Archive of Our Own ^beta

Shouto isn’t very experienced in relationships. In fact, he’s never had one before. He hadn’t even thought about anyone romantically, not even as a kid when he’d watch all those movies with Fuyumi, who’d talk about falling in love and finding the person you’re supposed to be with for the rest of your life. He never got it. Never understood why love had to be such an important thing in someone’s life, when he’d been just fine without it throughout most of his.

That was until he met Bakugou Katsuki. Suddenly, he understood what people meant when they said they felt butterflies in their stomachs. But instead of butterflies, Shouto felt thousands of elephants running around his organs whenever Bakugou stared at him for more than two seconds or those few times when Bakugou smiled at him. It was awful, and Shouto even went as far as to think that he was sick, or about to catch a cold. He even went to Recovery Girl one time, asking her for some pills or medicine for it, and instead came out of her office confused as to why she wouldn’t stop laughing at him when he explained his symptoms, and wondering what she meant when she told him he had a ‘crush’.

A lot of time passed until Shouto finally accepted that he liked Bakugou, and a whole of a lot more until he decided to do something about it. Now that it had happened, Shouto can admit that maybe he’d gone about it the wrong way. Maybe cornering Bakugou after their sparring match and freezing his whole body (in case he felt like exploding Shouto if he didn’t feel the same way) hadn’t been the greatest idea he’s ever had. But it had worked, since Bakugou had told him through trembling teeth that, yes, fine, you fucking weirdo, I like you too, just get me out of this fucking ice before I decide to murder you, which Shouto had translated to I love you, unfreeze me so we can hold hands forever, (pretty accurate in his opinion). Sure, Bakugou had been mad, but Shouto had been ecstatic.

Despite Shouto’s terrible confession, their relationship had gone pretty smoothly after that. Bakugou quickly turned into Katsuki, and Todoroki turned into Shouto, and it was like living in those crappy romantic movies he’d seen when he was a kid. They did couple things, like go on dates, fight villains, and avoid socializing. He had never thought that Katsuki would be such an amazing boyfriend, but there he was, once again proving that he just had to be perfect at everything. Shouto admitted that he could be kind of dense sometimes and that might be a lot to some people, but Katsuki was very patient with him, which who would’ve thought? And despite Katsuki not being the most affectionate person ever, he let Shouto shower him with physical affection. Shouto had never been happier or, more accurately, more at peace. He worried a little about how much his happiness had come to depend on one person, but he figured it didn’t really matter as long as things kept going well—and so far, they were.

That was until Shouto started to feel something he’d never felt before, something like his stomach turning, or his heart dropping to the bottom of his feet. Like being in a fight and realizing that something bad was about to happen, but not being sure of what it is, or when it’s gonna happen. It starts with something small, when they’re walking together back to the dorms after one of their sparring matches.

“E-Excuse me,” A small hesitant voice calls from behind them.

Katsuki ignores the voice and keeps on walking, but Shouto grabs the back of his backpack to hold him in place.

“Fuck you,” Katsuki says.

“Yes?” Kindly asks Shouto to the young boy standing in front of them, holding a white envelope very close to his chest. He was probably first year.

“U-Um,” The boy starts, cheeks turning a bit red. “I just wanted to give this to… um, to you,” The kid barely finishes, holding the envelope out toward Katsuki with shaking hands.

Shouto feels confused, but harshly turns Katsuki around so he can look at the kid and his message, that seems very important so far.

After shaking out of Shouto’s grip, Katsuki eyes the envelope for a few seconds before taking it.

“What is this?” He asks the boy with a stern voice. The kid’s cheeks turn even darker.

“Just– um, a message. From me,” The boy says, avoiding making eye contact with them.

Katsuki holds the envelope in his hands for a bit longer before nodding and turning around.

“Thanks,” He says as he walks away. Shouto stops him again, grabbing his backpack and pulling him closer once again.

“Aren’t you gonna read it?” Shouto asks seriously. “It looks important, it might need your answer now.”

For some reason, both the kid and Katsuki’s cheeks turn red.

“Shouto, shut up,” Katsuki says through gritted teeth.

“You’re being rude,” Shouto says, and then addresses the kid. “Don’t worry, he’s gonna read it now,” He assures him.

“Are you serious?” Katsuki huffs, and Shouto hits him with his elbow.

Katsuki glares at him and opens his mouth, probably to insult him, but before he can answer, the boy speaks again.

“Um, actually if you answer me now, that would be, um, great,” The kid says, with trembling voice.

“See? Read it,” He insists.

“Fucking- fine,” He grunts, and for some reason he looks mortified, embarrassed, and angry at the same time. He opens the envelope roughly and pulls out a red folded paper. Shouto leans in a bit to try and read what it says, but Katsuki quickly finishes reading and folds it again. He looks up at the kid with softer eyes. “I appreciate your words, but I don’t feel the same way, I’m sorry. But kudos to you for being brave enough to come and tell me to my face, so, that’s good. If that’s all, I’m gonna leave now. Bye. Uh, have a good day, be good, and um, someone else will come, I guess,” With that he turns around and starts walking towards the dorms again.

The kid is left stunned as Katsuki leaves and Shouto does not understand what just happened.

“Good afternoon,” He tells the petrified kid as he runs to catch up to Katsuki.

As soon as he’s near his boyfriend, he’s roughly hit in the arm.

“I hate you,” Katsuki grunts. “Why did you make me do that, you idiot?”

“What do you mean?”

“That was fucking embarrassing.”

“I don’t get it. What did the letter say? Is it something to do with your quirk?”

Katsuki stops walking and gapes at him for a bit.

“Are you fucking serious?”

“What?”

“It was a confession, you dork!”

“What,” Shouto asks, a sense of dread sinking in his stomach. “Seriously?!”

“Of-fucking-course! It was obvious from the moment he approached us! I was trying to avoid the whole thing altogether, but you had to go and make it weird,” Katsuki complains, and Shouto, for some reason, starts to feel restless.

“I wanna read it,” He says firmly.

Katsuki looks at him as if he’s gone crazy. “What.”

“I wanna read what it says,” He repeats, trying to grab the letter but Katsuki snatches it away.

“Wha–no! That’s private, I’m not some mean guy trying to make fun of–hey! Fuck off!”

What follows is a very brief struggle to recuperate the letter from Katsuki’s hands, in which Shouto, being the very good boyfriend that he is, knows exactly where to hit Katsuki for him to drop to the ground immediately. As Katsuki curses him to hell and back, Shouto quickly picks up the discarded letter from the ground and reads it.

Your eyes are as red as the sunset,

Your hair is as yellow as the sun,

I like you a lot,

Please give me a shot?

–Hiromi

What the fuck.

“I fucking hate you,” Katsuki yells, snatching the letter from Shouto’s hands, punching him hard in the arm, and heading back to the dorms, leaving Shouto very lost in his thoughts.

––

Ever since the letter, there is something uncomfortable left in Shouto’s heart. A feeling that comes when he least expects it, and that manages to ruin his whole day. Whenever he remembers what the kid was confessing to Katsuki, he gets irrationally angry and, at the same time, frustrated at the fact he didn’t come up with that himself. And also, how come the kid doesn’t know that Katsuki is in a relationship? (Because we keep our business private, a voice that sounds suspiciously like his boyfriend says in his head).

“Katsuki,” He says a few days later to his boyfriend, who is laying on the couch with his head resting on Shouto’s legs as he reads a book.

“Mhm?”

“Has anyone else given you a confession before?” He asks, trying to go for casual but not sure if he manages.

Katsuki puts his book away and frowns at him.

“Why do you ask?”

Shouto shrugs, still going for casual.

“Curious,” He answers, and then pokes Katsuki on the forehead. “So?”

Katsuki flaps his hand away and sits up, stretching his back.

“Yeah,” He says simply, and Shouto feels the uncomfortable tingle sink further into his heart. “A few times.”

Shouto shifts in his place, trying to not look like the news just made him want to throw up, and speaks again.

“When?”

Katsuki distractedly scratches his chin, thinking.

“Dunno? A few weeks ago, there was this girl that tried to invite me to hang out with her after school because she wanted to give me something,” Katsuki said. “But I said no, and that was the end of it.”

Shouto can’t believe it.

“How did you know that was a confession?”

Katsuki rolls his eyes.

“Her friends were giggling the entire time she spoke to me, so it was pretty obvious,” Katsuki says. “There’s usually something that gives them away,” He adds, and then looks at Shouto with slightly irritated eyes but full of love. “Except you, I never would’ve guessed that you were going to confess and then freeze me to death.”

Shouto almost pouts.

“I didn’t want you to punch me in the face.”

“I wouldn’t have!” Katsuki says, offended. “Besides, it was obvious I liked you too.”

“It wasn’t,” Shouto says stubbornly, as he always does whenever they talk about this.

“It was,” Katsuki reiterates, as he always does. “I made you breakfast every day, I trained with you all my spare time, I read every stupid comic about cats that you own, and I even went to McDonald’s with you,” Katsuki says the last thing with a shiver.

Shouto then smiles, and pulls Katsuki closer, hugging him aggressively against his chest.

“Yeah, you did,” He says simply, thinking that the stronger he held his boyfriend the easier would be for him to feel his love.

Katsuki punches him trying to breathe, but Shouto refuses, making a decision in his mind. He needs to show Katsuki that he is better than everyone else out there, and that he is not going to regret being his boyfriend ever.

––

“There,” He mutters to himself a few days later, straightening the plate on the tray.

“What is that?” Iida, who’s been watching him the whole time, asks from the other side of the kitchen.

“Breakfast,” He answers, rather proudly.

“I don’t think that’s properly cooked–”

“He’s gonna love it,” Shouto says, not really paying attention.

“Is that for Bakugou?”

“Of course.”

“Maybe you should–”

“I’ll go wake him up now.”

“…good luck,” Iida says behind him, as Shouto grabs the tray and carefully exits the kitchen.

Shouto is aware he’s not the most romantically adept person in the world, heck, even Katsuki’s good at romance, which was a huge surprise, and yet, he still feels pretty clueless on that department. Despite that, he loves his boyfriend so much that he’s determined to try new things to demonstrate how much he cares for him.

So, he cooked breakfast for Katsuki. In bed. Now, to achieve this, it meant that Shouto had to be awake before Katsuki, which never happened, because he was normal, and his alarms weren’t set at 4:30 am. So, in the morning, Shouto had turned off all of Katsuki’s alarms, slept two hours more, and went downstairs to cook breakfast. This meant they now had 40 minutes to eat, get dressed, and get to school but that was fine. Katsuki was gonna be mad, but then he was gonna see his breakfast in bed, and he was gonna smile that beautiful smile that made his heart stop for five seconds and his knees buckle, and they were gonna kiss and hold hands and get married. Yeah. It was gonna be great.

His omelet might not be the best-looking omelet ever, maybe it was a little runnier that he’d like, but it was good. Decent. He followed the recipe, and it was a little weird that it included sugar somewhere in there, but it was fine. It was supposed to be spicy, and Katsuki was gonna love it. He also made rice, that might be a little too soft, but he read it was supposed to be like that. And, he also squeezed fresh orange juice, which he knew Katsuki loved!

He exits the elevator, struggles to open Katsuki’s door with just one hand, but manages. His boyfriend is still asleep, clutching a pillow against his chest with the sheets tangled all over his legs. He’s cute and Shouto loves him. He sets the tray carefully on the floor and climbs on the bed, laying right in front of Katsuki.

“Hey,” He whispers.

“Mhm,” Katsuki mumbles.

Shouto runs a hand through soft blond hair and kisses his forehead.

“Hey, wake up.”

“What time is it?”

“Late,” He answers.

Katsuki’s eyes shot open.

“What–”

“It’s okay,” Shouto nods, caressing Katsuki’s cheek with his thumb. “Stay still,” He mutters, as he sits on the bed and retrieves the tray.

“Shouto, it’s… What the fuck?!” The blond exclaims as he straightens up, checking his phone. “It’s so fucking late! We’re gonna miss class–”

“Here,” He says, placing the food in Katsuki’s lap, feeling a little nervous. He’s never done this before. Not only the cooking but cooking for someone else and making it A Whole Thing. He wonders how Katsuki’s done it all these months, even when they weren’t even together, because right now, he feels way too hot, and his heart is beating too fast.

Katsuki keeps quiet for a few seconds, staring at the tray with a blank expression.

“What’s going on?” He asks after a bit.

“Today is our anniversary,” Shouto explains.

“No, it’s not,” Katsuki says immediately. “Did you forget–”

“It’s the anniversary of the first time we said I love you,” Shouto interrupts. He probably should’ve finished the sentence faster. Katsuki blinks at him, his cheeks starting to turn a pretty shade of pink that gives Shouto more confidence. “Two months ago, I had a nightmare about Endeavor. When I woke up, I had a panic attack, so I called you. I didn’t say anything, but you came to my room immediately and stayed up with me until 5 am. Then you made me blueberry pancakes, even though you hate them, and I realized that I’ve never felt so strongly about a person before. And so, I told you that I loved you, and then you burned your hand because you forgot the pan was still hot and we had to go to Recovery Girl, and on the way back you kissed me on the nose and told me that you loved me too,” He finishes. He probably shouldn’t have recalled the whole story since Katsuki had been there, but whatever, it’s too late now. “I’ll always remember that day, because I love you a lot, and now I get to say it whenever I want without making you get second degree burns.”

Katsuki stares at him for what feels like hours but what is most likely only minutes.

“You fell on your face when I said it back,” The blond murmurs. Shouto might’ve avoided that part on purpose.

“I did, yeah,” He admits. “So, happy anniversary,” He says, and nudges the tray closer.

Katsuki puts the tray aside and moves on the bed to sit on Shouto’s lap, arms around Shouto’s neck and foreheads touching.

“You’re so embarrassing,” Katsuki says, his cheeks a deep shade of red now, but a smile on his face that made his heart stop for five seconds. The one he was talking about. “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Shouto answers returning the smile, and kisses his boyfriend, hands around his back to pull him closer.

A few minutes later, Katsuki is staring at the tray again, and Shouto watches expectantly as the blond grabs his chopsticks and takes a piece of omelet and rice into his mouth.

“Mm,” Katsuki mutters as he chews, his brows furrowed.

“You like it?” He asks immediately, hoping not to sound too nervous. It takes a few seconds but Katsuki swallows. His boyfriend stares at him and then at his food and makes a very serious face.

“Yes,” He says, and then starts to wolf down the food. Shouto lets out a sigh of relief.

“Can I try it?” He asks, reaching a hand for the plate. Katsuki immediately brings the plate closer to him and proceeds to finish it all, even drinking the whole glass of orange juice. Shouto laughs. “I’m so glad you liked it.”

Katsuki looks weird, maybe slightly green, but hugs Shouto and thanks him, and everything is fine. They arrive five minutes late to class, but no one notices, and Shouto spends the rest of the day feeling very satisfied with himself.

That is, until the next morning, Katsuki has to go to the hospital because he got food poisoning and can’t stop throwing up. As Shouto waits with Aizawa on the waiting room, hearing him murmur about his boyfriend being a problem child even when there aren’t any villains involved, Shouto knows he failed. He bites his nails until they bleed, and his heart does not stop racing until the doctor comes out and tells them that Katsuki will be fine, and that he only has to stay one night for observation.

––

He wishes he could say he learned his lesson from his failed attempt at cooking. Really, he does. But the truth is, the situation only made him more aware of how many people like Katsuki now. The blond used to be scary and intimidating, but it seems that with time, people have come to appreciate Katsuki’s personality. He used to like that. Now, he’s not so sure.

“Bakubrooo,” Kirishima calls as he enters the room, he’s holding flowers. “Aizawa let us come visit you after school!”

“Hey,” Katsuki says, he sounds tired and looks pale, and Shouto wants to cover him with a blanket until he’s sure nothing else is going to happen to him ever again. “Who are those for?” He asks blandly.

“You, of course! They’re from Class 3-A!” The redhead says, putting them on the bedside table. “Oh, hi, Todoroki! I thought you were supposed to leave? We can stay with him, don’t worry!”

“I’m not leaving,” Shouto answers immediately, maybe a bit too defensive. Why would he leave?

“You could go shower,” Katsuki mutters under his breath, and Shouto glares at him from the chair next to the bed.

“I’m not leaving,” He repeats.

“Blasty!” Ashido exclaims, entering the room with Sero, Kaminari, and Midoriya in tow. “How are you?”

“Better,” He answers. “I’m leaving tomorrow, you shouldn’t have come,” He grunts, but Shouto knows him too well and knows that his boyfriend is happy they came.

“We just wanted to make sure you’re okay, Kacchan,” Midoriya says, kindly as always. “Oh, and also, some people sent you cards,” He added, taking out some pretty familiar envelopes from his pocket. Shouto immediately straightens up in his chair.

“They gave me some, too,” Kaminari says, showing two more envelopes. What the fuck.

“And a girl sent you this chocolate,” Sero chimes in, pulling out a Hershey’s full-size chocolate bar, that makes Shouto’s left eye twitch.

“I’m leaving now,” He says, abruptly standing up. “I can take care of these,” He says, gathering the cards in his hands hurriedly. “And Katsuki can’t eat anything yet,” He grunts, taking the chocolate too.

Everyone stares at him for a few seconds, not saying anything, and then he turns to Katsuki.

“I’m just gonna shower,” He tells him. “And then I’ll be back.”

Katsuki is looking at him like he grew a third head.

“Are you okay?” His boyfriend asks, brows furrowed. Shouto presses the cards and the chocolate closer to him and nods.

“I will come back,” He assures him.

“Okay,” Katsuki says, and he can tell his boyfriend is worried. Shouto steps closer to him, and presses his lips against blond hair, breathing out.

“I’ll be back,” He says again. “Love you,” He adds, before finally leaving.

“I’ve never seen Blasty blush!” Ashido says in awe as he closes the door.

“Shut up!” He hears Katsuki’s grunt through the door.

As he steps outside the hospital he notices the trashcan near the entrance. He takes a step closer to it, staring intently. Before he can do something stupid like throw every stupid letter and the full-size chocolate bar in the trash, he hurries to catch the train back to school.

––

Shouto knows what he needs to do, now. He’s not sure why he didn’t start there, but it’s obvious. He needs to invite Katsuki on a date. They’ve been on dates before, but since it’s their last year at UA, they’re busier than ever and Shouto can’t remember the last time they went out just the two of them. He hadn’t read any of the letters Katsuki had received but he saw one addressed to Bakugou <3. That one might be a bit singed at the edges now.

Shouto is gonna make the most romantic dinner ever, and he isn’t gonna cook, because he doesn’t think that Katsuki can handle being food poisoned two times in less than a month. So, he gets to work. He orders flowers, and food from a very fancy restaurant that he heard Fuyumi mention once, and then he buys a big size Hershey’s chocolate bar, just because he can. He sets everything up in his room, Yaoyoruzu helps him make some candles and it looks perfect. Katsuki is gonna be floored.

It's 6 pm, and all Katsuki has to do is show up. He sits on the floor, staring at the food on the table and tries to remember what time he told his boyfriend to come. And then Shouto realizes he never told him. He never even invited him. Fuck.

He takes his phone and calls Katsuki, but he’s not answering. He goes to his room, finds it empty and then rushes to the living room, starting to get worried. He finds Uraraka and Iida there, and he quickly walks up to them, to ask them if they’ve seen his boyfriend.

“Hey, have you guys–”

“Crap, Todoroki’s here–”

He hears the voices coming from the entrance, and as he turns around, he sees his boyfriend, almost limp against Midoriya and Kaminari’s shoulders. He feels his heart stop and rushes to them.

“What happened?!”

“It wasn’t our fault!” Kaminari says immediately, looking nervous.

“Kaminari,” Midoriya quietly admonishes the blond.

“Shouto…” Katsuki groans, tripping towards him and Shouto catches him in his arms when he stumbles forward. Katsuki closes his eyes and rest almost his whole body weight on him. “My head hurts,” Katsuki mumbles. Shouto looks down at him, noticing the bandage around his head. He looks like he’s half asleep in his arms, and Shouto thinks about their date.

“What happened,” He asks again, and yeah, he’s pissed.

“We were sparring,” Kaminari starts nervously. “And we were supposed to be trying a new move, I was gonna shoot a lightning bolt and he was gonna explode and– trust me! It makes sense! It was gonna be awesome, you need to see it–” Midoriya smacks him in the arm and Kaminari clears his throat. “The thing is, something went wrong, and my lightning sparked him a bit, and he fell, hitting his head,” He says, and then scratches the back of his neck. “He was sort of unconscious.”

Shouto gapes at him.

“Why is he here?! He should be with Recovery Girl!”

“He was! But, you see– there was this other student there that was also training, and he said his quirk was specialized in healing and pain relief and he said he could help!”

“You did not–”

“I’m sorry!” Kaminari cries.

“How could you let a stranger use his quirk on him–” He grunts.

“He’s gonna be okay!” Midoriya assures him as Shouto’s left side starts to smoke. “I was there and asked the guy how his quirk worked! Long story short, he did heal the concussion, but because of Kacchan’s quirk, the side effects are harsher on him. His nitroglycerin makes him extra sensitive to sudden changes, and now he’s experiencing a kind of ‘sensitivity surge’ in his bloodstream—it’s gonna make him feel like he’s on a lot of anesthetics or...emotionally heightened,” Midoriya explains, and Shouto’s not calm yet. “We still went to Recovery Girl, and she healed him and told us he could come back and rest until he felt better.”

Shouto nods and takes a deep breath.

“I’m telling him you did that,” He says to Kaminari, and holds Katsuki more firmly against him, to take him to his room.

“Todoroki, no! Please! He’s gonna actually murder me, don’t do that–” The blond exclaims in fear. Shouto feels glad.

“Tell Kacchan I hope he gets better,” Midoriya says as he struggles to walk towards the elevator with Katsuki leaning on him. “Come on, Kaminari, you should’ve just taken him to Recovery Girl,” He hears behind him.

“’m tired,” Katsuki mumbles by his side and Shouto feels like stomping his feet in frustration.

“I know,” He sighs, pressing the elevator button to his floor. “I’m sorry you have dumb friends.”

They reach his room and Shouto carefully lays on his bed, with pillows to support his back, so Katsuki can rest his head against his chest. He then looks at the burned-out candles and the probably cold food and sighs. Maybe tomorrow.

“I love you,” Katsuki whispers against his shirt.

“I love you too,” Shouto says, wincing when Katsuki accommodates himself over him, elbowing his ribs.

His boyfriend is quiet for a while and then he abruptly sits up. The sudden action seems to make him dizzy, and he falls on his back against the bed.

“Katsuki!”

“Were you on a date?” Katsuki asks hurriedly, as he sits up again very quickly. This time, Shouto grabs his arms to make sure he’s not gonna fall again.

“What?”

“You–” Katsuki stares at Shouto’s room. “You were on a date,” He says, sounding serious all of a sudden.

“I wasn’t,” Shouto says. “This was for you.”

“No, it wasn’t,” Katsuki exclaims, shaking his head and causing him to wobble again. “You were on a date with someone else!”

“I wasn’t!” He hurries to intervene, noticing that Katsuki’s eyes are getting shiny. He’s never seen his boyfriend cry before, and he refuses to be the reason for it now. “It was for you, but I forgot to invite you,” He explains, hoping to calm the blond down.

This, apparently, was the wrong thing to say, because Katsuki’s eyes get even more watery, a hurt expression in his face.

“Why would you do that?!” Katsuki asks, hurt.

“I– I didn’t–” He stammers, because, yeah, how dumb is he to plan a whole date and forgets to invite his boyfriend? “I’m sorry! I was stressed planning it and it slipped my mind.”

“You didn’t want me to come,” Katsuki argues, and then the tears are falling from his eyes and Shouto starts to panic.

“I did! This was all for you because I love you and I wanted to have a date,” He explains, bringing his boyfriend closer and carefully wipes the tears from his eyes. “And I did call you, but you didn’t answer because you were unconscious, probably. I promise!”

“I don’t believe you,” Katsuki says, and he looks at Shouto with such a sad expression that he feels his heart heavy and a lump form in his throat.

“Why would you say that?” He asks, cursing when he feels his own eyes start to water.

“You wanted a date with someone else and that’s why you didn’t invite me,” Katsuki whispers, more tears falling from his eyes. Shouto feels something wet in his cheeks and realizes he’s crying too.

“That’s not true,” He says, feeling like absolute crap. Watching Katsuki cry is breaking his heart, he’d never imagined that this was how their night would end. How could he be so stupid? “I don’t wanna have a date with anyone else, I only love you,” He guarantees him, pressing their foreheads together.

Katsuki takes a shuddering breath.

“You do?”

“Of course I do,” He assures. “I’m sorry I forgot to invite you,” He adds, and kisses Katsuki’s wet cheek.

“I’m sorry I got hit in the head and didn’t answer you,” Katsuki murmurs, finally seeming to calm down.

“You don’t have to be sorry about that,” He grunts, hugging his boyfriend closer, and laying down once again. “We’ll get back at Kaminari,” He says.

“Yes,” Katsuki nods. “Why are you crying?”

“I’m not sure,” He answers, sniffing.

“I love you,” Katsuki says.

“I love you, too,” He promises. A few minutes later he looks down and realizes Katsuki is fast asleep, his cheeks still wet.

Shouto feels a few stray tears fall from his eyes and he holds Katsuki tight against his chest, hearing the blond snore calmly.

What the fuck just happened.

The next morning, when Shouto opens his eyes, he finds Katsuki sitting up on the edge of the bed, the bandage around his head ended up around his neck.

“Hi,” He says quietly.

“I’m gonna kill Kaminari,” Is Katsuki’s answer, his voice cold.

“Me too,” He murmurs, looking sourly at his ruined date. Katsuki looks back at him and snorts.

“Why did you plan this, anyway?” He asks, moving to face Shouto.

“I wanted to do something nice for you,” He mutters, suddenly embarrassed. “After I sent you to the hospital.”

Katsuki looks away.

“I don’t think that was–”

“The doctor told us.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

Katsuki leans down and kisses his nose.

“We’ll have a proper date this weekend,” He assures him. “Ugh, I can’t believe I cried,” He cringes, scrunching his noise. “Fucking quirk, at least I wasn’t stuck with a concussion,” Katsuki mutters.

“Kaminari is so dumb,” Shouto says, frowning at the ceiling. It could’ve been way worse.

 “Incredibly stupid,” Katsuki affirms, and then looks at him with what Shouto can tell is a repressed smile. “I can’t believe you cried,” He adds amused.

Shouto pouts, feeling his cheeks get warm.

 “Shut up,” He complains. “That was distressing.”

“You shut up,” Katsuki says, kissing him one more time. “Come on, lets clean up and make Sparky short-circuit.”

“Okay,” He says, cheerful.

––

Shouto’s sitting on his desk, staring as Kirishima sits in Katsuki’s table, talking animatedly about something. Katsuki’s looking up at him, listening attentively to what he’s saying and nodding every once in a while. Shouto’s tapping his pen against the table. Kirishima, leans down and whispers something in Katsuki’s ear, even going as far as holding his shoulder to bring him closer. Katsuki snorts and pushes him away, starting to talk. Shouto feels something sticky in his fingers and realizes his pen melted.

“That was weird,” Uraraka teases, as she takes a seat in the desk next to his. Aizawa gave them a few minutes of break while he graded their surprise quizzes and then fell asleep. Shouto drops the pen and winces at the smell of melted plastic. “Are you guys fighting?”

“No,” Not yet, his mind adds. “Why?”

“Because you melted your pen,” She says, like it’s obvious. “And you haven’t stopped staring at Bakugou.”

At this, Shouto looks up again, and sees Katsuki gesturing with his hands about something, and Kirishima bursts out laughing at whatever the blond said.

“He’s bugging me today,” He mutters, deciding to stop looking for reasons to melt something else, and stares decidedly at his desk.

Shouto has never really had a problem with Katsuki’s friendships. He’s glad his boyfriend has friends. He has friends too! But now, for some reason, he can’t stop thinking about the letters he has stashed in his closet. What if everyone else feels that way about Katsuki and just hasn’t said anything yet? The thought makes his skin prickle, leaving him uncomfortable. He’s never felt like this before, and he hates it. It’s like he’s angry at Katsuki, even though his boyfriend hasn’t done anything wrong. It’s confusing, and he doesn’t know what to do about it.

His plan of proving to Katsuki that he was the best out of anyone that could possibly be interested in him wasn’t working so far. Maybe he needed a new approach. Maybe he needed to make his presence known, and then people would stop trying to confess to his boyfriend.

“Todoroki?” Asks Uraraka, looking at him puzzled. He looks up and can’t help the way his eyes go back to Katsuki. He’s writing something down on his notebook, Kirishima talking to Ashido a few seats away. He relaxes a bit, knowing the redhead would not be touching his boyfriend anymore. But then, Katsuki takes his notebook and turns around in his seat, to shove it on Midoriya’s desk, startling the guy. Katsuki starts ranting about something that Shouto still can’t hear, and then Midoriya smiles at Katsuki and pokes his forehead, seemingly teasing him about whatever he showed him. Katsuki frowns and then does the same to Midoriya, and then they both smile, and Shouto is done.

“I’ll just go check something,” He says quickly.

He stands up, and heads directly towards the pair, not even knowing what to say but feeling sure that he needs to take his boyfriend away from everyone.

Katsuki looks up at him as he gets close, and smiles. A different smile, the one that feels special and just for him. It calms his angry heart.

“Hi, Todoroki!” Midoriya says brightly.

“Hello,” He says briefly.

“Do you wanna sit?” Katsuki asks, when Shouto only stares at him.

“Yes,” He answers, and Katsuki scoots away on his chair, making room for Shouto. It’s ridiculous, they barely fit, Shouto is not small and even though Katsuki’s shorter than him, they’re both two grown teenagers sharing a small high school desk chair. But he loves it and feels a hundred times better once he’s right there next to his boyfriend.

“Look, I was telling Deku that Sensei messed up the third question,” He told him, and just as easily included him in the conversation. Maybe everything would be fine.

––

So, he decides he’s gonna be more public about his relationship. Normally, he dislikes being stared at and crowded, and Katsuki does too. That's why they’ve avoided public displays of affection.  Now, he thinks he doesn’t mind that much if it means the rest of the school could take the hint that his boyfriend is taken.

He starts by walking really close to Katsuki when they leave class, and he sits next to him at lunch, which he usually doesn’t do because they eat with their respective group of friends. Katsuki shoots him a puzzled look but otherwise doesn’t say anything about him keeping closer than usual. Midoriya, Uraraka, and Iida join them a few minutes later when they see Shouto at the table, and even though Katsuki looks slightly irritated by being surrounded by so many talkative people, he doesn’t look mad. He’s actually having a nice time with Katsuki’s group, and he decides that this was a great idea.

Once lunch is over, they head back to class and Shouto feels content. He made a statement today. People now had to know they were together. When class is done, he looks for Katsuki to walk together back to the dorms, but he doesn’t find his boyfriend anywhere.

“Hi,” He says to Kirishima as he walks by.

“Hi, bro!” The redhead says with his characteristic smile.

“Where’s Katsuki?”

“Oh, he went to the support department to check on his gauntlets,” Kirishima explains. Right—Shouto forgot they’d been damaged in training.

“Thanks,” He murmurs, and leaves class, heading straight to the support department. He could’ve gone with Katsuki there too, but whatever. He’ll just catch up to him.

As he reaches the department, he hears Katsuki’s agitated voice from inside.

“You’ve had them a week now, right?” Katsuki grunts. Instead of entering, Shouto peeks around the doorway, listening.

“Ah, yeah... I think you’ll have to come back tomorrow,” A guy answers with a sigh, rolling his shoulders and leaning over the table.

He can’t really see the blonde’s face, since his back is to him, but he can perfectly see the way the guy stares at Katsuki. He’s got black hair, he’s really tall, and even Shouto can admit that he’s a bit attractive. He wears a smile that makes something unpleasant churn in his stomach, and he hates the way he stares fixedly at Katsuki.

“What?” Katsuki snaps, sounding frustrated. “You said that yesterday!”

 “Sorry, just not done yet,” The guy says, smiling even wider.

Shouto doesn’t fully understand what’s going on, but he knows he doesn’t like it.

“Are you fucking with me?” Katsuki’s tone sharpens.

“I wouldn’t dare to,” The guy replies, stepping closer. “But it’d be nice to see you again.”

“What the fuck–”

The wall Shouto’s holding onto freezes under his grip, and he stumbles forward, accidentally revealing himself.

“The hell?” The guy frowns at him. Katsuki looks at him wide eyed.

“Hello,” He says, and can’t help the way he glares at the guy. “What’s the problem here?”

“Nothing, I–”

“Wait!” The guy interrupts, pointing a finger at Shouto. “You’re Endeavor’s son, Todoroki, right?”

“Shut the fuck up,” Katsuki growls immediately, sending a threatening glare at him. Shouto nods briefly, not getting what that has to do with anything.

“Cool! Hey, would you get me an autograph if I paid you or something?”

“Hey, idiot!” Katsuki barks. “Just give me my damn gauntlets so we can go!”

“But they’re not ready–”

“Bullshit!”

Instead of backing down, the guy just smirks, stepping closer to Katsuki.

“I just want to get to know you better,” he says, low and suggestive, making Shouto’s skin crawl.

Katsuki’s hand is already sparking with tiny explosions but Shouto’s faster. He walks decidedly towards the guy and shoves him hard, making him stumble against the table behind him.

“Hey! What the fuck?”

“Jerk,” He grunts, before turning around.

Shouto hastily grabs Katsuki’s hand and takes him out of there as quickly as he can without actually dragging the blond. He hears Katsuki yell something to the guy, maybe about having his gauntlets ready, but he doesn’t really pay attention to it, trying to calm his temper.

They walk in silence, and eventually, Shouto realizes he hasn’t said a word to Katsuki. He stops abruptly, and Katsuki bumps into him.

“Sorry,” Shouto says immediately, turning around.

“Whatever,” Katsuki says, but he’s frowning. Fuck. He fucked up.

“I just–” He starts, not sure what to say. He’s not even sure how to explain what happened. Or about the ugly feeling that took over him as soon as he saw the way that idiot was staring at Katsuki. He’s never felt like this before, and he doesn’t know how to make it stop. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have just grabbed you like that,” He ends up saying.

Katsuki doesn’t answer immediately, only stares at him for a few seconds, expression hard to decipher.

“Are you angry?”

Shouto blinks.

“I guess, yeah,” He mutters, starting to feel embarrassed. How can he even begin to explain his behavior?

“Right,” Katsuki huffs. “I fucking hate him. Bringing up Endeavor like that– I could’ve punch him!”

Shouto blinks again. He’s not angry about that, not really. While his father it’s certainly a topic that angers him, that wasn’t the reason he shoved the guy. It was– it was more about the guy’s behavior than his words. Frustration wells up, but he’s not sure how to address it.

“Shouto,” Katsuki is saying, waving a hand over his face. “You good?”

“Yeah, I’m– good, yes,” He answers, shaking his head. He definitely does not feel good, though. “You didn’t get your gauntlets.”

Katsuki scoffs, grabs Shouto’s hand and resumes walking towards the dorms.

“It’s fine, I’ll just bring Deku tomorrow. He knows more people there than me.”

Shouto nods. That’s– fine, he guesses. But he’s left feeling uneasy as they walk back. He hardly notices that they hold hands the whole way, too distracted by his feelings to care.

––

Things are sort of… weird, after that. And Shouto hates it. He knows it’s his fault. He’s on edge all the time. He catches himself looking around every corner, almost daring someone else to approach his boyfriend. And it drives him up the wall that so many people seem willing to.

“Todoroki?” Midoriya calls, tapping his elbow. They’re heading back from hero training, and Katsuki is farther away, talking and laughing with Kirishima and Ashido. It stings more than it should, seeing him look so happy with them.

“Hm?” Shouto replies, forcing himself to focus.

“You’ve been really spacey lately,” His friend notes.

“Sorry,” He mutters.

“Is there something that’s bothering you?”

Yes, he thinks, that everyone seems to be in love with Katsuki, and I can’t do a damn thing to stop it.

“I guess I’m–” He starts, but his words die as he hears a chorus of whistles and giggles. He looks up, tensing immediately. A girl is standing in front of Katsuki, a heart-shaped box of chocolates clutched in her hands. His classmates are snickering and nudging each other, making obnoxious kissy faces at Katsuki, while the girl’s cheeks burn bright red. “Someone’s confessing,” He notes, remembering the casual way Katsuki had mentioned this could happen more often. He’d said it so nonchalantly. Like it was no big deal. Like it wouldn’t drive Shouto absolutely crazy.

“Looks like it,” Midoriya says, sounding amused. “Kacchan has always received lots of confessions since we were kids. It was weird that it took this long for people to realize how amazing he is!”

Something about that whole statement doesn’t sit right with Shouto. He feels his blood run hot. Amazing. Everyone thinks Katsuki is amazing, don’t they? Handsome, talented, perfect Katsuki. He feels something sick curl in his stomach.

“What do you mean?” He grinds out, his voice tighter than he wants.

“You know! Kacchan’s really handsome and talented. It’s actually kind of surprising that people only started noticing now,” Midoriya explains, oblivious to Shouto’s spiraling thoughts.

“Right,” He mutters, clenching his fist. He’s angry, he realizes. “I’m going to–”

He doesn’t even finish the sentence, just walks towards Katsuki who’s already holding the chocolate box in his hands. By the times he’s there, the girl is already walking away, a sad expression on her face. Shouto knows he should feel some remorse for enjoying that so much, but he doesn’t. Not even a little.

“What was that?” He asks, trying to control his defensive tone.

“Just– another confession,” Katsuki scoffs, sounding irritated. At this, Kirishima whistles again and suddenly Shouto feels like setting something on fire. More specifically–

“I can take care of this,” He grabs the box from Katsuki’s hands, and if it bends a little then no one has to know.

“Wha–”

“See you at the dorms,” He grunts, and walks away.

When he gets to his room, he opens his closet and shoves the slightly crumpled box in beside the pile of envelopes and the other chocolate bars, slamming the door harder than he should. He presses his hands against the door, breathing heavily. He’s going crazy, right?

A few hours later, there’s a knock on his door and Shouto knows it must be Katsuki.

“Come in,” He calls, sitting up on his bed, where he’s been laying since he got to his room. He tries to school his expression into something calm.

Katsuki steps inside, shutting the door behind him with a glance that says he’s not buying whatever Shouto’s trying to pass off. He crosses his arms, leaning against the door.

“What’s got you acting like such a weirdo lately?”

“I’m acting normal,” He argues. He suddenly feels ashamed, not only for storming off but for how he didn’t even let Katsuki talk to him.

Katsuki snorts, pushing off from the door and walking over to sit on the bed in front of him.

“You’re sulking in your room,” Katsuki says. Shouto fidgets, trying to think of how to explain the feeling gnawing at him without sounding ridiculous. Katsuki’s gaze sharpens, and he sighs, reaching out to flick Shouto’s forehead. “You’re making that face again.”

Shouto swats his hand away, scowling.

“What face?”

“The dumb face you make when you’re emotionally constipated,” Katsuki rolls his eyes, like it’s obvious.

Shouto feels slightly offended.

“I’m fine,” He mutters. Katsuki narrows his eyes and then lets himself fall on the bed, staring up at Shouto.

“You know, if you want me to pay more attention to you, moping in your room isn’t the best way to do it.”

Shouto feels his cheeks get warm.

“I’m not moping!” He defends himself, even though he sort of is. God, he is dumb.

“Sure you’re not,” Katsuki says, a grin breaking through. “You just sprinted off with a box of chocolates like you had somewhere real important to be.”

Shouto tries to glare at his boyfriend, but somehow his grin is contagious, and he feels himself struggling against a smile. Katsuki looks at him triumphantly and reaches out a hand to aggressively pinch Shouto’s cheek.

“Wanna play Mario Kart or something?” Katsuki asks, getting up before Shouto can even answer. “Bet I can still kick your ass while you’re sulking.”

Shouto chuckles.

“You only win because I wasn’t allowed to play videogames when I grew up.”

 “Shouto,” Katsuki groans. “You can’t just say that,” Katsuki complains, and offers both hands to help Shouto up.

“Was I trauma dumping?” He asks, as he takes Katsuki’s hands. His boyfriend stares.

“Where did you learn that word?”

“Midoriya explained it to me,” He replies. “He says I do it often without noticing.”

Katsuki snorts and pulls him close.

“I fucking hate your dad,” Katsuki says, and grabs Shouto’s shirt to pull him down in a kiss. It feels like a breath of relief, and even though Shouto knows he still hasn’t resolved his complicated feelings, he’s better now. Katsuki leans back, a glint of mischief in his eye. “Maybe, if you’re lucky, I’ll let you win one round, just to cheer you up.”

“Maybe I’m better when I’m sulking,” He thinks, as they walk to Katsuki’s room and his boyfriend only shoots him a look more amused than anything.

––

The next day, Shouto and Katsuki are studying at the living room table. Katsuki sits across from him, scribbling in his notebook, while Shouto is blatantly watching him, not even pretending to focus on his own homework.

“If you keep staring like that, it’s gonna be real easy to kick your ass in finals,” Katsuki says, glancing up with a smirk.

Shouto shrugs. “I still have plenty of time to study.”

“Yeah, we’ll see how that goes,” Katsuki teases, and Shouto sticks his tongue out at him.

A few minutes later, Shouto sighs and reluctantly starts working on his assignments, realizing he actually has a lot to get done. They work quietly until Katsuki stands up to grab them something to drink.

From the kitchen, Shouto hears Midoriya’s voice. “Hi, Kacchan!”

He looks up to see Midoriya joining Katsuki by the counter.

“Hey,” Katsuki replies. “So, Saturday?” he asks casually.

“Of course!” Midoriya beams. “I think this time I’ll finally beat your record.”

Katsuki rolls his eyes, nudging Midoriya’s shoulder. 

“Keep dreaming, nerd,” The blond says, a competitive grin on his face. “Last time that happened was because you cheated.”

“You can’t cheat when climbing a mountain, Kacchan,” Midoriya answers, amused.

“You can and you did,” Katsuki establishes.

The sight tugs at something deep and unpleasant in Shouto’s chest. He knows that Midoriya is his friend. His best friend, even. And he understands Katsuki’s and Midoriya’s friendship. He’s happy they’re close, usually. Maybe it’s because he’s just noticed how everyone loves Katsuki. How seemingly everyone in school wants something from him. It makes him clench his fists.

“What a sore loser–”

“I can go hiking with you,” He blurts out before he can stop himself, not letting Midoriya say whatever he was about to say.

Both Katsuki and Midoriya stare blankly at him for a few seconds.

“We’re going hiking,” Katsuki finally says, slowly, as if he isn’t sure that Shouto had understand him.

“Yes,” Shouto holds his ground, meeting Katsuki’s gaze defiantly. “I love hiking,” He says, pretty aware that it sounds like he’s lying.

“Shouto, you hate hiking,” Katsuki says, and to be fair, it’s true. But he’s not letting his boyfriend go away with Midoriya, alone, to a tiny tent, for an entire weekend without Shouto being present.

“I don’t!” He says, trying to sound convinced. “I just– I never told you because I thought you didn’t like it.”

“But Kacchan and I go hiking every other weekend,” Midoriya says confused, and damn that freckled man, because that’s true and Shouto forgot.

“Yes, but when I hike it gets pretty intense,” He says quickly. “I like to go all out. I didn’t think you would be able to keep up with me.”

“Oh, Todoroki,” Midoriya looks at him as if he’s dug his own grave, and honestly, Shouto can see why.

“You bastard,” Katsuki growls, fury evident in his voice, and Shouto swallows, already feeling like he made a bad decision regarding his well-being. “You’re fucking on. I’ll see you tomorrow at five o’clock sharp. Don’t be fucking late, asshole,” Katsuki says before stomping out of the room and slamming the door very loudly, making a few people startle in the living room at the sudden sound.

Shouto feels his heart drop to his feet. Five o’clock? Are they roosters? What the hell was he thinking? He feels dread fill his body. God, he did this to himself. Was this really worth it? Getting up so early just to climb a boring mountain?

“Maybe I can go talk to Kacchan,” Midoriya is saying by his side, Shouto had already completely forgotten his presence. “Just to calm him down a bit, that way you guys won’t have to go so early–”

“It’s fine,” Shouto says, irritation plaguing him again. “I don’t mind getting up early,” He says.

“Todoroki, you’ve bitten me when I’ve tried to wake you up. Twice.”

“I’m fine,” Shouto grunts. “I’ll do it!”

“Okay,” Midoriya answers, clearly not believing him.

––

So, it turns out that Shouto can’t hike.

“What was it that you were saying, you fucking princess? That I wouldn’t keep up with you?” Katsuki is saying somewhere ahead of him. “Look who’s laughing now.”

“Just kill me already,” He mumbles, lying face down on the dirt, because he can’t feel his legs anymore.

They’d reached the top of the mountain, but at what cost? Everything hurts, he’s too hot, he can barely breathe, and he’s sure he’s been about to pass out at least twice now. It’s not that Shouto is weak. He really isn’t. But hiking involves doing a whole fucking lot of effort very early in the morning when his brain hasn’t woken up yet, and not stopping. Even he can admit that he doesn’t have the endurance Katsuki has. Shouto lifts his head to stare at his boyfriend, and as expected he only looks slightly out of breath, somehow managing to look completely put together after two hours of climbing a very steep and rocky mountain.

Katsuki is obviously overjoyed by the fact that Shouto is dying, and he feels miserable, because maybe it would’ve been better to let Midoriya suffer through this.

He struggles to get to an upright position and finds himself staring at an image of Katsuki absolutely dripping wet as he half chugs, half spills a water bottle all over himself. Katsuki finishes the bottle and then takes off his shirt, wiping his face with it, and Shouto swallows, thinking that maybe it was worth it to feel like his legs were going to fall off if he got to see this. And then he felt something unpleasant at the pit of his stomach at the thought of Midoriya seeing Katsuki like this, and the fact that he has seen his boyfriend look this- this sexy before makes him take the decision to start enjoying hiking after all.

“I’ll get better,” He says, not getting up because his legs still feel like jelly, but with a very determined voice.

“What?” Katsuki asks, staring at him with a puzzled expression.

“I’ll keep up with you next time,” He says. “I just have to get used to the feeling of hyperventilating and dying.”

“Wha– why?” Katsuki asks again, sounding utterly confused, which Shouto doesn’t really get since he’s being pretty straightforward.

“I’ll come with you next weekend, too,” He says instead. “Is that a problem?” He asks defiantly, and if there’s also a tiny bit of annoyance in his voice then he hopes it’s evident.

“What the fuck?” Katsuki asks, after a few seconds. “Why are you doing this? You clearly hate hiking, and also, you fucking suck at it. At some point I thought I would have to carry you up here, and despite that, you still want to do it again? Why? Are you insane?” Katsuki finishes sounding completely baffled.

“I love hiking,” He grunts, trying to mask his scowl. “Why can’t I just come with you?” He asks, annoyed.

Katsuki stares at him incredulously. “Are you a masochist?”

“What if I just wanna spend some time with you?!” Shouto snaps, glaring at him.

Katsuki blinks, his face shifting from disbelief to confusion.  “Okay, what the fuck.”

“What if I’m just trying to do more things together? Don’t you want to?!” Shouto’s voice rises.

He’s aware he’s sort of yelling now, but he can’t help it. He’s so overwhelmed about everything that’s happened and it’s like all those feelings are finally exploding out of him.

Katsuki’s thrown off, watching him with wide eyes as Shouto’s words spill out, raw and unfiltered.

“Shouto, what are you talking about?”

He stays silent because he feels frustrated and tired, and he’s barely slept, and Katsuki just doesn’t get it. He feels a hand run through his hair, and he looks up, meeting Katsuki’s suddenly concerned eyes.

“What’s wrong?” He asks, gently.

“Nothing,” He says looking away, ashamed of his own behavior. He just doesn’t know how to deal with these feelings.

“Stop lying,” Katsuki says as he crouches in front of him, eyes searching. “You’ve been acting weird for weeks now. What is it?” Katsuki asks no longer sounding annoyed but concerned.

When Shouto stays quiet, Katsuki hesitates, suddenly looking uncertain.

“Was… was it something I did?” He asks quietly, and Shouto immediately looks back at his boyfriend’s face. He feels awful when he finds Katsuki looking worried and he shakes his head quickly.

“No,” He says serious. “You didn’t do anything.”

Katsuki breathes out in relief.

“Then what is it?” He says as he sits more comfortably on the ground in front of Shouto.

Shouto breathes in, then out, and then he starts talking.

“It’s everybody,” He mutters, and Katsuki tilts his head, confused. “It’s like everybody’s in love with you or something. It’s terrible!” He blurts, feeling his chest tight.

Katsuki blinks, taken aback.

“What are you talking about?”

“I don’t like people confessing to you, because I already did it,” He begins, feeling agitated. “And I don’t like how the guy at the support department was looking at you. And I hate that no matter how much I’ve been trying to get the message across that we’re together, it’s still not working.”

Katsuki shakes his head, as if to clear his thoughts. “How have you done that?”

“I’ve followed you everywhere!” He protests.

Katsuki stares some more and then snorts. “Well, by that logic Kirishima must be my boyfriend, too.”

Shouto frowns, realizing his tactic might not be as obvious as he thought.

“I still have all your confession letters,” He admits. “And the chocolates. I haven’t set them on fire because I wanted to give them to you, because they’re yours. And you are amazing and talented and handsome, and I guess it’s okay that people know that, but I’m your boyfriend. Only I should be allowed to say it like that. Directly.”

Katsuki stares at him some more, and then breaks into a grin. “Oh, this is great. You’re jealous!”

“I’m what?!”

Katsuki laughs, reaching out to poke him lightly. “You’re jealous!”

“I’m not jealous–”

“Oh no, Icy Hot, you don’t get to take it back now.”

“I’m not taking it back because I’m not–”

Katsuki shuts him up with a quick kiss. “Do you know how many times I’ve been jealous?”

Shouto blinks, surprised. “What?”

“You don’t like people confessing to me, right? Yeah, try dealing with every person who hits on you fucking daily.”

“People hit on me?” Shouto asks, genuinely confused.

Katsuki shakes his head, laughing. “Yeah, all the time,” He answers, amused. “Oh, and also try everyone touching you and complimenting you while you just sit there with your dumb face and say ‘Thanks, I do work out’,” Katsuki mimics his voice, making Shouto’s cheeks burn.

“Why didn’t you ever tell me?”

Katsuki shrugs, leaning back on his hands. “Why would I? It’s not your fault. If you knew, I know you’d set them straight,” He explains, like it’s obvious.

Shouto feels a sudden swell of warmth. He would put them in their place if he’d known. He just… never realized.

“I didn’t realize I was–” He wrinkles nis nose. “Jealous.”

Now that Katsuki pointed it out, it was embarrassingly clear. He never thought he’d feel like this in a relationship.

“’Course you didn’t,” Katsuki rolls his eyes. He eyes Shouto curiously. “Wait—was that why you cooked?”

Shouto nods, still a little embarrassed. “Yeah.”

“Hm,” Katsuki says. “At least when I was jealous, I didn’t send you to the hospital.”

Shouto glares at him, but Katsuki just smiles, reaching out to hold his chin gently.

“Were you upset?” He asks, voice gentler now.

‘Upset’ was putting it lightly.

“A little,” He murmurs. “I’m sorry I didn’t talk to you and just… stormed off,” He winces.

“I should’ve noticed,” Katsuki says, expression softer. He pulls Shouto into a tight hug and rests his chin against Shouto’s neck.  “Just talk to me next time, idiot. I was worried.”

Shouto nods, feeling guilty and wraps his arms tighter against his boyfriend, feeling the smoothness of his skin.

“I will,” He says, quietly. “I’m sorry.”

“And don’t worry,” Katsuki says, separating to look into Shouto’s eyes. “We’re gonna make sure that everybody in this damn school knows you’re my boyfriend. I could do without all those extras hitting on you every fucking day, too,” He adds with a smirk.

Shouto can’t hide the smile that takes over his face.

“Good,” He says, feeling relieved.

“I love you, you emotionally stunted idiot,” Katsuki says, and then leans in, bringing their mouths together. They kiss, softly, gently, and he melts into it. Shouto breathes in, letting his own hands rest on Katsuki’s waist, pulling him closer, savoring the feeling. For the first time in weeks, he feels a deep sense of peace.

“I love you too, Katsuki,” He whispers when they break apart.

“See? Was that so hard?” Katsuki teases and Shouto chuckles.

They stand up, brushing themselves off, and walk the final stretch of the trail until they reach the best viewpoint on the mountain. The scenery is breathtaking, and Shouto realizes he’s never really taken the time to appreciate it.

“Katsuki,” he calls, breaking the silence.

“Hm?” Katsuki replies, still gazing at the view.

“I hate hiking,” Shouto says flatly.

Katsuki tackles him to the ground.

––

The next day, Shouto walks into the cafeteria, scanning the crowd for his friends. His gaze settles on blond hair and familiar red eyes—Katsuki is in line for lunch, standing beside Kirishima. Just then, a girl approaches Katsuki, holding a red envelope in her hand, her posture shy and uncertain. Katsuki crosses his arms, narrowing his eyes as if ready to set her straight before she even opens her mouth.

houto feels that same uncomfortable tug in his stomach, but this time, he knows exactly what to do. Without hesitation, he strides over and steps right in front of Katsuki.

Katsuki tilts his head, a smirk in his eyes. “What are you gonna–”

Shouto grabs Katsuki by the tie and leans down to kiss him. Hard and loudly and amazing. The cafeteria erupts in whistles and chatter, and though his heart is pounding, he can’t seem to feel bad or even embarrassed about it. He’s happy and he hopes everyone is watching. When he finally pulls back, he sees Katsuki’s cheeks flushed, his eyes wide with surprise.

He glances back at the girl, who’s covering her mouth, her face a deep shade of pink. Shouto smirks.

“Sorry, this one’s mine,” He says, and enjoys as she nods profusely and runs out of the cafeteria.

When he looks back at Katsuki, he’s smiling brightly at him.

“Did I get the message across, now?” He asks, teasing.

Katsuki cups his face, leaning in.

“Not yet, IcyHot,” He murmurs and pulls him into another kiss.