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Katsuki couldn’t believe it. Deku was in his house, and with only two legs.
He had only ever known the cecaelia to have eight, but the idiot had gotten caught up with some “ocean wizard,” and he had to experience “love’s true kiss” in order to revert to his regular, tentacled self.
So now the nerd was sifting through Katsuki’s closet, picking out clothes to wear for the foreseeable future, while Ma was cooking up a storm down in the kitchen.
“This will be just like when we were kids,” Deku said, picking up one of Katsuki’s several skull shirts and scrutinizing it. “Well, you know, except for the different number of legs and I never spent too much time out of water, but close enough, right? How do people fall in love anyway? Most merfolk have different variations of courting gifts, but I don’t know if humans like the same kind of gifts. And is that love? What is love anyway?”
Katsuki was immensely grateful that Dunce Face wasn’t around or he would have busted out in song.
“Cool it, Legs,” Katsuki teased. “We’ll get you set up on a dating app or something, take you to bars. You’ll figure it out.”
Deku put on a random band shirt, his head of curls popping out through the collar. “Don’t you know?”
“Ha?”
“Don’t you know about falling in love?” Deku asked earnestly. His eyes were doing that big, dopey thing, the way they always did when Deku assumed Katsuki knew everything.
Katsuki snorted, despite Deku’s pleading. “Fuck, no. That shit’s for losers.”
Deku, of course, pouted. “So that makes me a loser because I want my life back?”
Katsuki rolled his eyes and threw a pair of shorts at the other man. “You’ve always been a loser, so it’s fine for you.”
Deku scrutinized the shorts and looked around for another pair. “Alright, Kacchan, if you say so.”
“Can you just pick one so we can move on?” Katsuki demanded.
Deku huffed and threw the current pair in his grip to the floor. “I have never worn pants before! Human legs already feel weird, and then to have stiff fabric brushing up against them constantly, I’d rather go naked!”
Katsuki sighed. Deku did have a point, but he certainly couldn’t go around naked. Katsuki dug into his dresser and grabbed out his loosest pair of basketball shorts and tossed them at the now-human cecaelia. “Here, these might work better. Not very fashionable, but more comfortable.”
Thankfully, they were just what Deku needed.
“Oh, these will work just fine!” Deku smiled, swishing the shorts around his thighs. “Let’s go find someone to fall in love with.”
— — —
Katsuki didn’t have the heart to tell Deku this might not be easy. While Katsuki wasn’t one for dating around ever, he had been inundated with enough manga and movies to know that finding true love was a challenge unless the plot had to be resolved in ninety minutes, or eight thousand words, give or take a few.
He decided to consult his idiot friends since they at least had experience with dating. In fact they had practically committed friendship incest in their high school years, figuring out who liked who best before they settled out into their respective relationships.
So now, full of all the food Ma had made them eat, the two of them were at the bar to strategize with the idiots.
“Let me get this straight,” Kirishima said, one hand holding tight to his beer and the other gesturing, “you need to find true love’s kiss, and then you’ll get your legs back and go back to the ocean?”
Izuku took a deep sip from his second soda of the night and nodded. “Yep!”
“But that’s kinda funny,” Ashido said. She stirred her peach bellini with that tiny straw, peering over the rim at Izuku. “Like, you fall in love and then you have to go into the ocean and be entirely separate from them, and not even be compatible species!”
“Until yesterday I was mostly ocean-bound but Kacchan and I were still friends and saw each other regularly,” Deku said defensively. “So it’s not entirely fair to say that just because I turn back into my cecaelia self that I won’t be able to maintain a loving relationship with my true love.”
“It sounds so sweet when you say it that way!” Hagakure giggled as she leaned into Ojrio’s arm.
Katsuki rolled his eyes. “We’re not asking you guys about the feasibility of the relationship after the curse is broken, we just need to help this dweeb fall in love.”
“No, they have a point,” Sero cut in, hastily swallowing his beer. “Because it’s not fair to either of you if the other person isn’t willing to live close to the ocean and even spend time in it. What if your true love is land-locked and far from the shore? That would require a big commitment on their part, and you wouldn’t even have legs to come to them on land.”
“I’ll have plenty of legs, thank you!” Deku pouted, nursing his straw. “But I see what you mean.”
“So we should keep our efforts closer to the coast?” Kirishima volunteered.
Ashido nodded through her cocktail. “I think that’s a good strategy. I’ll help you set up a dating profile, and we’ll take you to dance clubs and such.”
“This guy can barely walk,” Katsuki snorted. “What makes you think he can dance?”
“That’s not fair!” Deku whined. He shoved his finger in Katsuki’s face. “I’ll show you I can dance! I dance just fine in the ocean where I’ve got the correct number of legs; I can do it here too.”
Katsuki raised his eyebrow, amused. “Alright, if you think so.”
“I know so.”
Ashido looked between the two of them, scrutinizing them. “Bakugou, are you sure—”
“There are other places to meet people besides dance clubs,” Jiro said, giving Ashido a side-eye glare as she cut her off. “It would be better to try meeting people that share interests with you, Midoriya. What are your interests?”
Izuku sat up eagerly and began to ramble off everything he was interested in. There were plenty of things, since Katsuki had introduced him to a lot of human pop culture over the years. So, thanks to the girls, they developed a detailed strategy that included dating apps, dance clubs, bars, book clubs, libraries, volunteering, and to Katsuki’s chagrin, aquariums. Between the family business and being friends with Deku, Katsuki had always resented the way they treated their animals.
And yet somehow Deku had latched onto that idea as being the best place to start. So already, the next day, they were up early and on their way to the aquarium.
Pinky: Have fun on your _not_ a date (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧
Katsuki could have strangled her if she was present. He clicked off his phone and stuffed it into his pocket. He would do his best to help Deku find someone, whether it was today or any other day.
“Do you think you’re going to fall in love with an octopus or something?” Katsuki teased, as they walked up to the aquarium doors.
“Anyone who frequents aquariums is going to be interested in sea life, and thus more likely to enjoy a relationship with someone who is, well, sea life,” Deku explained with a nervous chuckle. He shrugged. “And besides, if my true love is an octopus, I’m sure they won’t mind releasing them to the ocean with me.”
“Oh really?” Katsuki said. “You’re sure about that?”
“Positive!”
Katsuki just scoffed and they entered the aquarium. Because of his disdain and frankly busy schedule, he had hardly ever been apart from one school trip, and that had been scarring enough. He had to admit it was kind of neat seeing the fish like this, even if their tanks were too small; it was easier than his shitty human eyes under water.
Deku, however, looked a bit torn. He was wearing a smile, but it was a thin and frail mask.
“What’s wrong?” Katsuki asked.
Deku pursed his lips as he gazed at the school of yellow Tang. “It’s like being back in the ocean, but I’m trapped,” he said. “They’re trapped. They’re happy enough but…”
“It’s not the ocean,” Katsuki supplied for him.
Deku smiled sadly. “Yeah.” He sighed, standing up straighter. “But I’m determined to find someone who likes fish, and this is the best place to find someone. Come on!”
The cecaelia beamed at Katsuki and led them onward, dedicated to his mission. Deku was ever the extrovert, a social butterfly-fish, if you will. However, he was socialized according to merfolk culture, and he had really only been exposed to humans through Katsuki’s family. And of course, the Bakugous had welcomed him as he was, without trying to change his ways.
So Deku’s method of making friends was a bit… direct. He walked directly up to several individuals, asking whether they were interested in sea life and if they might be interested in dating one. Yes, that was exactly how he phrased it. Katsuki thought about correcting him, but it was funnier watching Deku try this over and over again.
Most of the people he tried this with were too off-put by his approach. They politely declined his question and moved on. Some of them giggled before they declined. Many of them were, in fact, already on their own dates, not that Deku really cared or minded. He had a curse to break. Out of this entire endeavor, he got one phone number. It was enough for a start.
“I got one!” Deku cheered, showing Katsuki the contact number in his brand new phone.
Katsuki glared at the very average looking guy in the anime t-shirt, who gave Deku one final wave before parting ways.
He dropped the glare and smiled at Deku. “Good job, Legs,” he said, rubbing a hand through Deku’s dry but fluffy hair. Katsuki was used to it being a wet, tangled mess, but between Deku being out of the water and Ma making him sit down with some detangler, it was pleasantly soft to touch.
“Do you want to keep trying or call it a day?” he asked.
“I didn’t get to see all the fish,” Deku said with an exaggerated pout. “I want to make sure they’re happy.”
“Okay,” Katsuki said, giving Deku’s head a playful push. “Let’s see the rest of the fish.”
Admittedly, he spent more time watching Deku watch the fish, than looking at any fish himself. There was a look of amazed wonder on his face at fish from other parts of the world that he would have never met otherwise. And of course Deku had to repeat to Katsuki all of their names and their life stories.
He got particularly invested in a conversation with a tank of sharks. One of them, Henry, had been in the aquarium for several years, and he was ready to tell Deku all of the gossip about the sharks that had been in and out, as well as the various trainers. There were two younger sharks, Brunhilda and Ares, and they had been raised in captivity, so they asked Deku what the ocean was like, which Deku gradually rambled about. And then there was an older matriarch, Penelope, who asked Deku if he’d met any of her friends in the ocean and how they were doing.
Their visit was abruptly ended when a staff member asked them to stop conversing with the sharks, Deku wanted to argue but Katsuki grabbed him and dragged him out of there before they could make the situation any worse.
— — —
Deku excitedly told the gang about how he’d obtained a single phone number. They cheered him on with various emojis and gifs, congratulating him and encouraging him to reach out and try a date.
Pinky: You’ve got a few good potentials on the apps, but try this guy first ✧ദ്ദി( ˶^ᗜ^˶ )
Deku: Where should we go?? ( •̯́ ^ •̯̀)
So Mina coached him through planning a date, Deku sending screenshots over every step of the way. They managed to arrange a classic dinner and a movie for a few nights later.
The nerd was all excited. Katsuki helped him pick out his clothes for the occasion. Deku had adapted to wearing clothes a bit more now, although he was still picky about fabrics and fit. Unfortunately, he had developed a taste for the worst clothes. Katsuki had to practically wrestle him into better clothes than t-shirts with ironic English phrases.
“What if he’s my true love?” Deku wondered as he played with his hair. Katsuki had done his best to help Deku with it, but the nerd wouldn’t stop touching it.
“What if?” Katsuki asked, his voice falling a bit flat.
Deku frowned. “Why do you sound like that?”
“Like what?” Katsuki snapped.
“You don’t sound very optimistic,” Deku pouted.
Katsuki groaned, tapping his foot impatiently. “The guy didn’t have much true love potential, so sorry if I’m not super excited.”
“Then why didn’t you tell me that?”
“Because this is your life!” Katsuki growled.
Deku took a step back. His wide eyes looked rapidly over Katsuki, before his shocked expression fell. “Oh, okay.”
Shit. Katsuki felt terrible now. He didn’t want to apologize for what he said, but he shouldn’t have yelled at Deku either.
“Well, let’s go.”
They left in awkward silence, apart from the hag’s enthusiastic support. The train ride and walk to the meeting spot continued in silence. When they arrived, Deku finally spoke up.
“How long do you think it will take for him to fall in love with me?” he asked, keeping an eye out for his date.
Katsuki shrugged, endeavoring to be encouraging to make up for earlier. “Just be yourself and it shouldn’t take long.”
Deku looked sharply over to Katsuki, his head cocked slightly. “You mean that?”
Of course the nerd would be weepy, after Katsuki’s harsh reaction earlier. Katsuki rolled his eyes affectionately and shoved Deku away, hand flat on his face. “Stop being sentimental, Nerd. But yes, anyone would be lucky to have you.”
“Kacchan!” Deku exclaimed, his eyes getting all big and watery.
“Am I interrupting something?”
They turned to find the guy from the aquarium. His clothes were “nice” in that they were nicer than the anime t-shirt he had on at the aquarium, but they were a bit unkempt, not that Deku could tell. And his hair was a bit too styled, as if he didn’t style it often.
“Oh hi!” Deku smiled, greeting the man with a hug. Katsuki was too late to stop him, but his date didn’t seem to mind.
“Hey there, you ready?”
There was something about this guy that Katsuki didn’t like. He returned Deku’s hug a bit too eagerly, and there was a shiftiness to his eyes.
“Yes!” Deku shouted excitedly. He was about to walk off with the guy, but Katsuki grabbed his arm.
“What?” Deku asked, brow raised.
“If anything goes wrong, call me immediately,” Katsuki commanded.
“Kacchan, I’ll be fi–”
“I mean it,” Katsuki emphasized, giving Deku’s arm a light squeeze. He glared at Aquarium Guy to make his point clear to both of them.
Deku nodded. “I will.”
“And you!” Katsuki said. He let go of Deku’s arm, his attention fixed on Deku’s date. The guy visibly froze for just a moment. “If you fucking hurt him, I’ll find you and drag you into a back alley and make you wish you didn’t even know that aquariums existed, got it?”
The man rolled his eyes and took Deku by the arm. “I’ll be a perfect gentleman. Let’s go, Midoriya.”
“Bye, Kacchan!”
Katsuki waited at a nearby bar with Kirishima and Sero, gripping his beer a bit too tightly and his leg shaking uncontrollably.
“Midoriya’s gonna be fine, man,” Sero said.
“He’s on his first date, it’s exciting!” Kirishima added, with good cheer.
Katsuki scoffed. “This guy seems like a fucking creep. Picking up dates at the aquarium was the stupidest fucking idea.”
“You don’t know that for sure,” Kirishima said.
Katsuki took a deep drink of his beer and shook his head. “I should have stopped him, should have canceled it right then and there.”
“But you encouraged Midoriya to make his own decisions, and I’m proud of you,” Sero said, dramatically putting his hand on Katsuki’s shoulder.
“What the fuck does that mean?” Katsuki grumbled, glaring at Sero, who looked to Kirishima for help.
“Just that, you know, you’re a bit protective of him, that’s all,” Kirishima supplied.
“I am not protective of him!” Katsuki protested.
Sero laughed. “You follow him around like a worried, mother hen!”
Katsuki’s face grew hot, but it was probably just the alcohol. “I do not!”
“You do and it’s hella manly,” Kirishima said. “It wouldn’t be right to let a merman just roam about all by himself. He is pretty clueless, but you are pretty attached.”
Katsuki glared at them as he took another glug of his beer. Fuck these two losers.
Unfortunately, Katsuki’s concerns had been correct, and the date did not go well. Deku called him, frantically crying, so Katsuki ran over to retrieve him. They went home, and Deku was now curled up on Katsuki’s bed, crying into his shoulder.
“He seemed so nice at first!” Deku sobbed. “He asked so many interesting questions, and it was going so well.” He hiccuped through his tears. “But then it got so weird and he kept asking me weird questions about sex! Wanted to know all the things I could do with my tentacles. What kind of weirdo wants to know all those things!”
Katsuki bit his tongue, not eager to let Deku know about an entire subculture of the internet and manga publishing industry.
“I’m gonna fucking kill him,” Katsuki growled.
“Don’t do that,” Deku hiccuped.
“Okay fine, but only because you asked,” Katsuki relented too easily. Damn, he would do anything the cecaelia asked of him. “Want to watch The Little Mermaid and eat horribly unhealthy snacks?” It had quickly become Deku’s favorite movie.
“OMG yes please?!” Deku begged, his tears drying up in no time.
And so they settled in for the night, watching an old cartoon and eating excessively salty snacks, Deku cuddled into Katsuki’s side with his legs all splayed out as if they were tentacles, affectionately wrapped around the other man’s legs.
“That’s such a bummer!” Mina exclaimed.
“Some guys are just creeps,” Tohru sighed.
“What do I do?” Izuku moaned, slumping back against the cafe sofa.
“Oh, we could look through some of the guys from the dating app?” Mina suggested. “I think I’ve found a few okay ones.”
“Right! Let’s do that.” Izuku sat up and retrieved his phone. He had entrusted Mina to do the actual sifting, so she was also logged in to his profile on her phone as well. “But aren’t there some girls too?”
Mina blinked at him, a bit confused. She looked anxiously at Tohru. “I thought you were just into guys.”
Izuku shook his head. “I think I like girls too, and whoever. Humans and gender are weird; merfolk are a bit more ambiguous and flexible.”
“That makes it so much easier!” Mina squealed excitedly. “I just thought because of Bakugou that you were only into men.”
“What do you mean?” Izuku asked.
Tohru coughed and took a sip of her boba, looking at Ashido expectantly.
“Nothing!” Mina said defensively. “It’s nothing, really. Let’s just look through the selections and I’ll start brainstorming about any girls I know.”
“No, what do you mean?” Izuku pressed.
The two girls shared a look that Izuku could not read. “Well, why don’t you tell us what you’re looking for in a partner first.”
“Okay,” Izuku said suspiciously. He took a sip of his water and then began. “Well, most importantly it needs to be someone who’s okay with me returning to my cecaelia form, because I’ll be in the ocean and they’ll need to be okay working with that. And definitely not someone who only wants to have weird tentacle sex.”
The girls gave him a sympathetic grimace.
“I like someone who’s really strong, you know? Can lift a lot, maybe could even lift me.” Izuku laughed nervously, thinking of one time Kacchan had carried him back to the ocean, dumping him in the water unceremoniously. “Someone I could do just about anything with, and the time would be comfortable and natural. Someone who wants to share the world with me, someone who’s fun even if they can be grumpy sometimes, someone with intense eyes.”
“Sounds like a dream guy,” Tohru said, but Mina elbowed her. “Ow, what?”
“What?” Izuku asked, not sure at all what they were on about.
“Midoriya, sweetie, do you have any idea who that sounds like?” Mina asked.
Izuku frowned and tried to think, but no one immediately came to mind. Well, Kacchan did, but he was Kacchan. “No.”
Mina winced and nodded. “Okay, no worries. Anyway, let’s go back to looking at your options on the dating app.”
There was still something he was missing, and it frustrated him. But for now he didn’t mind obliging the girls, since they were trying so hard to help him.
There was this cute blond guy with a big smile and dark eyes, and he looked strong too, so Izuku went ahead and gave him a heart. There was a hot academic looking guy with tired eyes and purple hair. He looked like he could carry on some good conversations, so Izuku gave him a heart too.
There were a few more than Izuku left hearts on, and some girls too, now that Mina had changed his settings. There were plenty of people that were an immediate no, their vibe just wasn’t right. There was this guy with white hair and lots of tattoos that just made him nervous. Even with all the people he turned down, he had lots of options.
Mina sighed and started packing up her things. “I need to get to work, but why don’t you come dancing with us tonight?”
“Dancing?” Izuku asked excitedly.
The two girls laughed. “Yeah,” Mina said. “Now that I know you’re into girls, I can introduce you to more of my friends.”
“That would be so much fun! Let me tell Kacchan.”
Tohru laughed. “Don’t bring him.”
Mina rolled her eyes.
“Why not?” Izuku asked, confused.
“Well, he’s kind of intimidating and might deter possible dates,” Mina explained.
“Kacchan’s intimidating?” Izuku asked. Tohru laughed again, but Mina dragged her along.
“We’ll see you tonight! I’ll text you the details.”
Izuku sat in the cafe for a few minutes, trying to figure out what they had been hinting at. Humans were weird because they couldn’t communicate whole thoughts, so they sometimes broke it down into all these code words that didn’t express exactly what they wanted to say but talked around it. Izuku had yet to decode it.
Later that night, as Izuku got ready, Kacchan leaned against the door frame and glared at him.
“You’re gonna go out clubbing and you don’t want me to come?”
Izuku bit his lip. “Mina says you’re intimidating.”
“What the fuck does that mean?! I’m not intimidating!” Kacchan yelled.
“I know!” Izuku shouted back. “But I’m gonna trust them and try to do this on my own.”
“Just be fucking safe and no creeps, okay?” Kacchan instructed him.
“I will,” Izuku smiled.
“Are you gelling your hair?” Kacchan asked scrutinously.
“Yeah?” Izuku shrugged, as he wrestled with the aforementioned hair. “I’m trying.”
Kacchan rolled his eyes and grabbed Izuku by the arm. “Let me help you, because you’re trying to do it like mine, and we have totally different hair types. Come in here.”
So they went to the bathroom, where they wetted Izuku’s hair and started all over again. By the time they were done with gel and mousse and diffusing, Izuku’s hair looked really good. Not a curl was out of place and there was no frizz.
“It looks amazing! Thank you, Kacchan!” Izuku hugged Kacchan and kissed his cheek. Kacchan brusquely turned aside.
“Don’t want you looking like a fucking idiot, trying to pick up a date,” Kacchan said gruffly, messing with his own hair in the mirror.
Izuku smiled, feeling a warmth in his chest. He wasn’t sure what it meant, but it happened at moments like these with Kacchan. Something about Kacchan just made him feel so comfortable.
Someone I could do just about anything with, and the time would be comfortable and natural.
His words from earlier that day came to mind. But that was silly, Kacchan was an old friend, not his true love.
He shook the thought away and headed out. On the way, Auntie Mitsuki stopped to give him a hug and encouragement.
“Look at you!” she exclaimed. “You look so good for your night out. You two have fun!”
“Oh, it’s just me going, Auntie,” Izuku said.
She frowned. “Are you sure?”
Izuku was confused. Why did everyone think he needed to be escorted by Kacchan everywhere?
“Yes,” he said hesitantly. “The girls say Kacchan’s intimidating.”
Kacchan scoffed, but Auntie Mitsuki laughed. “That’s hilarious!” she cried. “Alright, go have fun without your guard dog,” she said through the end of her laughter.
“Hey!” Kacchan protested, but Mitsuki was already pushing Izuku out the door, so he left.
Izuku found his way to the club with no trouble. The girls were already there, gathered around a high top table with their drinks. Mina greeted him with an enthusiastic hug before introducing him to the gathered party. Kyouka and Tohru were there too, of course.
“This gorgeous human is Yaomomo,” Mina said with a big smile. The “gorgeous human” in question blushed and lightly pushed Mina.
“Geeze, don’t embarrass me like that,” Yaomomo said. “It’s nice to meet you, Midoriya.”
Izuku nodded as Mina moved onto the next girl.
“And this other gorgeous human is our spicy Tokage Setsuna.”
Setsuna laughed at her introduction, likewise greeting Izuku.
“And be careful of Kendou Itsuka, here, you don’t want to catch her hands, or do you?” Mina smirked at the end of the introduction.
Itsuka rolled her eyes, but greeted Izuku all the same.
“And this absolute cutie snack of a woman is Uraraka Ochako.”
Ochako smiled and gave a small formal bow with her greeting. Her cheeks were bright pink, her face so round and vibrant.
“Hi Ochako,” Izuku smiled. That made Ochako blush even deeper.
“Wow! So informal!” she laughed nervously.
“He’s just like that,” Mina said dismissively. “Merfolk thing, I guess. Doesn’t get the whole first name / last name thing.”
Izuku frowned. “I don’t?”
That made the girls laugh. “Oh sweetie,” Mina said, “has Bakugou taught you nothing?”
“He’s taught me plenty!” Izuku protested.
Mina and Tohru shared yet another knowing look, but Mina waved her hand and dismissed the topic. “Don’t worry about that. Let’s get to dancing!”
Dancing was, admittedly, harder than Izuku thought. It had taken him a few days to get used to walking, and he sometimes went for runs with Kacchan. But dancing? It required so much more coordination, and it was a stark reminder that he was no longer held aloft by the idle buoyancy of tentacles in seawater.
Every step he took felt like he was missing an extra leg, or six. He was certain he was embarrassing himself, unable to move as smoothly as the humans.
Finally, Ochako took pity on him.
“Here, dance like this.”
She demonstrated how to mostly stand in place, with a slight rock to the feet and hips.
“No, not like that,” she giggled. He was moving too much apparently.
She stood behind him and gestured how to move his hips, holding them in her hands. They swayed to the beat. The movement felt right, it felt so good. He enjoyed the heavy bass of the music moving through him.
Finally, after a few more instructions through different kinds of moves, he began to actually dance. This was fun! He could move between people and partners, letting the music take him away. He danced with each of the girls Mina had introduced him to, and even a few strangers.
Yaomomo was a bit too intimidating, even if she seemed nice. Setsuna was a very enthusiastic dancer, moving as if her body wasn’t even one solid unit. She had a bit too much energy for Izuku, and he wasn’t sure he could keep up with her. Itsuka was fun, but he didn’t feel any more than friendship with her. And none of the strangers were particularly enticing either.
So he wound up back with Ochako. She was sweet, and something about her essence was warm and welcoming. The DJ played a song with a particularly strong beat that drew them together. Was she flirting with him? Did she like him?
They were hot from all the bodies, and tired from dancing. He leaned in, and without realizing what he was doing, he kissed her. She froze and stepped back. Izuku looked down to find still-human legs. So she wasn’t his true love.
But then he realized what he had done.
“Atlantis! I am so sorry!” he cried.
Ochako laughed nervously. “It’s fine, just don’t do it again.”
“I don’t know what I was thinking.”
She pulled him aside, off the dance floor so they could talk better. “Mina didn’t tell you I have a girlfriend, did she?” Ochako asked, her voice dead serious.
Izuku’s eyes went wide. “No! Oh my gods!” He collapsed onto the bar, head in his hands. He couldn’t stop mumbling about how terrible he was and how sorry he was and how he shouldn’t have done that and now Ochako’s girlfriend would be mad.
“I said it’s fine!” Ochako insisted, pulling him back up and shoving a cold soda in his hand. “You probably just got tired from dancing. I know you’re trying to break your spell. And to be honest, Mina isn’t super fond of my girlfriend.” She grimaced and scratched the back of her neck nervously.
Izuku frowned. “It still isn’t very fair to bring you to something like this and not tell me you had a partner already.”
But Ochako waved away his concerns. “Really, don’t worry about it.” Her face scrunched up as she examined him. “Actually… are you into guys too? I might have someone you’d like to meet.”
Deku had another fucking date. Apparently Pink Cheeks set him up with this guy. They were texting constantly and Deku wouldn’t stop rambling at Katsuki about it. Shouto was so handsome, and Shouto had this nice corporate job, and Shouto was an animal lover, and Shouto liked classical literature.
“You don’t know anything about classic lit,” Katsuki pointed out.
“Well, I could!” Izuku protested.
Looking at his profile, Katsuki had to begrudgingly admit the guy was attractive, in an IcyHot brand deal kind of way. But Deku didn’t need some corporate hotshot. He was going back in the ocean! And what use would Deku have for hoity toity books once he was a cecaelia again?
At least Katsuki worked in the ocean, fishing every day. That made so much more sense than asking a city guy to spend so much time by the ocean.
Fuck. What was Katsuki thinking? He had not meant to go down that route. Shit. It was a stupid idea.
Fine, let Deku try out this asshole. He at least looked better than the last guy.
“I have to meet him.”
“What?” Deku blurted.
“I don’t want you going with any creeps again,” Katsuki said. “I’m chaperoning your first date.”
Deku squinted at Katsuki. “What does that mean?”
Right, cecaelia probably didn’t have anything like chaperones. “It means I’m your babysitter and gonna make sure nothing goes wrong.”
“Oh!” Deku didn’t even seem to hate the idea, as if he was ecstatic for Katsuki to come along.
It started with coffee. IcyHot invited Deku out to a cafe closer to the heart of the city. And there he was, sitting at a table outside, waiting for his coffee date.
Fuck. He was even hotter in person, and as he stood up from his chair, he was even taller than Katsuki. This fucker.
The fucker in question looked a bit confused to see Katsuki there, but didn’t say anything at first.
“Midoriya?” IcyHot asked, bowing to Deku. So he was a fucking traditionalist too, figures. Rich bastard.
“That’s me!” Deku smiled. “But Izuku is fine.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Izuku,” IcyHot said. He glanced anxiously at Katsuki. “Um, did you bring a friend?”
“Oh!” Deku blurted, laughing nervously. “This is Kacchan, he just wants to make sure I’m not dating any creeps.”
Katsuki glared at IcyHot, to get the point across.
“Kac…chan?” IcyHot asked, now even more confused.
“This idiot only uses first names, but don’t you dare fucking call me Kacchan. It’s Bakugou to you or nothing at all,” Katsuki demanded.
“Alright, good to meet you, Bakugou,” IcyHot said, not even phased by Katsuki’s stern tone. “Shall we go in?”
The prick ended up paying for both Deku and Katsuki’s drinks. Or he tried, but Katsuki blocked him from paying for his as well. Deku was Todoroki’s date, not Katsuki.
He didn’t butt into their conversation; he just kept a close eye on them while the two of them interacted. Deku was already rambling at him about a movie they had watched together the other night, one of those American hero movies. IcyHot nodded along, smiling almost imperceptibly.
Throughout the rest of the coffee date, Deku did, in fact, do most of the talking. IcyHot did share his opinions, when he had them. He was also good at asking Deku questions, rather than talking over him or arguing with him. The guy didn’t seem like a creep so far, and to be honest he seemed like a nice guy. Deku seemed to like him too, but Deku liked everyone, so that wasn’t really a good barometer.
“Are you into weird hentai?” Katsuki demanded, while IcyHot was in the middle of some opinion on hero media.
“Excuse me?” the man asked.
“Kacchan!” Deku whined. “Can you please not?”
“Do you want a repeat of the last freak?” Katsuki scowled. Deku pouted in response to that, because of course he had nothing to say. Katsuki turned back to Deku’s date. “I asked if you’re into any weird, tentacle hentai.”
“No, I’m not,” IcyHot said, a bit tersely. “What happened with the last guy?”
“None of your—”
“He asked if I wanted to do sex things with my tentacles,” Deku said, only slightly distressed.
“Wait, your tentacles?” IcyHot asked, making one of the most vivid expressions he had that day. “You have tentacles?”
“Did you not tell him?” Katsuki asked. This could go really badly.
“Oh, I didn’t?” Deku exclaimed, slightly distressed.
IcyHot raised one brow even higher, waiting for Deku to explain.
“Well, you see, I’m actually a cecaelia, and this crazy sea wizard cursed me to have human legs until I find my true love and have true love’s kiss.”
The man looked to Katsuki as if for help. It wasn’t that merfolk were strange, but the magical sea wizard part was a bit harder to wrap your brain around.
Katsuki nodded. “All our lives he’s had fucking octopus legs, and he’s been stuck with me for a few weeks now, cosplaying a fucking human thanks to this curse.”
“You two are childhood friends?” IcyHot asked.
Deku nodded proudly, but Katsuki immediately recognized the undertone: Katsuki was a threat, already much closer to Todoroki’s potential boyfriend. And for some reason, Katsuki didn’t hate being seen that way. Deku was his friend, after all. This city kid would have to prove himself worthy.
“Yeah,” Katsuki smirked.
“So, you are looking for your true love, and you’re wanting to try me out to see if I might be that person?” Todoroki asked, looking at Deku but not without glancing over at Katsuki.
“Exactly!” Deku sounded relieved that the man was so reasonable and open to this plan.
“But if I am your true love, you’ll be bound to the ocean,” IcyHot added.
Deku’s face fell back down, twisting into an anxious wince. “Well, yes, but we can make that work, I’m sure! Kacchan and I have been close all our lives, I don’t see why it should be too hard!”
IcyHot glanced over at Katsuki, his eyes narrowed a bit suspiciously. Katsuki glared back, issuing the wordless challenge. He didn’t know why he was challenging this guy, but it just felt right. Besides, he couldn’t let just anyone be Deku’s true love.
Todoroki turned back to Deku and smiled gently. “Well, if I am your true love, I guess we can find a way to make it work.”
Deku turned red from head to toe, looking like a fucking Christmas decoration with his green hair. “Okay,” choked out the normally merman.
So, despite the fact that the guy liked Deku and Deku liked him back, Katsuki had no reason to object to Todoroki. He didn’t chaperone any more dates, but he anxiously watched his phone in case anything went wrong. Not that he wanted anything to go wrong, because he didn’t want Deku to get hurt, physically or emotionally. He was just ready to patch Deku back together, whatever happened.
“Dude, just chill, have a beer, relaaaax,” Sero said, trying to shove a beer into Katsuki’s hand.
“Fuck off,” Katsuki grumbled. “I have to be ready in case Izuku needs me.”
“Oh!” the group of guys all laughed together.
“What?” Katsuki snapped.
“You brought out the Izuku,” Dunce Face teased, leering too close to his face with his beer breath.
Katsuki stared in horror for half a moment, before his face twisted up in anger. “Get off me, Pikachu!” he growled, pushing Kaminari away, knocking him on his flat ass.
“Oww,” Kaminari winced as he nursed his ass.
“Bakugou, bro,” Kirishima said, unnecessarily tilting with his controller as his Diddy Kong rounded the corner of the track, “I say this with all respect but uh…”
“Watch it,” Katsuki warned.
“I think you might be in love with Midoriya.”
Katsuki stared at the blinking colors on the TV screen. He wanted to yell, to scream, to tell Kirishima he was wrong, but… was he?
In Katsuki’s silence, Kirishima went on. “You’ve been watching like a hawk over every person Midoriya tried to date, and now that he’s been seeing Todoroki for a few weeks, every time the guy’s name comes up, you look like an angry bulldog whose bone got stolen.”
“More like a chihuahua!” Kaminari teased.
Katsuki launched himself at the dunce, and Sero had to pull him off, now forcing a soda in his hand, since he had been unsuccessful at getting Katsuki to drink alcohol.
Katsuki took deep, measured breaths. “Fuck.”
Sero and Kaminari chuckled, while Kirishima’s sympathetic wince was lit up by the victory colors as Diddy crossed the finish line.
“Have they even kissed yet?”
“Kaminari!” Kirishima exclaimed. A dim thunk resounded as the pillow Sero threw made contact with the dunce’s face.
“If they kissed and IcyHot is his true love, he would have called me about help getting back in the ocean already,” Katsuki said, his voice a bit disconnected from his heart. “So for some dumb reason, that bastard is leading Izuku on without kissing him, waiting for the perfect moment or some storybook shit.”
“Or maybe they have but they keep kissing because they like it.”
Another pillow hit Kaminari’s face. “Shut up,” Sero chided.
“Fuck, am I in love with Izuku?” Katsuki said, trying to keep quiet the beating heart in his chest, threatening to force its way out.
The game menu flashed idly, while the other three shared looks as if Katsuki wasn’t there.
“There’s only one way to find out,” Sero said.
Moments later, Katsuki was out on the street, on his way to Todoroki’s apartment. He had dropped Izuku off there before, and he had tracking on Izuku’s phone anyway— for safety. His mind was racing through everything he might say, could say, should say.
Did he know a thing about love? Fuck, no. But had Izuku always been there? Yes. He was this annoying but fun nearly eldritch sea monster that just casually sat with him on the docks, asking to borrow and read Katsuki’s textbooks or race in a wheelbarrow. He had taken Katsuki to the depths several times, using magic to give Katsuki air, to show him things that most divers had never even seen, let alone the rest of humanity.
When had Katsuki fallen in love? Was he even in love? Nothing stuck out in Katsuki’s head as the moment he “fell in love” with the Caecelia, only a collection of small moments, of glances, of cuddles, of shared meals, of holding hands.
But now the thought that some other guy could just take that away from him? Fuck that. He would be Izuku’s true love, whether Fate liked it or not.
The intercom buzzed, and a confused Todoroki answered, “Hello?”
“It’s Bakugou, dipshit, let me in, or send Izuku down. Whichever, I don’t care.”
“Kacchan?!” Izuku asked, his voice almost sounding hopeful.
“Yeah, it’s me, are you gonna get down here, idiot?” Normally, Katsuki would have growled such a sentiment, but his soft, rumbling voice betrayed him.
“I’m coming right down!” Izuku called, and the intercom snapped off.
Katsuki paced the lobby, every moment waiting for Izuku was an eternity. Would Todoroki have a problem with this? Argue with him? Try to kiss him? Were they making out even now? Fuck.
The metal click of the door echoed in the empty room. Katsuki’s head snapped up, but it was only another resident. Katsuki grumbled and kicked the wall, cursing the gods.
“Kacchan?” Katsuki turned back around sharply. Izuku had only been a few feet behind the other resident. He ran up to Katsuki, nearly grabbing his hands, but holding back. “What’s wrong?”
Katsuki took a deep breath, staring at his own Docs, and the red sneakers Izuku had actually put all the way back on. He lifted his chin and looked intently into Izuku’s emerald green eyes.
“You can’t kiss Todoroki.”
“What?!”
“You can’t kiss him,” Katsuki repeated.
“And why not?” Izuku asked. His brow was furrowed, but he wasn’t angry. His eyes were wide and curious.
“Because I love you.”
Izuku gasped, even covering his mouth. “You do?”
“Yes, you big idiot,” Katsuki huffed. “I don’t know why I didn’t realize it sooner. I could have saved us both a lot of fucking trouble, and I feel like an even bigger idiot for letting you date all these people, but I had no fucking idea. And then the more I thought about you and bastard IcyHot, the angrier I got, and then I realized I couldn’t live without you and I came immediately.”
“Immediately?!” Izuku parroted back.
“Immediately,” Katsuki confirmed. He slowly lifted his hand to grab Izuku’s face by the jaw. “I couldn’t wait a moment longer, or make you wait a moment longer.” He drew closer. “Tell me to stop. If you truly hate me,” his eyes searched Izuku’s face, counting every freckle, “I’ll let you go back upstairs, but you have to kiss him right now and get this misery over with, only I don’t want you to, but if you love him, I can’t stop you.”
“I love you too,” Izuku said, looking up through his lashes.
“You do?” Katsuki asked, only an inch away from kissing Izuku now.
“Uh huh,” Izuku nodded. “I only realized it myself recently, which is why I hadn’t kissed Shouto yet, but I didn’t know if you returned my feelings, so I was hoping I was wrong and maybe Shouto could be my true love instead, but— wai—”
Izuku of course had been trying to stop Katsuki from kissing him, but it was too late. Katsuki closed the distance, holding Izuku close to himself as their mouths came together. It was warm and salty. A funny sensation stirred in Katsuki’s gut, butterflies or some shit, but he knew he never wanted to be far from these lips.
But there was also a strange buzzing to the kiss, like a shock of electricity went through the two of them. Izuku gasped, pulling away and panting, and losing height as his pile of tentacles materialized.
“It worked!” he cheered.
“It fucking worked!!” Katsuki boomed.
And then Katsuki realized their problem, and why Izuku had been trying to stop him: Now they had to get tentacled Izuku back in the ocean.
“Fuck, I’m sorry,” Katsuki grumbled.
“It’s okay,” Izuku said, his voice wet with tears. “You’re my true love.”
“I’m your true love,” Katsuki repeated softly, like a fucking sap.
After several moments of giggling and laughing and kissing and celebrating, they were joined by Todoroki who had come down to investigate.
“Wow, you really are an octopus,” he said.
“A Cecaelia,” Katsuki and Izuku said in tandem, which only triggered more fits of laughter.
So they easily recruited Todoroki to borrow his car so they could haul Izuku back to the ocean. They called and texted the rest of their friends and Katsuki’s parents to meet them at the docs for the momentous occasion, except everyone was more excited about congratulating the happy couple than getting Izuku into the ocean.
“Are you fucks trying to kill my boyfriend?!” Katsuki growled at the party crowded around Izuku and keeping him from actually crawling down the docks. “He’s not going anywhere for good, you’ll see him later.”
Izuku smiled at Katsuki gratefully. They hadn’t even discussed what their lives would look like, but it didn’t matter. They had never been far apart, and they knew they were determined to make it work, somehow.
So Izuku dived into the water, and without a second thought, Katsuki dived in after him. Izuku swam deeper and deeper into the water, pulling Katsuki along and giving him another kiss.
“There, now you can breathe and talk under water,” Izuku said.
“You’ve never used that spell before,” Katsuki said.
Izuku shrugged, twirling his tentacles about like a schoolgirl twirls her skirts, probably enjoying their weight and movement again. “I think I was already in love, and just scared to admit it.”
Katsuki snorted, still amazed he could do that under water. “Probably why that damn wizard cursed you.”
“Probably!” Izuku laughed.
And they did manage to work it out. Izuku visited the sea wizard again, who granted him the ability to spend part of his time on land, as a human. They mostly kept to their old routine, but it was nice that Izuku had the option to more easily visit his new friends and spend even more time with Katsuki.
Of course their mothers were ecstatic, as if they had planned the union from birth. Just as Izuku was welcome in the Bakugou home anytime he felt like taking on human form, Katsuki was welcomed in the deep with Izuku’s family and people.
They would forever laugh about the time it took a curse to make the two of them face their feelings for each other, but they were grateful, because now they lived happily ever after.
The End.