Chapter Text
Class 2-A had been celebrating the end of finals by hosting a living-room party. Katsuki sat with Kirishima, alongside Kaminari and Ashido with whom he chatted freely. Katsuki occasionally tuned in on the conversations, although never adding more input than a grunt or a monosyllabic reply.
“---but that was so uncool.” Kirishima groaned, palming his face in rare frustration. Kaminari poked at his own cheek, feigning a look of innocence.
“Yeah, screw that, Kirishima had every right to dunk it in your face after that!” Mina laughs, curls bouncing as she tilts her head back. In response, Denki weakly throws a pillow at her, descending into a state of satirical rage.
Kirishima yelps, looking shocked that the woman-appraising freak Kaminari Denki would dare to provoke the girl. Mina hits back with her own pillow, using every ounce of her strength to incapacitate Denki.
“Asshidooo!”
“How dare you!” She emphasizes with another loud smack to his back, “How dare you hit a woman!”
“You’re practically my sister, Ashido. Everyone here feels the same way!” Denki turns to Katsuki, imploring the blonde to agree with him. “Right, Baku?”
“I don’t even know what’s going on.” Katsuki mumbles, narrowing his eyes from across the room back to Denki’s pleading stare. Annoying.
“Mina is like a bro. Yeah, she’s beautiful, funny, and all those things, but we’re so close that I can only ever see her as my friend.” He explains with a sheepish smile.
“Well, ‘ts cause you’re too busy ogling eyes at Jirou or jacking it off with Mineta like the loser you are.” He smirks, slightly amused at Denki’s appalled expression.
“Dude, you should tell her you like her already!” Eijirou shakes the boy’s shoulders urgently.
“What?! Since when are we talking about romance now?” Denki’s voice comically vibrates by Eijirou’s pensive shaking, the sound echoing throughout the common rooms.
“Romance?” a girl calls out, the girl being Ochako Uraraka. Katsuki’s heart skips a beat for no reason. Sometimes, whenever she was within his earshot, loudly socializing with any of his classmates, he would shiver with a grim thought in mind. What is he shivering at? What did Uraraka even do? When did he become so pathetic?
Katsuki assumed it was side effects of the war — his heart problems presumably – which did not make sense. It wouldn’t ever make sense. Why just her? Yet, in his head, it subsided the tension of his unsubstantiated discomfort with the girl.
“Yeah? What about it, Uraraka-san?!” Denki hollers, tugging out of Eijirou’s death grip.
“Strive up the courage to talk about your feelings! God knows some people here need to already.” Ochako giggles, sending a wave of glares to all of the people around her, though most notably towards Midoriya Izuku. And almost instantly, his chest tightens. Katsuki burns inside, uncomfortable and weak, and he feels as if his skin grew two sizes too tight at the obvious implication.
So, what, Uraraka wants stupid Deku to confess to her? When did the girl get so bold? Katsuki clicks his tongue in defeat — defeat.
“Talk about a losing game if I ever saw one. I ain’t even know I wanted to be in the goddamn game ‘til I was hiding in the fucking field.” Katsuki grumbles under his breath.
Izuku shakes his head at her, blushing ferociously, and peeks at Katsuki’s group of idiots in slight amusement. He cups his mouth to shout out at a reddened Denki.
“W-well! Go tell her ‘Minari!” Izuku relays his unwavering support, probably feeling helpful at his notion. Dork. Uraraka simply shakes her head and turns to sit back down, resuming her conversation with Iida and Aoyama.
Denki wails of embarrassment, occasionally squealing a “Kyah!” at anyone else who voiced support for his mystery crush.
Izuku shifts from staring at an embarrassed Denki to Katsuki, whom was staring at him already with an indecipherable expression. He shyly smiles as a greeting to the blonde, probably nervous and unused to a Bakugou Katsuki not staring angry daggers at him. Hell, that’s even more threatening.
He knows he should huff and puff, call the boy a nerd and throw these unwavering feelings in the trash. And he should do that, would do that. But why reject a kind smile, a smile so beautiful and sent his way and only, for now, him? He should give up the baseless pining. Focus on being the Number One, the next All Might, the Symbol of Victory as Izuku had once appraised him for. Friendship was enough, and if that was all Izuku would ever offer, Katsuki would happily take whatever of the boy he could.
Yeah.
Katsuki, despite himself, softly smiles back. Izuku’s eyes bulge momentarily, his shock and unfamiliarity to Katsuki’s tenderness so evident it makes Katsuki wanna die. Izuku shakingly holds a thumbs up, creasing his eyes closed to smile impossibly wider.
Lame.
The blonde then breaks eye contact quickly, flustered at his easy softness and slightly saddened at Izuku’s weirdness to it. Which was stupid.
“You brought it on yourself, idiot.” Katsuki half-heartedly bites, talking to himself more than Denki. Denki stutters a whole mess, mentioning the venue of his funeral and his decision to donate all his clothes to Kirishima and Katsuki as a remembrance of his presence.
“Denki’s just a lil’ dummy,” Mina sticks her tongue out.
“Why don’t we talk about your love life, Mina?” Denki prods, fully recovered and now prone for secrecy and romance.
“…or the lack thereof?” Kirishima adds on with a bashful smile.
She snorts, wordlessly dismissing the banter, to shift her gaze towards Katsuki, who tries to feign interest in the conversation. Not very easy if love is what they want to talk about.
A finger pokes Katsuki’s shoulder twice.
“Hey?” Mina lets her index linger there for a moment to catch his attention. He raises an eyebrow, tilting his head and grunting in lieu of a reply.
“Can I talk to you privately?” She curls up her hand, bringing it up to her pink lips. Mina looks tense, nervous, and unsure of herself. Weird. Unusual. Very weird.
Mina, who is the downright epitome of confidence, staring at Katsuki with three synonyms of apprehensiveness will undoubtedly spawn concern.
And so, Katsuki says “Fine.”
He stands up, knowing Mina will follow. He sends a passing glare to Kirishima and Denki, who stare at the two with identical looks of mock confusion but nonetheless continuing their banter.
Lowering his head, he stuffs his hands into his pockets, swaying past the rest of his ecstatic classmates. Katsuki stomps over to the empty space and turns around to meet beading eyes. Mina takes a deep breath, surveying the room to make sure nobody would eavesdrop. Who would care?
“Do you know if...” She huffs, scrunches her face, and tightens her fists in determination. Katsuki gets reminded of a certain boy by the look she wears, and he snorts blankly at the similarity. As soon as a smile played on his lips, Mina reddens and loses all her confidence.
“Why don't you laugh at me! You... you know what I’m gonna say, don’t you?” Mina groans, scratching the nape of her neck anxiously. Katsuki shakes his head.
“I wasn’t laughing. I mean I fuckin' was, but not at you. No -- whatever, get to the point!” Katsuki brings up his hands, clenching his fingers to demonstrate his annoyance.
Mina nods. “Just wait, let me think of how I wanna say this.” She mutters, squinting her eyes and holding her chin.
The boy crosses his arms and leans back on the wall, half tempted to bolt off to his room. He can only wait so long for Mina to gather the courage to tell him whatever it is she dragged him here for. He glances around the room, watching his classmates engage in their usual antics. Aoyama and Iida are comparing heights. Todoroki and Tsuyu are playing Sticks against Tokoyami and Oijirou. Jirou is sharing her earbuds with Yaoyaorozu, and the rest are laying it off on the floor.
His gaze reflexively catches the frantic bobbing of green hair, aimed excitedly at Uraraka. He can’t make out their faces, but they’re probably smiling. One can only guess so much from the back of their heads.
His chest caves, heartbeat thundering slowly at the sight. The aching sensation in his chest was not from the war, for now his heart was recovering, but the burning came from something that Katsuki held for Uraraka Ochako. Now, this was an unusual feeling for someone like Bakugou Katsuki to have, and he fears the unwelcoming emotion. It definitely wasn’t the beautiful feeling he experiences with shitty Deku. No, it was a different type. Threatening, yes, but threatening in a meaningful way. An innocent way.
Whatever. It’s useless to dwell on it. It'll fade away. He thinks this as crescent moons form on his palms in where he squeezes his fists in baseless frustration. Could Izuku be as happy with him, too? The thought is eliminated from his mind; the seemingly useless, sappy one — that was an emotion Katsuki could identify.
“Kirishima…” Mina voices suddenly, knocking Katsuki from his daze. “Is he with anyone?”
She shifts like an idiot from how Katsuki can describe it, desperately avoiding eye contact.
So that's how it is?
“That’s what you dragged me here for? No. He’s not.” Katsuki scoffs and moves to shoulder past her. Crushes and romance are not his forte, as it is a waste of time and heart stamina (from what Katsuki can deduct from the k-dramas Mina makes him watch and his own goddamn experience).
Shoulders brush, but Mina tentatively pulls his shirt, having him halt in his tracks beside her.
“Look, Bakugou. Please don’t tell him okay? I mean, I trust you not to…” She turns her head to meet the blonde’s face, whose eyes were downcast at the mahogany floor.
Katsuki sighs and shoves off the hand clutching the hem of his shirt. Slimy, pink hands, eugh.
He smoothes the edges, as if to fidget, and grumbles out, “I get it. Don’t cry about it.” He adds on, forcing a tight smile, “I’m rootin’ for you or whatever.”
A beam of light appears in her eyes at the shitty encouragement.
“Oh. Thanks, Bakugou,” She stupidly squeals, a grin encompassing her whole face. “That was so nice, I’m blushing! I hope you and you-know-who hit it off too!” Mina pumps her fist in the air, her signature move, wiggling her eyebrows knowingly.
Katsuki flushes, his ears soft pink. “C-can it, Pinky. He’s into Round Cheeks,” He waves his hand, seemingly nonchalant. Well, that could be the case if his weak heart did not figuratively crumple at acknowledging the issue that’s been nagging him since forever.
The pink girl laughs, clutching her stomach at the sight of someone like Katsuki Bakugou stuttering. Have it be Izuku, and only Izuku, who makes the blonde act like this.
“You know, instead of being jealous, try making him jealous for a change,” She offers, turning her gaze to Izuku and his squad. Katsuki follows her stare, grimacing at the incredulity of whatever the fuck she said.
“You really think the nerd would care? Uraraka already won his shitty heart.”
A beat or two passes in silence. Awkwardly.
“...And get out of here with that bullshit. I’m not jealous.” Katsuki weakly adds, to assure mostly himself rather than the girl in front of him.
"Come on!" Mina moans in defeat. With her hands on her hip, she shifts aimlessly as if she could not help not moving.
“Baku, you don’t know that. I asked him if he was dating anyone and he said no!”
As if that was a semblance of hope. Katsuki shakes his head furiously at her.
“They hold hands, smile at each other like puppies, and both are alike enough. She has a nice smile — though Deku’s shitty smile is ten times cuter — and no shitty pasts are staining their relationship,” He bites his tongue to stop himself from talking. He feels like a dog that’s practicing restraint, but for the sappy, innocuous reasons.
“Bakugou, you shouldn’t give up on Midori-kun.” She lays her hand on his, though it doesn’t feel weird for her intentions were pure. Katsuki fights the voice in the back of his head, who would see her look of care to be pity. He knows better by now. “I want you to be happy too. Because I’m rootin’ for you or whatever.”
Fighting a smile at his own words relayed back to him, Katsuki sputters, “You sap, leave it to Izuku for that shit. Now, let your slimy hands offa me.”
“Bakugou…”
She holds her chin, humming in thought until she suddenly snaps her fingers. “What if we both benefit from each other? We make our targets jealous enough to realize their true undying love for us!”
“Took you five seconds to fucking deduct that stupid idea, huh?” Katsuki cringed. Has the loser already thought of this before?
“...And how the fuck would that even work?” He adds on, desperate not to show fucking interest because, no, he would not entertain the idea that Izuku would give a flying fuck if Katsuki showed interest in anyone romantically. Hell, Izuku would encourage and support him genuinely with his signature Nerd Smile; and that would just break his heart all over again.
“I touch you more. Look – hear me out before you make that face Bakugou Katsuki – hear me out!” she waves her hands frantically, “As in touch, you allow me – and only me — to hug you or hold your hand? And that will cause shock and that will stir questions and unexpected jealousy from our true loves!”
She then blanches for a second, the light leaving her face in sudden worry. “Just don’t fall in love with me by accident, okay?”
“You need to stop watching movies, Pink Shit! I only like the best.”
She ignores him. “We can set off boundaries, formulate plans, treat this like a mission — Mission True Love!” Mina squeals, jumping up and down.
“Hah? Who said I agreed?” Katsuki holds up a palm to her face, effectively shutting off her fantasies. “I’m not gonna waste my time doing extra-shit just to win Izu-ku's heart, which will be pointless. He doesn’t like men and he sure as hell doesn’t wanna–”
Katsuki gets cut off by Mina’s hand slapped on his mouth. “Bakugou Katsuki, don’t you dare tell me you’re giving up.” She pauses for dramatic effect, attempting to seem intimidating and convincing.
He downright growls against her hand, trying to shimmy out of her hold.
“It’s pretty unlike you to give up,” Mina shakes her head in disbelief. Her words stab at him harshly, the hell is she talking about? Trying to him manipulate him into giving in? No way!
"Midoriya never gave up on you, did he?”
Curse you, Mina Ashido.
“You know how fucking different this is,” Katsuki swats her hand away with his chin, “I’ll fucking do it just to show you how stupid this is.”
“Yes! Yes! Thank you, thank you!” She looks around the room, inhaling deep to prepare for something. Katsuki's eyebrow raises in confusion, but she only smirks. Wait, she means now? What the fuck?
“Wait-” Katsuki gets interrupted, unable to stop the girl from starting her fucking fantasy plan. They didn’t even get to set boundaries or discuss plans.
“You inspire me, Bakugou!” She screams, squeezing her eyes shut to dive headfirst into Katsuki’s chest. A few of his classmates, who had whipped their heads at her noise, whisper frantically at the sight of Mina. Or most noticeably the head she buries into Bakugou Katsuki’s chest, who also makes no move to push her away.
He can't back out now. Though, this is really fucking weird.
He genuinely fights the urge to blast her into the stratosphere. He bares his teeth in a weak imitation of a smile, weak but convincing enough. He stares at the audience far from him, eyes wide and mouths hanging. When he catches green eyes looking his way, curious and just as shocked, Katsuki finds his challenge.
He closes his eyes, and imagines that it is Izuku cradled in his chest, where it is green hair that resides on his sternum, calloused fingers tickling his back, or that it is scarred arms encompassed around his being. Indulging in his fantasy, he wraps his arms around the girl’s frame, internally grimacing when he remembers it is not Izuku there. But the plan is to make that happen, yeah?
Oh, right. This is where Class 2-A finally loses it, because what the hell? The blonde looks content, while bearing a smile of relaxation (at the mere prospect of it being Izuku hugging him like this, but the rest do not know this) and peace. Relaxation and peace, with Katsuki in the same sentence? That would be no surprise if it were with Izuku, but it is Mina. Uraraka blanches, shaking slightly. Iida shifts uncomfortably, fake-coughing. Sero hollers, as does Denki from the other side of the room. Eijirou stares, his reaction inconclusive. When Katsuki peeks, he watches for the only reaction he cares about.
Katsuki is ready for disappointment. He’s ready for the excitement he'll find in the supportive upturn of Izuku’s lips. The undoubtedly genuine happiness that the nerd will radiate for his dear childhood friend, who has finally found love. But when he meets Izuku’s eyes, they show only shock.
He implores. He stares at Izuku, tilting his head for a reaction as both their eyes meet. As viridian lock with his crimson, they don’t change, don’t form into amusement or sadness. Katsuki growls, tightening his embrace on Mina unconsciously. She squeaks, pulling away to stare at Katsuki, her face wordlessly asking if their gesture evoked any reaction from Kirishima no doubt. From behind, it probably seems like she’s gazing into his chiseled jawline in adoration.
He clicks his tongue at her, silently urging her to wait as he scans the room around him. He goes back to stare at Izuku, whose face is still unreadable. Is that a good thing? The blonde narrows his eyes for a hint of genuine support in the nerd’s face. Scared to find it, but wanting to find it. For his sake, his anxious mind, his discomfort of the situation right now, wondering if it’s worth it.
He skims through the crowd. Eijirou looks conflicted, so yeah, there you go Mina. Sero and Denki look smug, giggling like idiots and cooing in adoration. Uraraka bangs her head on Iida’s shoulders, while Tsuyu looks back and forth between her and Izuku. Izuku. He stares again at the green-haired boy. And finally, Izuku scratches the back of his head, his face twitches, and he flashes Katsuki a soft, tentative smile.
After Mina pulls away from Katsuki, the room slowly drifts back into its usual hum of laughter and chatter. Katsuki stands there, arms crossed, watching the scene unfold in front of him but feeling miles away from it all. His heart pounds in his chest, and for the first time in a long time, it’s not from the rush of adrenaline or anger — it's from something else. He glances over at Izuku again, and looks away quickly. This was so stupid. And desperate. Two things Katsuki is not.
Frustrated, Katsuki clenches his fists and lets out a quiet growl. He turns on his heel and stalks out of the common room, needing some space to think, to clear his head from all this ridiculous mess. The corridor is quiet. He presses his back against the cold wall, staring up at the ceiling as he tries to make sense of his jumbled emotions.
A few minutes pass before he hears soft footsteps approaching. “Hey, Blasty?” Mina’s voice breaks through his thoughts. She rounds the corner, a sheepish smile on her face. “You okay? You kinda bolted back there.”
Katsuki grunts in response, not meeting her gaze. “What the hell do you want?”
Mina crosses her arms, leaning against the wall next to him. “I just wanted to check on you. I mean, you’re not really good at hiding your feelings, you know?”
“Tch,” he scoffs, kicking at the floor. “Don’t know what you’re talkin’ about.”
“Oh, come on,” Mina nudges him playfully. “You looked like someone just stole your entire stash of All Might merch.”
Katsuki stiffens. He doesn’t want to admit it, but she’s hit a nerve. His mind flashes back to Izuku and his damn unreadable smile. Was it pity? Was it support? Or something else entirely? He couldn’t figure it out, and that pissed him off more than anything.
Mina’s teasing grin fades as she studies his expression. “You’re more important to Midoriya than you think, Bakugou,” she tries, her usual bubbly tone replaced with something more sincere. “I’ve seen the way he looks at you, the way he talks about you. You’ve already won, in a way.”
Katsuki’s eyes widen slightly, the words sinking in, but he quickly narrows them again. “You don’t know what you’re talkin’ about,” he mutters, though there’s no bite behind his words. He looks away, his throat tight, feeling vulnerable in a way he’s not used to. He’s been feeling that way too many fuckin’ times.
Mina stays quiet for a moment, then sighs out, “I get it, you know. Feeling like you’re always one step behind. Like no matter what you do, it’s never enough.” Her voice is almost too hoarse for someone as snazzy as her, and it catches him off guard. “I feel that way about Kirishima sometimes. Like… what if he never sees me that way? What if we’re just ‘bros’ and I’ve spent all this time chasing for what outcome?”
Katsuki glances at her, surprised by her sudden honesty. It’s strange, hearing Mina of all people talk like this. She’s usually so upbeat, so confident. But here she is, just as uncertain as he is.
She lets out a small laugh, rubbing the back of her neck. “We’re both kinda hopeless, huh?”
“Tch,” Katsuki huffs, but it’s not as harsh as usual. He takes a breath, eyes staring down the empty hallway. “You’ll get through to him. Just keep being yourself.”
Mina blinks, looking at him in surprise. A slow, grateful smile spreads across her face. “Thanks, Bakugou. That was… really nice.”
“Don’t make it weird,” he says, but there’s a faint smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.
Mina’s grin only widens as she pumps her fist in the air. “Alright! Let’s keep going with this plan then! ‘Mission True Love’ is in full effect! Or.. ‘Operation True Love’… whichever.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Katsuki mutters, rolling his eyes. Stupid ass plan won’t work.
Or?