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It started after patrol one day during third year. What seemed like a perfectly normal day turned sour in only a few hours. Katsuki Bakugou sat in the dorm common room attempting to help his friends complete their math homework. As a third year, things had majorly calmed down. The war during their second year had changed the class, and now the ragtag group of who was left were closer than ever. It was for this reason that no one thought twice about it when Katsuki had practically leapt out of his chair at the sight of Aizawa dragging Izuku through the common room and to the elevator to get him to his dorm room.
”What's wrong with him?” Kirishima yelled over the commotion, watching as Katsuki wandered over to the two of them.
“He got hit with a civilians’ quirk while fighting off a street thug. Apparently the kid has the ability to heat up a persons’ body temperature, so now he’s got a cold. He should be fine in a few days but he’s really… delirious. He keeps asking for his mom, and something about sunshine?”
”He wants his moms’ special song. He’s got the mindset of a child right now, he always gets this way when he’s sick.” Katsuki said, and Aizawa paused for a moment before nodding.
“Does anyone want to keep an eye on him for me? I can—“
“I got it.” Katsuki said, reaching over and setting his hand on Izuku’s arm, rubbing it slightly to let him know he was there, as the boy had since closed his eyes and appeared to be drifting off.
“Kacchan…?”
“Yeah, I’m here. You’re ok.”
Izuku smiled slightly, reaching over for Katsuki like a toddler. Katsuki stepped closer, letting Izuku settle into his chest and hide his face. Katsuki quickly looked around and placed his hands under Izuku’s arms, hoisting him up as he wrapped his legs around Katsuki’s waist. Aizawa chuckled slightly before turning and walking back out of the dorms.
Izuku pressed his head to Katsuki’s neck, giggling slightly. “Tickles.” Katsuki rolled his eyes before moving his arms to hold Izuku around the waist, tickling him less. He turned around and walked towards the elevator, ignoring the snickers coming from his classmates. Katsuki carried Izuku to his room, fishing the key out of Izuku’s pocket before unlocking the door.
”Hey, you still with me?”
“Mmmphff.”
Katsuki sat Izuku down on the edge of his bed, allowing his arms to fall back to his own body. “Can you get your pants off?”
”Kacchan!” Izuku giggled, almost sounding offended. “I don’t know what your angle is here, but I am still aware of my surroundings.”
”Not like that, you absolute bafoon. You can’t sleep in your school uniform. How did you even get changed out of your hero costume in the first place?”
“I started to feel funny after getting out of the shower.” Izuku said, reaching for the button on his pants and popping it open, wobbling to his feet and trying to catch his balance. “I was able to get dressed and get to Aizawa. But I want my mom.” He said, tears starting to well up in his eyes.
”I know. It’s ok. You can see her soon. But for right now, let's get you some sleep. You can hang onto me for balance but get your pants off the rest of the way.” Katsuki stepped closer, and Izuku grabbed ahold of his arm with one hand, the other tugging at his pants to get them down over his hips. When he finally managed his task, he let go of Katsuki and sat back down, pulling them the rest of the way off.
“Are you coordinated enough right now to get the buttons on your shirt, or do I need to do it?”
“I’ll try.” Izuku sniffled, fumbling with the first button. Katsuki turned and walked over to Izuku’s closet, opening it and finding the softest shirt he could. He then wandered over to the dresser, opening the drawers slightly until finding the one with his pj pants in it, grabbing a pair out and walking back over to Izuku.
“I can’t—“ Izuku said in defeat, the tears pouring down his cheeks;. “It hurts too much. I can’t do it.”
”Ok. I got it.” Katsuki crouched down in front of Izuku and draped the clothes over his leg, reaching for the button Izuku had bee struggling with and undoing it easily. He kept going, undoing the whole set of them, and then stood back up, helping to pull the shirt off of his body. Izuku sighed in relief, the feeling of his scratchy school clothes finally off of his body. “Put your arms up.” Izuku looked at him for a second in complete agony, and complied with the request. Katsuki slipped the shirt on him, pulling it down and then making sure Izuku was ok.
At this point, Izuku had started to wobble. Katsuki stared at him for a second, sighing in slight annoyance. Not at the boy in front of him, but at the kid that had done this to him in the first place. Katsuki grabbed the pj pants off of Izuku’s leg and placed them on the foot of the bed. “Ok, stand up a second.” Izuku slowly rose to his feet and Katsuki reached around him, pulling the blankets down on his bed. It didn’t take long for Izuku to collapse back down onto the bed. Pulling his legs up into the bed, Izuku grimaced in pain. Katsuki shook his head, covering him up and then staring down at him.
“What?”
”Where is it.”
”Where is what, Kacchan?”
”Your blanket. Where is it?”
Izuku sighed, pointing at his closet. “Up top. I hate that you knew I’d brought that with me.”
”I’m not stupid.” Katsuki walked over to the closet again and opened it, staring up at the top shelf for a second before spotting that familiar shade of yellow and pulling the baby blanket down. He unfolded it and shook it out slightly, returning to the bed, and plopping it down onto Izuku’s chest, watching him cuddle into it and take a deep breath in. “You and that thing were inseparable as kids. I knew you’d have it somewhere.”
“Don’t act like you don’t still have that tattered stuffed puppy, I know you do.”
“Shut the hell up, this is about you, not me.” Katsuki blushed slightly, turning to leave the room.
“Where are you going?!?” Izuku panicked, trying to sit up to reach for Katsuki. “Please don’t leave…”
Katsuki sighed. “Let me go make you some tea and I’ll be right back. Go to sleep.”
After. Long moment of hesitation, Izuku relented. “Ok. Just promise you’ll come back.”
”I promise, now go to sleep.”
Izuku smiled slightly, snuggling deeper into his baby blanket and closing his eyes.
Katsuki closed the door behind him, walking back to the elevator and going back down to the ground floor. He walked straight past his friends, still on the couch doing homework, and found himself in the kitchen. “Turn the water on for me, would ya?”
”Say please.” Shinsou said, rolling his eyes and doing it anyway.
“Thanks.”
”So Midoriya is sick, huh? And you’re taking care of him?”
”What's that supposed to mean dude?” Katsuki said, hand on his hip and a look of annoyance on his face.
”I didn’t take you for the ‘Care for someone while their sick’ type. I thought you’d leave him alone and wait for him to get better by himself.”
”I’m the only one that knows how to help him feel better. Comes in the handbook you acquire after knowing him his whole life.”
”So you’re basically his wife.”
“Ex-fucking-scuse you?”
“What?” Shinsou laughed, pouring the soda he was holding into the cup he had pulled out of the cabinet. He let the can hover above it for a few moments to make sure he had it all, before walking over to the door and poking his head out. “Here’s your drink, Denks.”
“Yeah, you have no room to speak.”
“Never said I did.” Shinsou handed the drink off to Denki, who in turn pushed up on his tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his cheek.
“Gross.”
“No you.” Denki deadpanned, and Katsuki rolled his eyes. The kettle came to a rolling boil, and the button clicked back into position. Katsuki turned to make the tea he had promised Izuku, ignoring the other two in the kitchen.
“So, Kacchan of the Bakugous, why did you immediately jump into taking care of Midoriya? You got a thing for him?” Katsuki stopped with the kettle tilted slightly above the thermos he was making the tea in, and slowly turned around.
”You wanna match Icyhot, huh sparkplug?”
Denki’s eyes went comically wide as he backed away, hiding behind his boyfriend.
“No, he’s definitely onto something.” Shinsou said, smirking. “You definitely have a thing for him. Otherwise you would’a told him to go deal with it himself, not picked him up and carried him to his room.”
Katsuki finished pouring the water into the thermos and set the kettle down, slowly turning to face the two absolute pain in the ass people bothering him. “Look, I know what this looks like. But will you two please just drop it? I can’t do this right now. We’re almost done with high school. I just want to enjoy my time here before it’s gone.”
”But wouldn’t it be more fun to have him by your side?” Shinsou asked, mischief behind his eyes.
”You know what, you—“
Denki burst out laughing at the blank look on Katsuki’s face as he was taken over by Shinsou’s quirk. “Just admit it, Bakugou.”
Katsuki, try as he might, could not stop the words from tumbling out of his mouth. “I’ve been in love with him for years.”
Shinsou and Denki whipped their heads around to look at each other in complete shock. “In love with him? Dude, I thought maybe you had a crush on him or something but wasn’t expecting that!” Denki whisper-yelled. Shinsou released his quirk and Immediately threw his arms up over his face, preparing to get decked.
Katsuki stood there, staring at his feet. “I hate you both.” He screwed the lid on the thermos, grabbed a Gatorade and a package of crackers— stuffing both in his pockets— then pushed his way past Shinsou and out of the kitchen. He stopped in the common room, observing the mess of students all around each other. He watched Sero and Todoroki reading in a corner instead of studying. He watched as Iida and Uraraka tackled hard equations together. He stood there long enough to watch Shinsou and Denki walk back out of the kitchen hand in hand, and sit down together on the available love seat next to the couch. Katsuki swallowed hard and walked back to the elevator, stealing one last glance at his happy classmates.
He opened Izuku’s door, quietly sliding in and setting the food down on his nightstand before looking around the room. He rolled his eyes in fondness at the All Might decor, but eventually sat down on the floor and pulled his phone out of his pocket. He spent some time reading, losing track of time until his phone gave a low battery warning. As he reached for Izuku’s charger, he came face to face with Izuku, his big green eyes focused solely on Katsuki. Katsuki jumped, his hand shooting to his chest. “Holy shit, you just scared me. Little twerp.”
Izuku tried to laugh, but Katsuki could see how much effort it was taking and reached over, grabbing his nose and shaking gently. “Kacchan, can’t breathe.”
“Sit up, drink your tea. It’ll make you feel better.”
”Ok.” Izuku struggled for a moment to get his body into a seated position, but once he was there he looked over at Katsuki for reassurance. Katsuki handed him the tea, unscrewing the lid and letting the steam billow out before sitting down on the side of the bed next to Izuku. “Thanks, Kacchan. I appreciate it.” He blew on the top for a few seconds before tentatively taking a drink of the hot liquid.
Katsuki smiled slightly, and watched as Izuku drank the tea slowly. ”You still doing ok, or do you feel like you’re getting worse?”
”I’m starting to feel a little worse honestly. My entire body feels like I just fought a war all by myself. And my head is killing me.”
Katsuki sighed. “I’m sorry, ‘Zuku.” He reached over and placed the back of his hand on Izuku’s forehead, feeling for a temperature. As soon as he touched him, he could feel just how hot he was. “You’re burning up.”
“I feel like I’m dying.” Izuku zoned in on his tea, tears starting to slip down his cheeks again.
“Here, give me that.” Katsuki said, taking the tea and putting the lid back on, setting it down. “Move over.”
”Huh?”
”Just do it, before I change my mind.”
Izuku painfully moved over to the other side of his bed, staring at Katsuki in confusion. “What’s going on?”
Katsuki kicked his slippers off and lifted the covers, laying down next to Izuku. “Turn over, on your side.” Izuku did as he was told, turning until he was facing the wall. Katsuki hesitated for a moment before wrapping his arm around Izuku, pulling him up against his body. He slowly began to rock the two of them.
”Thank you, Kacchan.” Izuku mumbled, slowly starting to drift off again.
After a couple of hours, Katsuki woke up to the sound of crying. He startled awake, leaning over Izuku and Making sure he was ok. When he realized that Izuku was crying in his sleep, he slowly began to rub circles on his stomach with his thumb, coaxing the boy awake.
“It-It hurts Kacchan. Everything hurts so bad. I don’t want to do this anymore.”
Katsuki took in a deep breath before starting the rocking motion again, allowing himself to calm his nerves before he started.
”You are my sunshine,
My only sunshine.”
Katsuki felt Izuku’s breath hitch as he sang, and the sobbing started to slow.
“You make me happy
When skies are gray.
You’ll never know dear,
how much I love you.
please don’t take
my sunshine away.”
Izuku’s breathing evened out, and suddenly he was turning around in Katsuki’s arms, cuddling into his chest. “Keep going.”
Katsuki sighed, bringing his hand up to twist into green curls as he began to sing again.
“The other night Dear,
as I lay sleeping.
I dreamt I held you in my arms.
When I awoke dear,
I was mistaken,
So I hung my head and I cried.”
Izuku hummed happily as he pressed himself into Katsuki, feeling the vibration of him singing radiating throughout his whole body.
“You are my sunshine,
My only sunshine.
You make me happy,
Every day.
You’ll never know dear,
How much I love you.
Please don’t take
my sunshine away.”
Katsuki began to hum the melody of the song for a while, still rocking Izuku back and forth. Izuku smiled—Katsuki could feel it— and then he wrapped his arm around Katsuki’s waist. “I love you, Kacchan.”
Katsuki froze. “Izuku, you’re sick right now, and not in the right mindset. Don’t say things like that.”
”But I mean it. I love you.”
”We’ll talk about this when you feel better, ok? I’ll listen to what you have to say. Promise.”
Izuku sighed. “Ok.” He snuggled into Katsuki’s chest, giving into sleep again.
The next morning, Izuku woke up feeling almost completely better. Katsuki smiled at him as he excitedly talked about random things that came to his mind. He stared at his face, counting his freckles, watching his eyes light up.
“Hey, I meant what I said last night.”
”Huh?”
”I told you that I love you. I meant that.” Katsuki stared at him for a few seconds before he felt his face heat up. ”You don’t have to like me back. I just wanted you to know.”
”That’s the problem, Izuku. I do love you. I have for years.”
”Why is that a problem?”
”I don’t want to hold you back. I want you to be happy and successful. I don't want to be the reason you don’t reach your full potential.”
“Katsuki, listen to me. All my life, being around you has made me stronger. It’s made me work harder and strive to be better so that I could keep up with you. You are the reason I’m even here.”
Katsuki stared at him for a second. “Really?”
“Yes, really. You’re the reason I’m the person I am today.”
Katsuki thought about it for a moment. “I’m… Willing to give it a shot.”
”Really?” Izuku sat up slightly, staring down at Katsuki in bewilderment.
“Yeah. I’m a better person around you. I want to do stuff like this for you for as long as you’ll let me.”
Izuku flopped back down with a giggle. “So does that make you my boyfriend now?”
”Yeah, I guess it does.” Katsuki smiled. Izuku turned back onto his side, facing Katsuki. He pressed his forehead against Katsuki’s, a smile across his lips. Katsuki reached up and set his hand on the side of Izuku’s face, running his thumb over the freckles on his cheek. Izuku bumped his nose against Katsuki’s, a small giggle as he did.
“Stop teasing.” Katsuki said, feigning annoyance. He leaned forward slightly, pressing his lips to Izuku’s. He felt Izuku smile, and soon, he was as well. As he pulled away, Izuku laughed a little.
“I hope you don’t get sick.”
”You little shit.”
Katsuki did, in fact, get sick.