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Bakugou reeled back, aimed, and lobbed a bottle of water across the field, toward the crowd of his classmates who were running sprints. Shouto couldn’t imagine why Bakugou would do such a thing, but Bakugou frequently baffled Shouto. He was mildly curious until he heard Midoriya yelp, “Hey!” —after which it all became clear.
“Fucking hydrate or I’ll kill you!” Bakugou screeched in his typical voice of unrepressed rage. Midoriya scowled and rubbed the bump on his head, but to Shouto’s surprise, he did as ordered and guzzled the water. He must have been quite thirsty to drink it all that fast.
“That was nice of you,” Shouto commented quietly to Bakugou. “You have impressive aim.”
“I’m not fucking ‘nice,’ Icyhot! And quit complimenting me. We’re not friends.”
Giving someone water during exercise was a caring gesture, right? Bakugou’s attitude was crass and violent when he did it, but Bakugou was always crass and violent. Shouto would have come to Midoriya’s aid, but it didn’t escape his notice that the mean things Bakugou did to Midoriya always seemed to help him in some way. He decided to wait and see how it would play out.
It was the third time this week that Bakugou threw away Midoriya’s lunch, and Shouto was… confused.
“I fucking told you to quit eating that crap, Deku! It’s just grease, salt and carbs with absolutely no nutritional value!”
Midoriya looked scared for a moment, then reached for his ramen cup that Bakugou had snatched away. “Come on, Kacchan, gimme th—”
“No way, fuck that. This is going in the trash where it belongs. And you’re eating whatever I tell you from now on, end of story.”
Bakugou grumbled and dumped the cup in the trash can, sweeping off to the kitchen where he had apparently already prepared two generous servings of healthy stir-fry. He sat down in a huff, stabbed chopsticks into Midoriya’s plate for him to eat with, and dug into his own portion with fervor.
“Th-thank you, Kacchan, but you don’t have to do that!” Midoriya said.
“Yes the fuck I did, Deku. I thought you wanted to surpass me? When I kick your ass, my victory means nothing if you’re not at the top of your game!”
Kaminari interjected, “You can cook for me any time, Kacchan!” with his mouth full of meat bun.
“Fuck you, Sparky.”
Shouto watched it all, slurping his soba in contemplation.
Shouto was not well versed in the subtle nuances of dyadic peer relations between adolescents. He did not know why Izuku always came to him for assistance in these matters, but he would do his best.
“I keep thinking we’re friends, and then he does something like this and I doubt it all over again! It’s like—does he care about me?” he asked, pacing around Shouto’s room fast enough to make him feel a little dizzy.
“Would you like to sit down?” he invited again, but Izuku didn’t seem to hear him.
“Does he want me to be a great hero, worthy to fight by his side? Does he want me to literally die in a ditch? Who knows! It’s a toss-up!”
Shouto tilted his head and frowned. Bakugou did things to help Izuku. That meant he was his friend, right? It seemed like they were friends. Shouto liked to think he was friends with Bakugou too, but Bakugou was clearly personally invested in making sure Izuku took care of himself.
“He demands I train with him, but then he just yells at me the entire time,” Izuku continued. “He barely even talks to me without screaming. Except when—Shouto, are you even listening?”
“I am listening,” Shouto said. “I think he is your friend… he just yells a lot?”
“But when his mom invited me and my mom over for dinner, he didn’t say a word the whole night! Not one word, and he kept making mean faces. What was that about?!”
“Hmm…”
“I don’t know, Shouto. He does things that should be nice. I know I should just accept it and move on, but—”
Shouto gasped. “You ‘like him’ like him,” he said, tapping a fist to his open hand in realization.
(He had learned the distinction between like and ‘like’ like—with the emphasis on the first like—from Uraraka last year, which turned out to be surprisingly helpful information for social navigation during high school. He would have to remember to thank her for explaining the concept.)
“What? I—Shouto, I never said—I can’t like Kacchan, that’s ridiculous!”
“I think you like him,” Shouto insisted. “That’s why you want him to say nice things to you. You ‘like’ like him.”
Izuku’s brow furrowed, and he slumped over to the bed and plopped down next to Shouto. He was quiet for a moment, and Shouto studied him, trying to decode the look on his face and the pink in his cheeks.
“I can’t like him…” Izuku said at length. “That would ruin everything.”
He leaned against Shouto’s shoulder and sniffled. Shouto patted his back in an attempt to comfort him, even though he wasn’t sure why.
It was July of their second year, and they hadn’t been attacked by villains in three whole months. It looked like they might actually make it to summer break without incident, which was more than anyone in class 2-A had dared to hope for. Shouto and his friends sat around a table in the library, studying for their English final.
Most of his friends were right there in the room with him, so Shouto hadn’t expected his phone to chime with a text message notification. He blinked.
It was from Bakugou?
Bk: Deku’s birthday is on the 15th. Take him and the nerds to the new All Might movie. Arcade after.
Td: Bakugou? Why are you telling me this, can’t you invite him yourself? I’m sure you would have a fun time, Midoriya says you like All Might almost as much as he does.
Bk: I can’t ask him to a fucking movie, you idiot!
Td: Why?
Bk: Because if I do it, it’ll look like I’m asking him on a date!
Td: I don’t understand. If I invite him to a movie, will it also look like I am asking him on a date?
Bk: No. It won’t.
Td: Why?
Bk: Shut up and invite him, rich boy. If you can’t pay for the other nerds I’ll fucking pay it, just don’t tell them it was me.
Td: okay
“Do you want to go see the new All Might movie on your birthday?” Shouto asked obediently.
“Oh! Um—sure, Shouto, I’ll just have to see if I can afford it. I spent all my money on new clothes since everything I grew out of everything!
“I will pay.”
Izuku’s face turned red and his jaw hung open, and Shouto decided to clarify, “It will not be a date. I will pay for us all to go together. Do you like popcorn?”
Smiling with relief, Izuku nodded. “Sure, okay! That sounds like fun! I’ve been waiting for that movie all year,” he said, and proceeded to spout out facts about the movie production and about All Might himself.
During his happy rant, Shouto happened to glance over Izuku’s shoulder to find Bakugou watching. His eyes were glued to Izuku until he noticed Shouto; he nodded once in acknowledgement, stuck his hands in his pockets, and walked away without a word.
“What is a ‘disaster gay’?” Shouto asked one day during lunch.
Izuku’s jaw dropped. Tenya looked ready to give Shouto a lecture, and Ochako laughed so hard she snorted Shouto’s strawberry milk out her nose.
“Shouto, where'd you hear that?” Izuku said, recovering and giving Ochako a napkin.
“It's something Ashido said.”
“About Bakugou, right?” Ochako chortled.
Shouto tilted his head. “Yes, actually. Is it because of his quirk? Explosions are usually disasters if they happen unexpectedly, but I am not sure what that has to do with his orientation. I thought it was rude to refer to someone by an epithet. But Ashido is also gay, so maybe that makes it okay. I suppose it is not my place to say.”
“Priceless. Completely priceless. Have I told you you’re adorable? You’re adorable,” Ochako said.
“I am still confused,” Shouto said, scrolling through his phone. “According to the Scientific American, LGBTQ people are more vulnerable during disasters. Bakugou is not vulnerable, is he?”
“That’s not it,” Izuku sighed. “It’s like… technically it’s anyone who is gay and their life is a mess. Usually it’s used in reference to their love life.”
“Oh… That makes more sense.” Shouto nodded and went back to his meal. He brought his tea to his lips and paused to say, “So, you are also a disaster gay, right, Izuku?”
He couldn’t hear Izuku’s response over the sound of Ochako’s continued laughter.
Third year wasn’t like their first, but it was still exhausting. Instead of endless villain attacks and a war, they had practicums and final exams to contend with. So… similar stakes, all things considered.
Graduation was like crossing the finish line; after the commencement and all the celebrations that followed, Class 3-A collapsed in the common room to enjoy their last evening together in the dorms. It was the end of an era; bittersweet, bubbling with excitement and longing. Nothing would ever be the same, but that’s growing up for you. Change and change again.
They all relaxed in each other’s company. All except Izuku, who was making Shouto nervous with his fidgeting. The rest of the class was playing a game that involved drinking whatever surprise soporific Momo was able to produce. It looked like fun; each turn, the winner got something delicious, and the loser had to plug their nose and throw back something horrid. But Izuku didn’t want to play, so Shouto stayed back with him.
He was worried. How long until Izuku chewed another hole in his finger? Shouto handed him a stick of gum that he carried around for this purpose.
“Thanks,” Izuku said distractedly. He popped the gum in his mouth, folding and re-folding the wrapper.
Shouto nodded. “Are you worried about signing your lease?”
Izuku shook his head. “Mm-mm, did that already.”
“Do you need help moving out of the dorms?”
Izuku shook his head again. Shouto decided to wait for Izuku to tell him what was wrong on his own. It usually didn’t take long, and he would vent about the problem after he had time to think about it.
“That’s the thing,” Izuku said eventually. “Kacchan helped me move most of it yesterday, and he insulted my stuff as usual, right? We went to get another load, and he put a bunch of his own stuff in the truck and said, ‘You can’t expect me to visit if your living room is an eyesore.’ He decorated the walls and stocked the kitchen, and he even had furniture delivered! Then the landlord came by with the lease, and before I knew it, we had both signed it. So now I have a roommate, I guess.”
“You… Bakugou is going to live with you? By surprise?”
“Yeah.”
“Is that bad?”
“I mean, no? I don’t think so. It’s just, that’s not how I wanted to…”
Shouto waited.
“...I don’t know,” Izuku concluded.
“So, you wanted to move in with Bakugou, but not like this?”
Izuku sighed and hung his head, making his bouncy ponytail flop in a way that made Shouto smile.
“It sounds stupid when you say it like that, Sho.”
“I’m sorry, I’m just confused,” he said honestly. “How do you wish it had happened?”
“I wish… I wish he would be more up-front about these things. If he wanted to be roommates with me he could have just asked.”
“Maybe he’s afraid you’ll tell him no?”
“Kacchan? Afraid I’ll reject him?” Izuku laughed. “Nice try, guess again.”
“It makes sense, though,” Shouto said. His brain was leaping ahead already, making the types of connections that would get him yelled at, but he didn’t care. “He never asks you for things. His manners have improved with other people, but with you, he’s still as demanding as always. Why would that be?”
“Because after everything, he still doesn’t respect me?”
“Because he can’t handle the idea of you rejecting him. Just you.”
Izuku considered him dubiously, then sighed, defeated. “I would never reject Kacchan…”
“Have you told him that?”
Izuku frowned and rubbed the foil gum wrapper with his thumbnail.
“Um… no, it hasn’t come up.”
Well… Shouto tried.
Across the room, it was Bakugou’s turn to take a shot. He crowed in Tsu’s direction, grinning and bragging about his win. Tsu quirked an eyebrow and snickered at him. They raised their glasses to each other and drank.
Tsu let her tongue hang out in disgust, but Bakugou looked wide-eyed at his glass, impressed.
“Damn, Ponytail, you outdid yourself. What’s in this?”
Yaomomo said something Shouto couldn’t hear.
“Make another, wouldya? I wanna show Deku.”
Shouto was surprised. Izuku hadn’t noticed, still lost in thought, and he startled when Bakugou walked up with a cup in hand.
“Oi, Deku. Try this peachy shit.”
“Wah-cchan!” Izuku gasped, accepting the drink without question and staring at Bakugou’s retreating back. Shouto watched Izuku deflate as Bakugou left him behind yet again, and he decided he’d had enough.
“Be right back,” he said. Standing to follow Bakugou, he grabbed him by the wrist, ignoring his shouted protest, and pulled him away so they could have a private conversation.
“You’re in love with Izuku,” he said bluntly.
“The hell—? Know what, fuck you, Icyhot, I don’t have time for your bullshit right now. Let me go.”
“You love him.”
Katsuki crossed his arms in defiance, his face flushed from alcohol or embarrassment, Shouto couldn’t tell.
“What’s it to you, jerk?”
“He’s my best friend. You are also my friend, even though—”
“We’re not fucking friends, Icyh—”
“Even though you insist that we are not, I know we are friends. I’ve been watching your friendship with Izuku since first year, and I think I’m right. You both love each other.”
Katsuki looked taken aback. “Deku doesn’t—”
“He does. And he thinks if he confesses, you won’t want to be his friend anymore. And you think the same thing. So you will never tell each other, and you will be ‘just friends’ and then ‘just roommates’ and ‘just hero partners’ for the rest of your lives and we will all continue to live in agony forever unless somebody helps you.”
Katsuki looked so furious Shouto actually doubted his theory for a second, but then he sighed and slumped against the wall, sliding down to sit on the floor and cover his face in his hands.
“Fuck.”
“Tell him how you feel, please.”
“Fuck you.”
“Soon, please.”
“I said fuck you!” Katsuki shouted. Shouto left him alone in the hallway to think about it and went back to Izuku in the common room.
“Is everything okay?” Izuku asked. He seemed more at ease than before, and Shouto hummed in thought. He watched Katsuki leave the hallway a few minutes later, face still burning red and eyes puffy, but he sought out Shouto with his eyes and gave him a sharp nod. His face was determined, like when he sparred. Like when he sparred with Izuku, actually.
“I think everything is going to work out just fine,” Shouto said.
When Izuku and Katsuki got married a year later, they shared Shouto as their best man.