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The classroom felt different that morning, buzzing with an energy Izuku couldn’t quite name at first. He pushed open the door, clutching his notebook to his chest, already thinking about the latest patrol report Aizawa-sensei wanted them to polish. But the sound of Mina’s laugh and the sight of pink paper hearts taped to the windows stopped him in his tracks.
“Oh my god, look at this!” Mina waved something over her head — a shiny red box wrapped with ribbon. “I swear, you guys, Valentine’s Day is the best. Chocolate and confessions!”
Uraraka giggled, leaning across her desk. “You’re just excited because you got one before class even started.”
Mina pressed the box to her cheek dramatically. “Can you blame me? I bet it was from some underclassmen!”
Since elementary school, he’d learned not to expect the neat little boxes, the hand-decorated bags, the whispered exchanges in the hallway. People didn’t look at him that way. They hadn’t, back then, when he was quirkless. And now that he was a third-year hero-in-training and successor to the Number One… it still hadn’t really changed.
But a small sense of hope ignited in him, maybe things would be different this year.
Still, as Mina shrieked again about the possibility of a secret admirer, Izuku slid into his seat and pulled out his notebook, pressing the pen to the page as if it could anchor him there. His handwriting wobbled slightly.
From across the room, Bakugo slammed the classroom door.
“Shut the hell up, Pinky. Some of us don’t give a damn about your stupid chocolates.”
Mina stuck her tongue out. “Jealous much?”
“Jealous my ass!” Bakugo barked, sparking faintly at his palms. But when his eyes flicked—just for a fraction of a second—toward Izuku, sitting quiet with his pen scratching, he jerked his head away, scowling harder.
Because deep in his bag, beneath his notebooks and gloves, was a small box filled with chocolates wrapped in all might paper. He’d spent an hour last night redoing the bow because it didn’t look good enough and some time making the actual milk chocolate.
And now there was no way in hell he was just going to hand it over.
"Ugh" Bakugo slammed his bag down onto his desk grimaces at the display of flowers on his desk while knocking them over. "Did you assholes allow one of the underclassmen to walk in here?"
"Aww c'mon Bakubro don't be like that!" Kirishima answers from his desk, already chewing on a chocolate bun he had received from another student this morning.
Bakugo grunts, grabbing the flowers and dunking it into the trash bin. "Way to ruin my morning."
Sero whistles as he props an elbow on his desk, looming over Bakugo's angered demeanor. "Bitter are we?" He chuckles, popping a heart shaped lollipop into his mouth, observing the flowers in the bin and frowning at its ruined state. "Denki's going to be fuming out of jealousy if he sees you ruining such a perfectly good bouquet y'know?"
"It's not my fault Dunce Face doesn't get shit, besides you take it if it bothers you." He rolls his eyes and sets down his notebook. "And I'm not fuckin' bitter. I just don't like it when someone put their mess on my desk."
Sero twirled the lollipop stick in his mouth and let his eyes wander the classroom. “Speaking of which…” He leaned across the aisle, tilting his head toward Izuku. “What about you, Midoriya? Anyone slip something on your desk when you weren’t looking?”
Izuku blinked, startled, pen still hovering above his page. “Huh? Oh—uh, no, nothing like that.” He laughed quickly, rubbing the back of his neck. “It’s fine, though! I’m not really… expecting anything.”
“Aw, don’t sell yourself short, dude.” Sero grinned, wagging the lollipop. “You’re practically UA’s golden boy. Someone’s gotta have their eye on you.”
The tips of Izuku’s ears burned. He tried to smile, but his gaze drifted—unbidden—toward the trash bin. The bouquet lay there, crumpled and broken, stems bent at awkward angles beneath the weight of discarded papers.
Izuku forced his pen back to the page, knuckles white around it. “I-It’s okay,” he said softly, almost to himself. “Really.”
The door slid open with a heavy clack, and the air in the classroom instantly shifted.
Aizawa trudged in, scarf dragging, hair a wild curtain around his face. He set a stack of papers on the desk with a loud thunk.
“Settle down,” he droned, voice flat but edged with warning. “I don’t care what day it is. You’ve still got work to do.”
The chatter died instantly. Mina slouched in her seat with a pout, Sero sucked his lollipop quieter, and Bakugo muttered something under his breath as he yanked out a notebook.
Aizawa’s tired gaze swept over the class. “Good. Stay that way.”
By the time the bell rang for break, the tension had simmered back into the usual classroom buzz. Students shuffled to the hall for snacks, a few clustered near desks to compare gifts again.
Once everyone had left the classroom, Bakugo dug into his bag to fish out a small box of chocolates that he had been trying to make all night by himself.
He opens the lid to check if nothing inside was damaged or cracked from his way here. All the heart-shaped chocolates were in perfect condition and he grins to himself as he puts the lid back on. He looked around the room one more time just incase.
He stands up once the coast is clear, making it quick as he places the box on no other than Izuku's desk.
He sighs. Of course he finds it pathetic that Izuku was going to find out about his feelings in this way. It's a little too childish but it's better than approaching him by saying it to his face—Katsuki could slip up big time.
He knows it's definitely going to be somewhat of a shock since he's been mean to Izuku all these years they've been working together.
But something about watching Izuku becoming a determined hero, something Katsuki had been annoyed of. Them working together, fighting together, talking with each other like nothing had happened — eventually the annoyance had turned to adoration, then adoration had turned into genuine feelings.
Keeping the angry act on Izuku was getting harder and harder everyday. Katsuki feels like it's time that Izuku should be told about how he truly feels.
.
.
.
Katsuki could barely eat a thing from his bento as he nervously sat at the lunch table while everyone else was laughing and chatting about all the gifts they've received so far. Katsuki has his own pile formulating in his bag, but that's the least of his worries.
“Yo, Bakugou,” Kirishima said through a mouthful of rice. “You good, man? You’re fidgeting with your food.”
“I’m fine,” Katsuki snapped, shoving food in his mouth to shut him up. He ignored the way his chopsticks trembled slightly.
Back in the classroom, Izuku returned earlier than most of the others, notebooks tucked under one arm. He froze halfway to his desk. Izuku returned earlier than most of the others, notebooks tucked under one arm. He froze halfway to his desk.
There, sitting squarely in the center, was a small box. His brows knit in confusion. He glanced around—empty. Only the faint echo of voices drifted from the hall.
Slowly, he approached, fingertips brushing the lid. It was… chocolates? A whole box of heart-shaped chocolates, carefully made, carefully arranged. His breath caught in his throat. “Wha—” He swallowed. “This can’t be right.”
Izuku’s mind scrambled for explanations. Was this a prank? Someone trying to tease him? He picked it up gingerly, tilting it in his hands. No note. Just a name and the gift itself. His heart pounded.
And if someone had left it for him—what if he was making a fool of himself believing it was real?
The door slid open behind him and his classmates began to fill in.
"Midoriya!!" Kirishima greets him upon entering. "Got anything yet?"
"Oh! Uh, no." Izuku answers simply as he hid the box behind his back.
"For real?!" Kirishima pouts again. "Come over here, I'll let you have one of these chocolate bars."
"That's sweet but it's alright, thank you." He refuses, turning to stand by his table to pick his lunch from his bag.
Bakugo sinks deeper into himself as he sees Izuku upon walking into the room. He feels his soul leaving him when he notices Izuku stiffen with his eyes on the name on box. Holy shit. Holy shit. This was it. He did it.
Katsuki clears his throat, looking back down and making a beeline towards his desk, quickly sitting down, trying to feel unbothered that Izuku had already seen the gift from him.
His eyes glanced up for a second, realizing Izuku was walking towards him with the box in his hand. He panics and decides to start shuffling his papers to look occupied.
He really didn't think Izuku would be straightforward with this. He thought Izuku would let it fly by for now and have a word with him at the end of the day but no—!
He really was approaching him right now to confront him of the confession of his feelings.
He remains looking down even though he could feel Izuku already standing next to him.
"Uh, Kacchan?"
Katsuki freezes, swallowing, before looking up, pretending to look unfazed. "What do you want?"
Izuku looks at the box one more time before he hands it to Katsuki.
"I think you misplaced this!"
He fumbled to set the gift back down, hands fluttering. “Ah—I mean this is yours, right? You must’ve—uh, put it here by mistake.” Izuku said forcing a laugh.
'What!?"
"I found it on my desk." He reaffirms.
"Tch." Katsuki hesitantly reaches for the box, feeling a vein twitch under his eyes as he takes it back. His head was screaming at him— telling him to correct Izuku, but he didn't.
"R-right. It's mine."
He gulps, putting the box down on his desk.
Izuku nods at him with a lit expression before leaving him to go back to his desk.
Katsuki stares into the void upon what had just happened. He knows that Izuku was a little bit of an airhead but today was a whole other level.
He glances back at Izuku from his desk, silently sitting down as he chows onto a piece of bread he bought this morning at the convenient store in front of the school as always.
Katsuki always finds himself grimacing at the sight of Izuku's meals during lunch time and he see's how worse his breakfast and dinner can get.
If he and Izuku were dating, he'd make sure that he'd eat better.
Apparently the chances of that happening are descending as he just sits there, still in awe of what the hell just occurred.
He stares back down at the box in hand, sucking through his teeth, planning to give it another go later.
The rest of the day was torture.
Katsuki shoved the box back into his bag, swearing under his breath. He’d try again. He had to.
During training drills, he caught Izuku on the edge of the field. His heart thudded as he reached into his bag—only for Present Mic to shout for them to line up. Izuku jogged ahead without a second thought, and Katsuki’s chance slipped away.
At the end of heroics, he tried again. Izuku was bent over his notebook, scribbling notes about quirks with that same obsessive focus that always made Katsuki want to scream. Katsuki hovered behind him, clutching the box, but Uraraka plopped down beside Izuku with a grin, asking if he wanted to walk to the cafeteria together. Izuku agreed instantly, notebook still in hand. Katsuki shoved the box back into his bag so hard it nearly cracked.
By last period, Katsuki was losing it. He leaned against his desk, waiting, glaring holes into the back of Izuku’s head. Just one second alone, that was all he needed. One second to push the damn thing into his hands and spit out the words he couldn’t swallow anymore.
But each time Izuku turned, someone else got there first—Yaoyorozu asking for help on notes, Iida insisting on a group meeting, Mina chattering about gossip. The world itself seemed dead set on cock-blocking him.
By the final bell, Katsuki still hadn’t done it. His throat burned with swallowed curses.
Katsuki’s grip tightened on the box in his bag. Dammit.
He wasn’t letting this day end without Izuku knowing.
He hears a boisterous laughter coming from beside him and he doesn't need to guess who it was for him to recognize that annoying laugh. He turns and frowns at the sight of more chocolates on his desk, and Denki is across from him, reading a few love letters, being the nosy ass he's always been. "Oh you have to read these Bakugo!! They're hilarious!"
"Haha! Our underclassmen seem really passionate!" Kirishima joins in, sitting on a desk as he reads through one of them as well. "They love to see you despite your scary facade"
Katsuki snatches the letters from them. "Get off you pests!" He swats them away but Denki only returns another chuckle which pisses Bakugo off more.
"Aw come on. It's the end of the day and you're still hot-headed." Denki places both his hands to rub his temples. "Learn to cool off." Bakugo swats him off again like a fly but he just laughs again.
"There doesn't seem to be any way of getting to you then. If I had to guess, something tells me you had been turned down today." He jokes but the silence Bakugo has responded to him has answered his queries. "Oh shit." He purses his lips, a little worried that he must have struck the bell too hard.
Luckily Kirishima was able to divert his mistake by putting his attention to Sero. He pulls him in to join the circle of their conversation. Katsuki just eyes Izuku before his eyes glance down at the box underneath the test sheets on his desk.
He tries not to include himself with their conversation, pretending to look busy as he hears the three talk about their experiences today. "Everyone handed me their bentos! I refused but I ate them all anyway," Kirishima laughs, reminiscing the events of the scene this morning.
"Nice!" Denki comments, putting his arm over Izuku's shoulder, tugging him close. "I'm sure you had your own surprise from one of your fans today this time."
Izuku shakes his head. "As expected, I didn't receive anything this year." "Really?!" Kirishima's eyes go wide. "But you're so manly Mido-bro!"
Izuku laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. “No, it’s fine. I’m used to it!”
Denki gave him a side-eye, still draped over his shoulder. “Nah, that’s tragic. Someone’s gotta be into you. I mean, you’re practically class president material if Iida wasn’t already—plus, you’re Deku. Our future Number One. No way nobody out there’s crushing.”
Izuku’s smile faltered for half a second, his gaze flicking downward. “I-It’s really okay. I’m not expecting anything. I’ve got plenty to focus on already!"
"I feel bad," Kirishima pouts, rubbing his cheek on Izuku's head to try and cheer him up even though Izuku clearly wasn't upset at all. "You can have half of mine! I swear! Take it all!"
"Mine too!" Sero offers it as well.
Katsuki exhales after hearing their chatter as he reaches to take out the box from under the papers. He turns away, lending it over to Izuku. "Here, you can take this one too."
"Even Bakugo is offering you something!?" Kirishima beams. "You have to take it Midoriya!"
Izuku blinks a couple of times as he gazes at the back of Katsuki's head since he was turned away. He looks down at the box that he recognizes from earlier with the all might wrapper. "Thank you Kacchan!" He smiles at him, opening the lid to see the contents. Izuku is in awe of how well-made and well-packed the chocolates were.
Both Kirishima and Denki peek into the contents of the box as well and both their eyes dazzle at the dessert before them. Denki reaches to read the tag and lifts a brow. "Seems like you were going to give this to somebody."
"Yeah, but they didn't like it." Bakugo shrugs, resuming on organizing the papers on his desk, afraid to look up and read the expression on Izuku's face.
"No wonder you're even more of an angry gremlin than you normally are." Denki jokes as Sero joins in with the laughter.
Izuku remains quiet though as his eyes never leave the gift in his hands.
.
.
.
It's the end of the day. Most of the staff would have left the school by now and the other students must have been out on their own plans for the evening. Katsuki had just finished packing up all the gifts he had received today, mostly just the chocolates since he can't let those go to waste. He plans on giving them to his parents the next time he goes home. He finishes skimming through the childish love letters and as much as he appreciates their feelings towards him, it doesn't really faze him as much since his heart is already taken.
He stacks the letters somewhere, not really finding it pleasant to keep them since he doesn't really have any use for them so he thinks of disposing of them in the morning.
He slings his case strap over his shoulder, ready to call it a day. He glances up at the window of their classroom, admiring the view of the sunset, watching students walking out the main entrance of the school premises.
He sighs contentedly, knowing he was able to give Izuku the present he made him. Although it didn't go according to what he had planned, at least he was able to receive it at the end of the day. Maybe it was best that Izuku wouldn't recognize his feelings just yet. They're both too busy anyway and work will just get in their way.
Katsuki nods to himself after finding a conclusion for his thoughts, he looks towards the door, nearly jumping out of his skin when sees Izuku staring at him like a ghost.
"What the hell?!" He yells at him, holding his chest to try and pull his soul back to earth. "Don't just fucking scare me like that! How long have you been standing there?"
“Sorry, Kacchan,” Izuku mumbled, stepping inside the room. His voice was quieter than usual, weighed down with something Bakugo couldn’t quite name. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I was waiting for you to see me." Izuku answers with a bashful expression in his face as he walks towards him.
Katsuki notices that Izuku is still holding the box from earlier, making him blush and turn away. "What else do you want this time?"
Izuku looks down at the box in his hands. "I don't think I was able to thank you enough earlier for this." Izuku answers sheepishly. His tone makes Katsuki's heart skip in delight. "I was in awe of how well you made these! It's a shame that the original receiver of this gift didn't like it..."
Katsuki sighs, rubbing the back of his neck. "It's yours."
"Huh?"
"It's supposed to be yours." Katsuki repeats, quivering a little before he adds. "I-I made it for you."
Izuku's eyes widen. "So when I… when I saw this on my desk.."
"Yes. I didn't mistakenly put it there, idiot." Katsuki averts his eyes away from Izuku as he explains. He can see Izuku looking just as flustered as he was.
They both fidget in place, unsure of what the next step should be now that this was actually happening.
“Kacchan…” His voice trailed, caught between disbelief and something warmer that pushed at his chest.
Bakugo clicked his tongue and shoved his free hand into his pocket. “Don’t make a big deal out of it. It’s just chocolate.”
Izuku blushes, clutching the box carefully to his chest, afraid he'll ruin it if he holds it too harshly. "I also had something for you."
"Really?" Bakugo goes wide-eyed, staring up at Izuku's eyes to try and guess if he was bluffing or not, but by the way he was shyly standing before him and made it clear that this was no joke.
Izuku nods bashfully but refuses to tell Katsuki where it was.
"What..what is it then?" He tries to coax it out of him because of course he was curious.
Izuku presses his lips into a thin line, afraid to tell Katsuki cause he knows he'll feel awful, so instead, he uses his eyes to point out where it was.
Katsuki gets the signal, following the direction of Izuku's stare until his eyes land on the flowers in the trash bin.
He instantly panics, hurriedly digging the posies out from under the garbage and dusting off other things that had ruined it's quality. Katsuki feels his heart sink onto the ground, not realizing it was from Izuku and he actually had the guts to dump it in the trash. He hugs the flowers to his chest brushing some scraps of paper clinging to the petals. "I'm so fucking sorry!!"
Izuku chuckles. "It's okay!!! I knew I should have named it from me but I was too afraid to let you know who it was from."
Katsuki looks back at him, still feeling the weight of the guilt on his chest. He stares down at the flowers in his hand, some of which are wilted and the stems were already twisted and broken and yet Katsuki still thinks it's the prettiest thing he's ever seen (under Izuku of course). He inhales, looking up at Izuku, straight into his eyes. "Let me make it up to you. I'll treat you for dinner."
Izuku blushes at the invitation. "Like..like a date?"
"Like a date." Katsuki courageously confirms.
Izuku doesn't need to think twice for him to agree. "Okay!"
By the time Katsuki gets back after their first date, he puts the flowers in a vase, displaying it on his shelf while all his friends grimace at the sight of the ugliest fucking bouquet they've ever seen.
None of them question Bakugo though, since he looks very happy with how it looks.