Work Text:
By the time Izuku had made it down into the commons the sun had risen and shined brightly through the windows of Heights Alliance. Barely anyone was awake at this time, especially on the weekends, but after the clock ticked over to seven he figured any attempts at restful sleep were useless.
Which is why he slowly made his way down, having taken the time to go through his morning routine before heading down and making some breakfast. The walk down was peaceful, and walking into the commons provided the distant noise of birds chirping.
He turned into the kitchen, admiring the golden light bathing the counters, eyes glazing over a head of blonde before doubling back and focusing. Izuku's eyes snapped wide for half a second before he truly processed, a warm smile growing on his face as he realized.
There, right in the middle of the sun patch, was Kacchan. Leaned over the counter with his arms crossed, head laid on top of them. He had taken one of the backless stools from the right side and moved it to the middle, clearly intending to enjoy the sunlight as much as possible. He faced the wall opposite the doorway, but Izuku didn't have to see his face to know he was dozing by now.
Izuku can't believe he forgot about this. About Kacchan, all of the Bakugou's really, and their love for warmth. Despite how all of them already ran hot, more heat never bothered them. In fact, it only seemed to soothe them. Izuku's not sure he's seen all three of them inside at one time whenever he and Mom visited. He's pretty sure Uncle Masaru only started a garden as an excuse to stay out more.
He knows, due to his slow progress with Kacchan, that he has a green thumb. He used to be horrible with plants, constantly insisting they were stupid and not worth his time whenever it was brought up, but passing by recently proved Kacchan had disregarded his old opinion, if the peaceful look on his face when tending to the flowers and vegetables were any indication.
The hobby had mellowed him out a good bit, between that and his anger management sessions and his squad. It was something of a blessing, for his own sake. Kacchan needed a break from his anger, sometimes.
The sight of Kacchan, allowing himself to relax in a way he only ever did around family makes Izuku's heart swell. It reminds him of all the times Izuku found him dozing against a tree stump or ignoring the world by a window.
It's… it feels like a step, almost. A step in the right direction. Kacchan, no matter how much he wanted to, wouldn't have allowed himself to do this if he thought something would happen to him. So seeing him slumped over on the counter, breathing even and slow in the middle of a sun patch feels like trust. Wholehearted trust. The thought makes Izuku tear up, and something in his heart soars.
He itches to snap a picture of Kacchan in the way he always used to whenever he found him drifting somewhere, but he decides to let him off the hook this time. For all of their rough patches, the teasing from either party never fully stopped. Instead, he steps through the doorway, rapping his knuckles against the trim three times, knowing Kacchan's awake enough to understand.
Kacchan shifts ever so slightly, the slightest tilt of his head. Izuku passes him and finds softened eyes tracking him lazily. They fall shut half a second later.
“Hey, Sunshine.” Izuku says, the old, teasing nickname slipping off his tongue as easily as it used to. He opens the fridge just as Kacchan unravels an arm and shoots him the bird.
“F'ck off..” He mutters, voice trailing into something soft at the edges, tongue loose. Izuku snickers and pulls out the milk, heading over to the cabinets to grab a bowl and a box of cereal.
He lets the silence stretch as he pours himself a bowl, making quick work of putting everything up before grabbing a spoon and heading over to Kacchan, sitting to the right of him. His eyes crack open a fraction and meet his, only to dip to his arm a second later, eyelids fluttering.
Izuku smiles into his bite, taking a second to swallow before speaking up, if only because he doesn't want to aggravate Kacchan enough for him to move.
“Comfortable?” He asks, mirth evident in his voice. Kacchan glares up at him with the force of a sleepy cat, and Izuku has to stifle his snickers into another bite of cereal. Kacchan only grumbles wordlessly, shifting enough for his face to be half buried in his arms.
Izuku reaches a hand up, burying it in blonde spikes just a moment later, ruffling Kacchan's hair and absentmindedly scratching at his scalp. He watches in amusement as he melts into the touch, huffing a pleased breath as he falls limp, sinking into himself.
Then he purposefully cards a hand forwards, brushing displaced hair in Kacchan's face. “You're like a disgruntled cat.” He says, choking back the urge to laugh. Kacchan hums something vaguely annoyed and bats a hand at Izuku, who retracts his own with a pleased giggle. He watches as Kacchan shifts, turning away and burrowing his face in his arms.
“Asshole…” He murmurs, voice muffled. Izuku turns back to his cereal, trying to muffle a giggle as he eats. He doesn't do a good enough job apparently, because Kacchan blindly swings an arm out to swat at him, only for his hand to land in Izuku's bowl with a small splash. The blonde's eyes snap open, yanking his hand out as he pushes himself up, an indecipherable string of curses slipping out of his mouth. Izuku swings his head back, laughing so loudly it echoes around the room.
He can barely manage to crack his eyes open and watch as Kacchan rinses his hand, the blonde turning back to send him a furious glare that only serves to make him laugh harder, ribs starting to ache. Kacchan's growl reaches his ears over the noise, and he doubles over, trying not to choke.
“Stop laughing at me, fuckwipe!!” Izuku gets a rough smack over the head as Kacchan walks back over, making Izuku slam his head into the counter he was already close to hitting anyway. It sobers him up, but it's not enough for Kacchan to take his glare seriously, considering the snort and smirk he gets in response.
“Y–Your reaction–” He manages, only to get elbowed in the side hard enough for his chair to tip, Izuku barely managing to steady himself before he falls. He meets Kacchan's amused gaze before shoving back. The two end up in an impromptu wrestling match a moment later, Izuku's chair knocked over and the two catching each other in increasingly aggressive headlocks. It's only when Iida walks in and starts to yell about their rambunctiousness that they stop, if only because Izuku managed to get Kacchan in a strong enough hold that gives him a chance to apologize. Then there's a targeted jab right where he's the most ticklish and Izuku screams, lunging after Kacchan when he escapes and tries to run off, laughing.
He doesn't manage to catch Iida's disappointed sigh or any of his disgruntled classmates groggily coming down to see the commotion, instead focusing on playing chase when Kacchan bolts it out the door.
—
“Wait, Todoroki, you haven't had Thirteen’s space buns before?” Uraraka asks, disbelief coating her tone. Izuku watches in mild amusement, Uraraka’s eyes steadily widen at Todoroki’s confusion. The longer the silence stretches, the more offended she seems to get. Izuku chokes down a laugh.
“No?” He finally answers, lips twitching when Uraraka's jaw pops open. Something determined and assured enters her eyes, and Todoroki's hand is grabbed, held in a vice grip as Uraraka starts to tear down the path, practically dragging him behind her. Izuku follows with a startled laugh, offering his arm for Todoroki to stabilize himself.
“Wh– huh?” He questions, voice slightly hoarse as he stares doe eyed at the back of Uraraka’s head. She whips around without breaking pace, expression hardened and offended.
“I'm fixing this immediately.” She says in lieu of an actual answer. Izuku wheezes lightly, watching as she whips back around and starts running faster at the sight of vending machines. Todoroki stumbles so bad his knees scuff the ground briefly, staining his pants and startling him enough for him to look even more off kilter. Izuku wonders what's going through his mind right now.
By the time they reach the platform Todoroki is practically thrown in front of the vending machine, stumbling until he's left only a few inches away from it. Uraraka shoves herself next to him just after, stuffing a hand into her pockets and pulling out her wallet, digging around until she triumphantly pulls out a small amount of yen, aggressively pushing the button for the dessert before impatiently inserting the money. Todoroki sends him a startled glance as he subtly edges away, eyes wide as saucers.
With it being this late in the year he's surprised this is Todoroki's first time on the other side of Uraraka's intensity. It's definitely startling, but it's what makes Uraraka, Uraraka. Something fond swells in his chest, but is replaced with amusement when he spots the way the brunette bounces in her spot, intently watching as the treat slowly rolls to the front until it falls. Her hands dart for the opening as soon as it does, a victorious grin taking over her face when she pulls it out, instantly shoving it in Todoroki's hands.
She starts to bounce again, wide eyes jumping between the pastry and Todoroki, who simply stands, stupefied. Izuku brings a hand to cover his mouth and pulls out his phone, opening his camera.
He starts recording as soon as Uraraka speaks, a wide smile on her face, the picture of innocence. The took doesn't manage to conceal her own mirth at the frozen boy in front of her. “Well? Taste it!!”
Todoroki twitches with indecision, but blinks himself out of it a second later, raising a stiff hand to rip the package open and raise it to his mouth, eyeing Uraraka like she's a predator. She grins wider in response, eyes twinkling. Izuku stifles a laugh at her enjoyment.
Then he takes a small bite out of the dessert, slowing his chewing enough for it to be visible. Uraraka bites her lip as Izuku snorts, phone shaking. After a moment, he cautiously spares a look at Uraraka. She shakes her fists and leans forwards, making Todoroki furtively lean back.
“Well?” She asks expectantly. Todoroki carefully eyes the pastry.
“It's sweet.” He answers after a moment, mostly back to his regular indifference. The plastic crinkles in his hand, and Uraraka jumps up and down excitedly.
“Yeah? Like it?” He nods, looking more sure of himself. Uraraka let's out a little squeal, absolutely beaming. Izuku chuckles at his friends and stops the video, only for a notification from the class A group chat to come through.
He clicks on it, waiting for the app to load. It's from Ashido, and the picture he sees makes him so surprised he can't hold in his startled laugh. In the corner of his eye, he sees his friends turn to him.
“Deku?” Uraraka asks, amusement coating her voice. Izuku looks at the two of them, wide eyed, and the two join his sides before he can wave them over. He points to his phone wordlessly, scrolling up when messages start to flood in, until the picture is showing again. Uraraka lets out a shocked snerk at the image.
“Is that Bakugou?” Todoroki asks, voice deviating from its usual monotone in his confusion. Izuku nods, gaping at his screen as his mind flashes through every other time Kacchan did something like this.
He really was getting more comfortable recently. The last time Izuku saw Kacchan climb in a tree was when they were seven and Izuku had chased him until he scampered up it like a startled cat, eyeing the spray bottle he'd brought to school for when Kacchan got annoying enough.
He used to do it for fun as well, of course. A habit that made Aunty and Uncle grow gray hairs far too early in their lives, but he supposes that comes with the territory of children. Especially one with an explosion quirk who makes games out of testing his limits and decides that his newest form of entertainment was blasting himself upwards and grabbing onto the highest branch he could.
The picture depicts Kacchan casually sitting in a tree, glaring down at the phone (and likely Ashido) with a book in his hands. The cover isn't visible from this angle, not to mention how high up Kacchan is, but the fact he's reading at all shocks him. It really shouldn't, considering the blonde's phase with fiction back in their first year of junior high, but somehow he didn't expect him to pick it up again.
Uraraka's laughter brings him back to earth, watching as she sinks into herself, shoulders shaking. Izuku's quick to follow after, giggles slipping out of his mouth as he clicks on the picture and saves it.
Izuku navigates to his and Kacchan's dms, quickly attaching the picture and typing a message.
Izuku → 🔆🐱
Izuku
This u?
[Image]
🔆🐱
Fuck you
Delete that shit
I'll steal ur all might signature
Izuku
I'm sending this to aunty
🔆🐱
FUCK YOU
DNT YU FICKING DARE ASSHOLE
It doesn't take much to ignore Kacchan's spamming, too busy snickering to himself as he opens the family group chat instead, watching the bubbles that popped up before he even sent the picture.
“What are you doing?” Todoroki leans over his shoulder, red hair nothing but a blur in his peripheral. Uraraka giggles under her breath, nursing the stitch in her side as she leans close enough to be shoulder to shoulder with him, watching him type with tears in her eyes. Her laughs pick up again when she processes what he's doing, Izuku snickering along with her.
Izuku → family group
🔆🐱
DONT YOU FUCKING DARE
ASSHAT
I CAN SEE YOU TYPIGN
I will take your entire collection of hero signatures for this iknw where u hide thr binder
Mama🩷
Katsuki?
LOL
Aunty Suki
IM AT WORK BRAT
TONE IT DOWN
Uncle Masa
We're on break hun
🔆🐱
IGNORE ZUKU HES A SHITTY ASSHOLE
Aunty Suki
Point stands he's making a scene
Izuku
[Image]
Mama🩷
Oh Katsuki, you look adorable! 🤣
Aunty Suki
You're back to your monkey habits now, huh?
Uncle Masa
You're back into reading, Kats? I can send you some extra allowance to splurge at the bookstore if you'd like!
Izuku
He doesn't even look all that mad about the picture!! So proud of you Kacchan for making friends you love<3
🔆🐱
?
[Screenshot of Izuku's location on a map]
Izuku's breath stills at the message, a chill running through him. Uraraka and Todoroki still just a second after he does, the amusement between the three stamped out. The three trade looks, something like trepidation building on Izuku and Uraraka's faces. He flinches, eyes widening, when explosions ring out from the distance.
It takes barely a second for Izuku to haul ass in the opposite direction, Uraraka yelping and scrambling back as he almost topples her over. Blackwhip shoots out, and Izuku flings it forward to wrap around a tree. He tugs himself toward harshly, willing himself to go faster as Kacchan's irate screaming reverberates through the forest he's just launched himself into, growing louder and louder.
Back at the vending machines, Uraraka and Todoroki glance at each other, watching warily as the nuclear bomb that is Bakugou practically hunts Izuku for sport. They trade another, more considering look, the two debating whether to follow and help or not.
Todoroki silently takes another bite out of his pastry, and makes the decision for the both of them. The two simultaneously pull out their phones to tell the class, only to find a few talking about it already. They ignore the warning that is Bakugou's behavior after being embarrassed and fearlessly explain anyway.
—
It's a hopeless endeavor trying to get homework done when any of the more rambunctious classmates are around. Izuku ignores how he would likely be grouped in with them as he glares down at his math homework, trying and failing to completely place the blame on Ashido and Kaminari, who are supposed to be doing homework as well, but are instead arguing on the logistics of Pokémon laws.
It's an admittedly interesting argument, and they both bring up great points multiple times. He narrows his eyes, wills his trigonometry homework to spontaneously burn up, and wishes his classmates could be this passionate in actual class.
He can't be too mad, though. He himself has many, many topics that get him as passionate as Pokémon laws seem to do for them two. That, and he could just move to the commons and join the study group Yaoyorozu has planned for after dinner. He doesn't do any of that, and fails to fool himself when he tries to deny him staying is just him looking for a distraction. He's never been a good liar, even to himself.
Especially to himself.
“Yo, Bakugou!” Kaminari calls, and Izuku turns to find Kacchan walking into the kitchen for the third time in an hour, holding the same glass he came down with two times before, empty once again. Ashido and Kaminari only came in here when Kacchan came down a second time, only to sulk when he left despite the way they stuck around, almost immediately bounding back to their previous discussion after he left.
Kacchan turns, sneering at the duo as he opens the fridge, blindly reaching for something. “You're still fucking discussing that shit? Thought I said it would be strict.”
Ashido jumps down from her place on the counter and points accusingly. Izuku gives up on any pretense he's doing something productive and instead turns to face the three fully. “The laws aren't strict when a fourteen year old can basically throw a rat at a God and expect it to win!! That had to be against something!!”
Izuku chokes at the wording, curling into himself as he wheezes. Kaminari lets out a loud snerk and slaps a hand on his face so hard he can hear it.
He turns to watch Kacchan, who's paused in his pouring to stare incredulously at Ashido. “The fuck did you just say?”
“Well that's what it is!!!” She yells indignantly, arms waving in the air as she clearly fights a smile. “It's like expecting a baby to survive a hydrogen bomb!!” Kaminari laughs so harshly it comes out as a screech, only for him to topple on the floor and start cackling. Izuku isn't far behind, crossing his arms on the counter and burying his face in them, shoulders shaking violently.
He hears Katsuki let out an unwilling snort, followed by the distant sound of something sloshing as he sets down the jug. “What type of fucking metaphor is that, Raccoon Eyes?” He asks, trying to pass for indifferent despite the amusement in his voice. Izuku sucks in a steadying breath and leans up just in time to watch Kacchan take the lid off the counter and throw it at Ashido's head.
Kaminari, from where he'd been tentatively recovering, immediately devolves back into hearty cackles, tears streaming down his face. Ashido lets out a screech, rubbing at the place the lid hit as she glares at the back of Kacchan's head. Izuku spots the minute shaking of his shoulders and has to clutch his stomach from the ache in his side.
“Owww, Blasty!!! Why?!” Ashido whines, unable to fully sell her pout with the grin pulling at her lips. She gets the bird in return for her trouble, only making her blow a raspberry as she leans over and picks up the lid. Izuku watches, fighting his own amusement as Ashido's expression goes from amused to confused, eyeing the lid before looking back over.
Her eyes widen a fraction when she sees the jug, gaze flicking from the glass in Kacchan's hand to the quickly dwindling supply of milk. It takes everything in Izuku to not do more than snort at her confusion, watching her eyebrows knit together.
“Blasty, you like milk?” Kaminari sniffles as he shakily pushes himself into a seat, only to cock an eyebrow at Ashido's question. Izuku watches as he eyes the lid, looks over and spots the milk jug, then the glass in Kacchan's hand, and seems to realize something.
“Wait,” Kaminari cuts in, waving his hands. Kacchan raises a judging eyebrow at the two, “you like milk enough to have two glasses of it in a row?”
Izuku's lips twitch. “Three, actually.” The three turn to face him, Ashido and Kaminari looking some mix between astonished and disgusted.
“Three?!” They yell as one, not breaking to call jinx in the face of this apparently ground breaking revelation. Izuku doesn't think it's all that out of character for Kacchan to like milk, despite how revolting the drink is, but apparently neither had an inkling about it. Apparently favorite drinks are a big deal in general, though he supposes any piece of information on Kacchan is a big deal.
Kacchan rolls his eyes and takes a long, deliberate sip of his drink. Izuku's nose scrunches. “Yeah?”
“Eugh.” Kaminari says before he can stop himself, and the reaction makes Izuku snort loudly enough to gain a glare from Kacchan.
“Fuck you mean ‘eugh’?!” The blonde yells, waving his hands around enough for his drink to almost spill. Ashido, taking the moment of distraction as opportunity, chucks the lid back at Kacchan. He catches it and smirks slyly at Ashido, who is openly glaring at him.
“At least someone agrees with me.” Izuku says, turning back to face his homework to hide the way he's pushing down a cheeky grin. He feels the moment Kacchan's glare moves from Kaminari to him.
“You drink fucking apple juice, you revolting ass.” Izuku turns around with a new vigor, sending a withering glare Kacchan's way.
“At least I don't chug it like Iida chugs orange juice!” Kacchan raises a challenging eyebrow, deliberately taking another long sip of his milk, but the budding annoyance it causes ebbs into amusement at the milk mustache left behind.
“Twelve something at night, Auntie’s house when we were ten–”
“OKAY!! Shut up!!!” Izuku buries his flaming face into his hands, trying and failing to ignore Kacchan's laughs. He tries and fails even worse at ignoring the memories of the nightmare that led to that event. He still doesn't know why a nightmare about apple juice ceasing to exist upset him that bad.
“Huh,” Kaminari breaks in. Izuku’s blush renews itself before it even disappears at the reminder of him and Ashido still being there, “I always forget you two know each other.”
Ashido snickers, something mischievous and playful in her tone. It's the tone she gets when she's found out something particularly juicy. Izuku groans before he realizes what he's doing. “I wanna know the context behind that particular story.”
Izuku takes a page out of Kacchan's book and acts before speaking, abruptly shooting out of his chair to lunge for the person in question, who thankfully didn't have his glass in his hand, because he has no doubt it would've spilled as the two tumbled, falling to the floor. Kacchan lets out a yelp he'd deny ever making before gathering his bearings and roughly shoving at Izuku, who's wrapped him in a bear hug.
Kaminari and Ashido laugh at the two, eventually devolving into cheering when Kacchan starts to try and explain, barely able to get a word out every time he manages to get Izuku off him for long enough.
Eventually, Izuku painstakingly promises to stop making fun of him for drinking milk for a month alongside a week of washing his dishes if it means not explaining. Even with the bribe, he's pretty sure Kacchan only dropped it because he knew it'd devastate Ashido and Kaminari, who lived up to the reactions Kacchan wanted easily. Izuku gets up, grabs his phone, and glares at Kacchan as he creates a note for a month from now reminding him of his privileges. No one said he couldn't be petty about it.
—
There was something cathartic about writing in his notebooks.
It was a calming process, something that stuck with him throughout most of his life. From one rough patch to another, he always had this. He fought tooth and nail to keep it, fought to keep his work unharmed and himself in the habit.
Now, here, he has the chance to slow down and actually enjoy it. Dinner passed and homework done, Izuku is happily using the small pocket of free time to touch up on some analysis he wrote a while ago. Just the last few profiles of class 1-b and he'd be done with this notebook, not quite Fourteen but a little deviation from his regular hero analysis. When they all graduate, it'll count. Sometimes Izuku counts it anyway, both classes have surely been through enough to warrant it. He's seen the way they all fight, the determination in everyone's eyes or stance, in each of their personalities, no matter how much they vary. There's a reason their the first year in almost a decade to have the full forty, after all.
Either or, he's enjoying the downtime. UA had been amazing, but Izuku does miss the free time he used to have. He may be a bit rusty with his analysis, but it almost makes it more fun. More of a puzzle, more of a whirlwind of thoughts to note down. Picking apart people's quirks has always been one of his favorite ways to analyze.
Right now he's staring at the blank pages marking Shiozaki's section for miscellaneous notes, one idea after another swirling in his head, yet he doesn't note anything down. Not yet.
She can grow and manipulate her vines, create so many it's overwhelming, but can she control what type of vines she creates? Would she have to cut off her pre-existing vines to create a different type? Can she even create another type of vine off of a pre-existing type? Can she sharpen her thorns? Can she change the biological makeup of her vines? He doubts that one, because if she could, surely she would've integrated it somehow. How far does her limit reach with manipulating the vines? Is it a radius, or a contact thing? Do her vines have to be connected to her head to manipulate? That's most likely, because if that wasn't the case, who's to say she doesn't just have telekinesis as a secondary quirk–
His door opens.
Izuku turns, looking up from his notes only to blink, meeting Kacchan's blank stare. Izuku stares back, pencil stilling. Neither move for a moment, then Kacchan steps in and flops on his bed.
He turns in his chair as he does, squinting at the back of Kacchan's head when he still doesn't say anything. Izuku is suddenly reminded of when he would do this to Kacchan when they were younger, knowing how easy it was to tick him off. He quirks an eyebrow, glancing back to the door Kacchan left open – probably purposely.
He pushes himself up with a sigh, pencil rolling to the crease in his notebook. He shuts the door before turning and walking over, sitting down next to Kacchan and watching the way he doesn't move at the action, face buried in his comforter.
An unbidden smile rises on his face, and he pokes at Kacchan's ribs over and over until he finally gets a hand swatting at him for the trouble, though he still doesn't turn to him. Izuku pokes lower, at the side of his stomach, only to match each jab with a call of, “Kacchan. Kacchan. Kacchan. Kacchan–”
Izuku's shoved so hard he falls halfway off his bed, having to clutch at the covers to keep himself from falling more. Kacchan shoots him a withering glare that only makes Izuku snicker as he pushes himself back up.
“Bastard.” He seethes, pushing himself up to sit cross legged and lean back against the wall. Izuku tilts his head with a cheeky grin.
“Uh huh.” Izuku says, flopping back on his bed to stare at the several posters coating his ceiling. In the corner of an old band poster he got is a set of stickers Tsu gave him. “What do you want?”
“‘M bored.” Izuku turns to face Kacchan, watching as he idly picks at a stray thread on his blanket, tugging at it. Izuku slaps his hand away, only for Kacchan to return the action and deliberately start pulling the string out. The blanket bunches where the string was.
“You're so annoying!” Kacchan grins at him, even as Izuku takes a swipe for the string and pulls it out of Kacchan's hand. He lets it go easily, and Izuku smooths out the place the blanket bunched up to the best of his ability. He turns his glare onto Kacchan, flipping him off. Izuku sees the blur of his hand returning the notion as he turns.
“Why don't you go bug one of your friends? I was busy.” Kacchan snorts at that, and Izuku grabs a stray pillow to throw at his face. It's parried before it can make contact.
“Cause all they wanna fuckin’ do is play video games or gossip.” Izuku turns and raises an eyebrow.
“So you won't reach out to them first.”
“You're saying that?” Izuku huffs loudly enough that Kacchan rolls his eyes. He pushes himself up and maneuvers his way to Kacchan's side, shoving him over and over until a hand blindly reaches out and slaps his collarbone. Izuku shoves again, and is pushed so hard he topples over. A laugh bubbles past his lips as he pushes himself up again, easily meeting Kacchan's daring glare.
“Just go talk to them.”
“They're not even my friends, dumbass.” Izuku levels Kacchan with the most unimpressed look he can manage. Kacchan looks away and leans into the wall.
“And I was born with this quirk.” The glare he's met with would be scary if it weren't for such a dumb reason. Izuku grins, tilting his head. “What? I thought we were bullshitting each other.”
It's a wonder he wasn't tackled earlier. Izuku laughs, pushing back against Kacchan when he tries to knock them to the floor. The two twist and turn for a moment, hands locked in a standstill, until Kacchan manages to get a foot on the floor and uses that as leverage to unravel himself while simultaneously flopping down on Izuku's stomach. He wheezes at the weight, trying and failing to push the blonde off of him when his arms are pushed away or held tightly enough to make him stop.
With a sigh, Izuku resigns himself to his fate. It's only when he lets his body relax does Kacchan do the same, crossing his arms and laying his chin on them. “I hate you.”
“‘S what keeps me goin’.” Izuku laughs, loud and hearty even with Kacchan sprawled out on his stomach, and feels more than hears the amused huff that escapes him.
“Asshole!”
Kacchan lays his head on his arms and smirks. “Sweet of you.”
Izuku laughs again, shoving a hand on Kacchan's face and shoving. A hand half heartedly bats his own away, and Izuku watches as the blonde turns back into his arms, face half buried. He releases a long sigh a moment later, body relaxing into the mattress – and Izuku's stomach, apparently.
“Kacchannn.” He whines, jabbing at his cheek. Izuku knows his fate is sealed when the blonde does nothing more than grumble a little, head tilting. “Come on, that can't be comfortable.”
“Nah.” Comes the reply, more slurred than said. Izuku softens, mind flickering back to blurry memories of the two piled on each other after a tiring day of playing. Those moments dwindled over the years, stopped entirely even, until recently. He can't be too mad, knowing these old habits and routines coming back is only progress. Proof their repairing things.
“‘Nah’ what?” He asks anyway, “It isn't comfortable, or you won't move?”
“Nahh..” Izuku huffs a small noise, something of a laugh but cut to quick. His chest feels too small for it, everything so big it spills over into the tears brimming in his eyes, into the smile splitting his face. A scarred, twisted hand buries itself in blonde locks, and a more complete laugh escapes him when Kacchan slumps even more. He's missed this. Missed it so much
“Missed you.” He says, raspy and unbidden. The only response he gets is Kacchan's head lolling to the side.
He wipes the tears from his eyes a moment later, sucking in one breath after another as everything calms. It's not ten minutes before he's also out, hand still in Kacchan's hair.
—
“Iida, you really don't have to carry so much! I can help if you need–”
“Don't worry, Midoriya! I assure you, I’m fine! If anything, you're the one doing the heavy lifting, considering how full both coolers are already.” Izuku blushes bashfully, eyeing the large coolers held in each of his hands. He and the rest of the class had earned a beach day, something fantasized about from a few months into the year. He still remembers Aizawa's shocked expression when every one of their tests came back with a score of ninety or higher, per the guidelines of the deal.
And now they find themselves here, both him and Iida lugging back cans of sodas and coolers filled with ice to take back to their spot on the beach. It's a wonder Aizawa even let him go to the store, despite the short distance. Then again, they did all have the trackers supplied on their person's, as Aizawa dutifully checked before they set off that morning.
Izuku privately smiled at the old, rusty sign as they walked into Dagobah Beach, still as clean as ever. He's a bit surprised he hadn't come to visit after he'd finished clearing it, but he supposed he hadn't had the time or safety available to do so. Still, the sight of so many people enjoying it like they used to steals his breath just as it did earlier. A lump builds in his throat, and tears fill his eyes before he can calm himself down.
“Midoriya? Are you alright?” Iida asks, concern lacing his tone. Izuku looks up at him, and can't stop the way his smile grows just a little wider at his worry. He has the best friends.
“Yeah, I am.” He answers, sniffling and blinking the tears away before looking over at his class’ spot. “It’s just– you know this beach used to be a– to be a dump a year ago, right? I guess it's just nice to see it cleaned, and that people are enjoying it.”
Iida smiles something fond, and Izuku glances back at his class before he can get emotional over that, too. “Of course! I have to admit it's nice to see Dagobah is as clean as was said! It makes for a lovely place to spend the day.” Just as Izuku goes to respond, Uraraka runs over, a smile on her face.
“Hey guys! Here!” She quickly taps the cases of sodas and coolers, making Izuku sigh in relief and roll his shoulders. Dagobah may have been filled with heavier stuff, but heavy coolers are bound to affect anyone's shoulders.
“Thank you Uraraka!” He chirps, Iida voicing his agreement as he hikes the cases in his arms up, getting a better grip. She nods and smiles, wide and bright, before turning and leading the three to their spot. She waits until they've set everything down to release her quirk, only to dive for a pack of sodas and open it. Izuku chuckles and opens the cooler, grabbing for is own case only for–
“BLASTY!!!”
All three of them flinch and turn at Ashido's yell, and Izuku spots her running up the sand from the ocean, a wide grin on her face. Near where the three were unboxing the drinks, Kacchan stiffens, eyes snapping wide and body shifting to run.
“Hah?!” He yells back, slowly moving from his chair. Izuku’s pretty sure he only responds to distract her from his attempt at escape, not that it seems to work well. He looks back over in Ashido's direction and spots Kirishima and Sero following, Kaminari grinning from where he suddenly entered on the right.
He sees more than hears the way Kacchan swears under his breath, eyes flicking between Kaminari and the three in front of him warily. Izuku just barely manages to shove a fist to his mouth, shoving a knuckle between his teeth to keep from laughing.
“Ohhh Kacchannn!!” Kaminari chirps, eyes twinkling with mischief as he lunges. Kacchan dodges like his life depends on it, flinging himself back into the sand with a curse before stumbling back and bolting away, ignoring the cackles that follow him as the rest of his group tears after him.
“What–” Uraraka wheezes out from next to him, eyes wide and amused. Dark Shadow lets out a hearty cackle from under the umbrella, and he can see the volleyball game Ojirou started pausing at the commotion. Izuku sets a hand on Iida's shoulder when he twitches, and feels him relax with an exasperated sigh.
“LEAVE ME ALONE!!!!” Kacchan screams, only to shout when he's tackled by Kirishima and tagged with tape by Sero. The two tussle in the sand, and Izuku has to duck his head and dig marks into his knuckles to keep from joining the echoes of laughter around him. Iida's shoulders silently shake under his hand.
The rest of the squad cheer when Kirishima shouts out a cheery “Got ‘em!!!”, and the two take much longer than needed to get up, no doubt due to Kacchan's thrashing. The four slowly drag him back over to the class, Kacchan belting obscenities as he quickly clocks what's happening. Izuku watches as his face morphs from irate anger to fear, and breaks out in uncontrollable laughter. He completely forgot how much Kacchan hates water.
“LET ME GO YOU ASSHOLES!! I'LL KILL YOU FOR THIS SHIT!! DON'T YOU FUCKING DARE, I'LL–” Kirishima stumbles in his laughter, grip loosening just enough for Kacchan to make a break for it. He barely gets a few steps in before Sero's wrapping his arm in tape, slinging him back and–
And–
Several members of the class break out in rambunctious laughter, Izuku included. Kacchan was slung so far back that he ended up passing the group, only to stumble back into the water with a splash!
Kacchan resurfaces with a big breath, and Izuku's rising on unsteady feet before he realizes what he's doing, grabbing his phone from his pocket and unlocking it. It doesn't take him long to open his camera and start recording, halfway there to the group in absolute stitches who caused the entire thing. Izuku briefly shows Ashido, Kaminari, Kirishima and Sero sprawled over on the sand before panning over to Kacchan, who's hair is plastered to his face, expression twisted into such an unhappy snarl the sight of it makes Izuku grapple for something to balance himself with.
“DEKU!!” Kacchan screams, and Izuku barely has the breath or presence of mind to prepare himself to run. “COUNT YOUR FUCKING DAYS!!!”
Izuku scrambles a few steps back, still giggling under his breath as Kacchan's ire moves off of him and onto his squad. He watches as Ashido, the poor soul who started this, is too blinded by her tears to notice Kacchan coming up behind her. The moment her ankle is grabbed she screams, immediately throwing up a fight and kicking herself loose only for Kacchan to throw himself down and lock her in an inescapable hold. Ashido quickly devolves into desperate pleas after that, knowing all fighting is futile as she's lugged away.
Everyone watches as she's bodily thrown into the ocean, her scream muffled by the water. Kacchan dives after her, and soon the only thing visible is splashes as the two wrestle in the middle of the water. Izuku keeps his camera on them before panning over to the frozen trio in front of him, all watching the fight with trepidation.
The splashes and shouts dwindle until all that's left is Ashido's dazed giggling and Kacchan's hand shoving her again, all while he makes eye contact with the four of them. He takes a single step forwards, and, wisely, the three all bolt it in different directions, fearing for their lives. Izuku follows in their footsteps, cutting the video just as he turns before sloppily opening the messenger app.
That's all he can manage to do before he's tackled. Izuku yelps, phone slipping out of his grip as Kacchan grips him in a hold even more brutal than the one he pulled on Ashido. He groans helplessly and thrashes in the sand, twisting and turning and trying to get his hands out, because all he needs is a chance–
Kacchan shouts an unbidden laugh when Izuku tickles his side, relenting just enough for Izuku to lunge for his phone. The weight of a hero student topples him just after, but a slip of his thumb opens the family group chat. He laughs breathlessly, tucking his phone under his torso.
“Don't you fucking dare, Deku.” Kacchan whispers through gritted teeth, voice full of malice and promises of pain to come. Izuku knows he's serious, knows he'll whoop his ass in training tomorrow for it, but Izuku's never been all that good at self preservation.
Izuku twists, throwing Kacchan to the side even as he grips his shoulders and tugs him back, but it's enough. Izuku's done more with less time, the videos already attached, he can–
Yes!!
“IZUKU!!!!”
Kacchan snatches his phone, scrambling back and holding it up high even as Izuku lunges for his middle, knocking the air out of him as he lands on his back. Izuku reaches for his phone but his arm gets held down before he can get it.
It's fine, he knows. He knows it as his phone vibrates in Kacchan's hand, and his face grows cherry red. Knows it as his face twists into a deeper snarl, and Kacchan abandons his mission in favor of driving I'm even further into the sand, the two trading jabs and grappling to get each other in different holds by that point.
He knows that, even when Kacchan gets up a couple minutes later and bolts with his phone anyways to delete the video, at least his mom would've saved it. Kacchan knows it too, but neither of them would dare to test Mom, not when they'd risk losing that advantage to embarrass the other, knowing she saves Izuku's embarrassing moments as well.
Later that day, when they are rounded back in the bus and dozing, Izuku knows Kacchan will waste no time in getting him back. Knows it'll be in the form of brutal training and teasing remarks and petty switches, instead of the genuine brutality he used, once upon a time. Even when Kacchan spams the family group, then 1-A’s group, with various pieces of blackmail he has on Izuku, he knows it's progress. Knows it's healing.
He’d take any amount of teasing, embarrassment, or annoyance if it meant having his brother back.