hurries into the bathroom, trying to coax Burrito out with soft pspsps noises. After a minute, she lets herself be picked up and he heads out into the kitchen where Shoto is standing alone. "Where is he?"

"Uh, he left?" Shoto furrows his eyebrows. "I'm not sure if I did something wrong, I just invited him in, but he seemed angry and said he needed to go home."

Damn. The networking event must've sucked. Maybe he just wasn't in the mood to socialize anymore after a night of shitty interaction. Izuku hoped that he wouldn't count in Katsuki's social battery, but he can't blame him either.

He sends him a quick text, just a simple 'lmk when you're free next!!!', and flops back onto his bed.

"Okay, continue the fashion show."

Murder is wrong.

Katsuki has to keep reminding himself of that.

After his shitty fucking event, he went to Izuku's with a bag full of katsudon and noodles, ready to watch something stupid and stare at pretty freckles until he could get the view of his boss' ugly face out of his mind. Instead, a drunk half naked man opened Izuku's door. 

Katsuki remembers Shoto, from the first time he knocked on his door. He liked the guy, begrudgingly. Sero had really liked the guy, considering how he hasn't shut up about him since. 

Katsuki kind of wants to kill him. And then he kind of wants to kill himself, cause he has no right to feel that way. Izuku and fucking half-and-half have known each other for way longer than he's known Izuku, and he has no claim over him either way. He always got the vibe Izuku was interested, but he must've been reading him completely wrong. Izuku does seem like the friendly type, considering he knocked on some random person's door to give them coffee. 

He still liked to believe he was special. Now he knows he was wrong.

He was probably going home to fucking candy cane every night and laughing about how stupid Katsuki acted around him.

And how stupid he's still acting, cause he called Eijirou and told him what happened. Next thing he knows, there's pounding on his door. He's just been moping on the couch all day, so he groans and cracks his back when he stands up to get the door. The second it opens he's bowled over.

"Bakubabe! We heard about what happened!" Mina squeals, arms gripping his torso.

"If you don't get off me in the next two seconds, I will murder you." He glares up at her, and she's tugged off him a second later.

"Don't worry bro, we're all here to cheer you up!" Kaminari grins down at him. 

He sighs, and prays to whatever god is out there that he has enough patience for this. "How the fuck are you going to cheer me up, Dunce Face?"

"We all are, bro!" Eijirou grins, grabbing his arm and pulling him back up.

"I can't believe Shoto snaked my bro like that." Sero clicks his tongue. "I thought I was special."

"Join the fucking club." He rolls his eyes. The idiot met candy cane literally once and is acting like they had some epic love story instead of subpar flirting during games of Mario kart in Katsuki's living room. "Why the hell are you guys here, seriously?"

"To cheer you up! We are gonna get you all dolled up, babe." Mina grins deviously. That smile never bodes well for him.

"....Why?"

"We're going clubbing!" She squeals, jumping up and down.

He rubs his hand over his face. "Fuck no, Pinky, I just want to lay on my couch and die, actually."

"Bro, come on! Don't be like that!" Kaminari pouts.

"Fuck off."

"At least try to let us help?" Eijirou asks, voice rather gentle given the circumstance.

This idiot has been there for him through everything. He knows he's been an asshole in the past, but Eijirou stood by him no matter what, has been his rock since they met in high school. He can't bring himself to say no.

"Fucking fine."

The squeal he gets in return terrifies him a little.

He's definitely fucked.

A few hours and way too many shots later, Katsuki is stumbling back to his apartment. 

He mashes every button on the elevator, sitting on the ground as it stops at every floor. He makes eye contact with an older woman in one of the hallways, and just glares. He's fucking exhausted, and pissed. The club was too hot and none of the people who hit on him had chubby cheeks and freckles and a smile like sunshine. None of them giggled and looked at him like he hung all the stars in the sky. Some dumbass spilled their drink all over him, and once Mina started vomiting in a bush outside, he called an Uber for himself. 

When he finally gets to his floor, he stares at the door across the hall from him.

Fucking Izuku. The reason he went to that shitty club in the first place. If he hadn't gone and had a stupid fucking boyfriend, Katsuki could've been with him watching shitty movies all night instead of in that awful club. He's fucking pissed.

He bangs on Izuku's door violently.

The door opens, and Izuku stands there, rubbing his eyes blearily. "What's going on, Kacchan?"

Katsuki pokes him in the chest with one finger. "You suck, Deku."

He scrunches his face in confusion. "What? What did I do?"

"You ruined everything." He stares at Izuku's red and bitten lips. He hates how much he wants to kiss them. He hates that he still thinks Izuku is the prettiest thing he's ever seen. He pokes his chest again. "So you suck."

"I'm gonna need more context, Kacchan."

"You think I let anyone cuddle with me, shitty Deku?"

Izuku's face flushes at the memory. "Uh, no? Did I cross a boundary by doing that? I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable, I honestly wasn't-"

"No, you dumb fuck." He pokes his chest again, harder. "I would've woken you up."

Izuku just blinks at him. "I'm confused again."

Katsuki sighs, exasperated. "I let you cause I thought- and then fucking half-and-half, and you fucking made me think shit and you ruined all my damn routines and now I'm going fucking clubbing and it sucks."

Izuku stares at him like he's grown a second head. "Uh, Kacchan? I have no clue what you just said, I think you're too drunk."

"Fuck, forget it." He turns to leave, but a hand wraps around his wrist.

"Don't go."

"See!" Katsuki tries to snap, but it comes out much more pathetic sounding that he intends. "You fucking, you say this shit, and you don't fucking mean it. You didn't mean any of it."

"Why do you think I didn't mean it?" Izuku steps forward, pulling Katsuki's face back toward him when he tries to look away. "Talk to me, Kacchan, help me understand why you're upset with me, please. Did Shoto do something?"

Then a new thought occurs to him. What if instead of laughing about it with half-and-half, he was hiding it? His lack of brain to mouth filter kicks in. "Does candy cane know you say this shit to me?"

Izuku turns red. "Uh, I mean, I tell him some of the stuff? Not everything, of course!"

"And what, he's fine with it?" He narrows his eyes.

"Yeah? I mean he liked you when he met you?"

Katsuki's face twists in horror. "He liked me? What, are you trying to make me your third or some shit?"

"What?" Izuku yelps, jaw dropping open. "What on earth, Kacchan?"

"What?" He snaps back.

"Third? We aren't- me and Shoto aren't dating, Kacchan." He looks absolutely dumbfounded. Katsuki doesn't understand why. Prince Zuko opened the door fucking shirtless.

"You don't have to be dating for that."

"Wh- Kacchan!" Izuku turns an even deeper red. "We aren't like, fucking either. We're just friends!"

He leans in close, studying Izuku's face suspiciously. He can feel the warm breath on his face, see each individual eyelash and freckle. He doesn't look like he's lying, but Katsuki isn't known for his insane people skills. "Why the fuck did he answer the door half naked then?"

"He what?" Izuku gaped. "Oh! I remember! Fuck, oh my god. No wonder you were confused. We were drinking, and then he started trying on my clothes. He was in the middle of changing when you came, it was literally just like a fashion show type thing, nothing weird at all. Oh my god."

"Oh." He could see that. He kind of regrets his crash out. But also what the fuck was he supposed to think? He was just being logical. 

"I'm sorry for upsetting you, Kacchan." Izuku steps forward, gently cupping Katsuki's cheek. He leans into it.

"It's not your fault." He swallows tightly. "We're not- I don't have any right to get upset over what you choose to do. We're friends."

Izuku sighs, smiling up at him softly. His heart is in his throat. He can't tell if his stomach is churning from nerves or the alcohol or something else. "We aren't just friends, Kacchan. You know that."

"I do?"

"You do." Izuku rubs his cheeks. "But this isn't a conversation for now. You're drunk, you need to go to bed." He steps out into the hall and leads Katsuki to his apartment. He reaches for his keys, fumbling and dropping them to the floor. Izuku grabs them before he can even start to move.

"I can take care of myself."

"I know you can." Izuku opens the door before turning to pet his face again. "Let me anyway?"

"Okay." He breathes.

He lets himself get led to his bedroom. Izuku helps him get dressed for bed, dutifully closing his eyes throughout the process. He tucks Katsuki in carefully, sitting on the edge of the bed and smiling at him as he runs his fingers through blonde hair. He finds himself leaning into the hand without even realizing, eyes shut in peace.

"Stay?" He hears himself ask.

"I wish I could." Izuku whispers. He feels the ghost of lips press onto his cheek. "Goodnight, Kacchan."

Katsuki wakes up to his alarm and a pounding headache.

He kind of feels like someone fucked his brain with a chainsaw.

He reaches over to the nightstand to grab his phone and turn off the alarm, when he sees two Advil, a glass of water, and a muffin carefully laid out. On top sits a sticky note, which only has a heart drawn on it messily in orange crayon.

Oh shit.

Holy fucking shit.

He went to Izuku's last night and acted like a drunk jackass. Izuku isn't dating half-and-half. They're more than friends. Izuku helped him to bed. Izuku kissed his fucking cheek.

Holy shit.

While part of him wants to murder Mina for getting him too drunk and letting him make a fool out of himself in front of Izuku, he's partially thankful all the animosity is out of the way and he knows exactly where he stands. Exactly where they stand. 

Katsuki's never telling her that.

He stares at the clock.

It's time for him to go on his morning run.

Every single morning, he wakes up at 6am to go and run.

That's why he set the fucking alarm.

But for some fucking reason, he ends up in a coffee shop staring down the pastry case. Izuku doesn't drink coffee, despite the dumbass having a coffee maker. And he loves all the cute shit bakers make, the stupid little faces they add on different things so they can massively overcharge customers. He picks out a loaf of cinnamon bread that looks like a frog.

He doesn't get anything for himself.

Taking the long way back to the apartment building didn't add much time to his trip, so he ends up standing in their hallway instead. He paces back and forth, brown paper bag clutched tightly in his hand. He could knock. Izuku had made it clear that they were more than friends, that he was interested in Katsuki. I mean, he kissed his cheek and left a fucking sticky note with a heart on it. 

He could've just said it to appease an angry, drunk Katsuki.

Katsuki's a lot. He knows he's loud and abrasive, that most people find taking the effort to get to know him simply isn't worth it. He isn't worth it, to them. He's learned not to take it to heart, because he likes himself. Sure, he has his flaws like any other person, but he doesn't think he needs to make fundamental changes to who he is. He's a good person. I mean fuck, who helps some random ass guy build their furniture? He is good. If people don't like him, they can fuck off anyway. 

People tend to give up after trying for a bit. Some try harder than others, thinking that as they get closer, he'll change. He'll become less exhausting, less passionate, less himself. He doesn't change. They leave.

It took him fucking years to accept that the idiot squad weren't flight risks. 

He knows he's a lot. So he won't hold it against Izuku if he's too much to handle. If he decides that Katsuki just isn't worth the hassle.

But he's not sure he won't take it to heart.

Despite years and years of practice, he knows Izuku has slid his fingers in between the walls Katsuki put up, unraveling him completely. Turning him into a version of himself he can't recognize, into one that's free. 

Someone who buys cat toys and puts sticky notes on Izuku's fridge so he smiles when he gets his milk. Someone who stays up too late playing video games and wrestling like he's a little kid again. Someone who skips his morning run and ends up pacing around the hallway in front of their doors, like a complete freak show.

Fucking Deku.

Stupid, beautiful, Izuku.

He knocks on the door three times.

Then he hears a crashing noise inside, and Izuku yell 'coming!'.  He hates where his brain goes. Why does he have the mind of a 12 year old boy, he's a grown ass man. Dunce Face is probably rubbing off on him.

"Kacchan!" Izuku smiles, scratching his stomach and pulling the fabric up to expose the muscled body underneath. "Why are you awake so early?"

He forces his eyes to meet Izuku's. "It's not early."

"It's 7:30am?"

"Exactly."

Izuku blinks at him. "It's a Sunday."

"That's why I didn't wake you up early."

Izuku gapes at him for another second, before sighing. "Okay, whatever, moving on, why are you here?"

"Oh. I-uh," He starts, his throat unable to form the words that rapidly dissipating from his head. "I bought you this."

"Wh-Kacchan!" Izuku smacks his shoulder. "You spoil me too much!" His grin and the excited quiver in his fingers give him away. Katsuki knows Izuku is desperate to know what's inside. He can see his nose wiggle slightly, trying to smell it out.

"So you don't want it? I can take it back." He reaches for the bag which Izuku yanks to his chest.

"Nope, you gave it to me, it's mine now!" Izuku grabs his arm and pulls him into his apartment. He lets himself get dragged easily. He seems to be doing that a lot these days. Izuku opens the bag and his jaw drops immediately. "Oh my god. You didn't."

"You're acting like I just bought you a yacht." Katsuki rolls his eyes, resisting the urge to thrum his fingers against the countertop in satisfaction at Izuku's response. "It's fucking bread, Deku, not that crazy."

"It's not just bread. It's frog bread!" Izuku holds the loaf like it's Jesus himself, staring at it with something akin to reverence. Well that's what Katsuki assumes people look like when they're reverent. The only time he ever went to church he got kicked out before the mass even started, so he doesn't actually really know. "I love it, Kacchan. Thank you so much." His smile is much more shy, lips pressed together in giddiness. 

He leans forward and ruffles his fingers through Izuku's curls. They're as soft as ever.

"Did you just come here to give me the bread? Not that I'm upset about that, I absolutely love the bread, I more just mean like, is there a reason for the bread?" Izuku tips his head.

"There is a reason." Katsuki replies.

"Which is?"

"A secret." 

Izuku pouts. "You should tell me, I won't tell anyone."

"But then it won't be a secret." Katsuki swallows thickly. 

"Tell me anyway?" The words echo the ones from last night. He can't tell if he's even breathing anymore. He doesn't really remember how.

"You already know." 

Izuku steps forward so that their faces are mere inches apart. Katsuki can see every single freckle he's been obsessed with since the moment he laid eyes on his coffee soaked neighbor. "I already know?"

"You do."

"You buy me too many things."

Katsuki is aware. His bank account reminds him every damn day with their incessant calling about unusual activity on his account. "You like it."

"You don't have to, you know." Izuku cups his cheek gently. "You don't have to do anything at all, Katsuki."

His breath hitches. "I want to give you everything you've ever wanted."

Izuku smiles like he knows. Of course he knows. "Will you?"

Katsuki furrows his eyebrows in confusion. Izuku thumbs at his cheekbones gently.

"Will you give me what I want?" He stares straight into Katsuki's eyes as he speaks, like he sees right through him. It should be terrifying, but he's warm. Izuku has always been warm, warm enough to thaw parts of him he hasn't seen in decades.

"What do you want, Izuku?"

Izuku places his other palm on Katsuki's chest. His heart is racing under gentle fingertips. He doesn't mind.

He finally closes the distance, pressing his lips against Izuku's. It's a bit awkward, considering Katsuki is nervous and desperate as fuck, and Izuku's always a bit uncoordinated. Their noses bump into each other and he can't stop himself from smiling so hard that it's hard to keep kissing. 

Izuku pulls back and presses their foreheads together, giggling softly.

Katsuki memorizes the sound with his fingertips so he can weave it into everything he touches. 

He puts his palm on top of Izuku's and slots their fingers together, resting over his heart.

"Kacchan!"

"One second, you impatient fuck!" He yells back. He rifles through his drawer pulling out the gift box. He's been thinking about this for the past 8 months, ever since they officially started dating. He thought he'd be freaking out, but he really isn't. He knows Izuku. 

"Shoto and Sero just left for the restaurant, so we should probably hurry!"

"Those idiots can fucking wait a second!" Katsuki had reluctantly agreed to double dating a few months ago, something he's seriously starting to regret.

Izuku rushes over the second Katsuki steps back into the living room. "Can I open it now, please, Kacchan, please, I wanna open it so bad!"

"What would you do if I said no?" 

"I'd die." He clutches his chest dramatically.

"Tempting offer."

"Kacchan!"

He hands Izuku the gift box, hands steady. "I love you, Izuku."

"I love you too, Kacch...," he trails off, staring at the contents inside the box. He pulls out a simple key with a little cat design printed on it. "Is this...?"

Katsuki grins at the wonder in his eyes. "Yeah, well, I live in this really nice apartment building. It has a pretty chill landlord and the mail always comes on time. Good perks, good rent. What do you think about moving in?"

"Hmm..." Izuku taps his chin, smirking. "I don't know if I'm sold. What are the neighbors like?"

"Annoying as shit." He teases. 

"Hey!"

"They'll eat all your food."

"This isn't convincing me!"

"They'll ruin every routine you've ever had."

"That is so not true, I literally jog with you in the mornings now."

"They'll make you fall so in love with them you can't stand being apart even though they just live across the hall." He tips his head, smile gentle. "What do you say?"

Izuku pushes him back until he's pressed against the wall, and kisses him softly. "Of course."

Everyday, Katsuki wakes up thinking he's the happiest he's ever been, that he'll ever be cause he can't possibly be happier. Izuku proves him wrong every single day. He kisses Izuku again, and he feels the sticky note on his wall rub against the back of his neck.

He doesn't have to look to know it has a messy orange heart on it.