Chapter Text
It took a while for the summer to come around last break, all the teachers had had enough of the students messing around, all the students tired of being told what to do. It was annoying, but also weirdly calming. The feeling of zoning out in class and staring out the window to see a clear blue sky with deep green grass and trees all over. It was almost nostalgic, it felt like being a kid again. However, it’d all come to an end one day, every kid knew it. Some were happy about it, some didn’t care much and some would know they’d miss it. Some would forget.
Izuku was one who knew he’d miss being picked on by his friends, knew he’d miss being excited for summer break, knew he’d miss seeing his least favourite teacher on Monday’s and trying not to get caught talking to his friends in her lessons. But he also knew it’s nothing to ponder about when he’s already having a difficult day.
“Everybody, please quiet down. Lesson’s almost over and if you can’t see, I’m trying to work on your assignments for the summer.” Mr. Chatino spoke up. Izuku smiled slightly, turning his head from the window to the teacher in front of the class, Mr. Chatino was probably Izuku’s favourite teacher – if it wasn’t for Toshinori.
The green-haired boy knew that his class wouldn’t quiet, not fully. There was always that blonde in the corner of the class, snickering, yelling at the teacher or simply rocking back and forth in his annoyingly squeaky chair. Everyone’s attention quietly went to that boy. Maybe not fully, maybe they glanced at him, maybe they put their head down and stared at him by the corner of their eye, maybe they fully turned to face him or maybe they just tried to focus, knowing their work would be disrupted by him sooner or later. Izuku was one to try to hide his staring, he already had a problem with it without anyone doing anything, but when someone was doing something – or expected too, the habit intensified. Seconds past, too many. No noise, no complaints, no nothing. By now everyone had glanced at the blonde, it was almost un-nerving, though Katsuki paid it no mind. The boy had his face buried in his textbook, writing with his arm tucked over his head like nothing was different.
Izuku noticed. Maybe noticed a little too much, too much for his own comfort. Maybe he kind of missed it. Izuku gave up, in a way. He turned back to the textbook on his desk and started to write, to work, to not look at the blonde. The lesson went on for about 10 more minutes, though Izuku was too focused on his work to notice. By the time the bell rang he was the only one who wasn’t ready, everyone else had already started to discreetly pack their bags as time passed. The loud ringing made the freckled boy jump slightly in his seat, he didn’t bother to look around or get his bearings, he knew by the sound that it was signalling the class end, and he quickly started packing his bag.
“You good there?” A soft voice spoke down. Izuku looked up to see Ochako, waiting for him. Izuku knew he probably looked so stupid, curling over his bag and trying to get everything to fit before everyone else left.
“Oh, uh, yeah, sorry!” He stammered over himself as he quickly stood up with his bag. “I wasn’t fully ready for the bell.” The freckled boy chuckled awkwardly.
“It’s alright! To be honest, I’m not usually ready either.” Ochako smiled softly to the boy. “Anyway, me and Mina are heading to hers so I can’t walk home with you today, is that okay?” The brown-haired girl seemed to be worried for him. And he can’t blame her; he’s not really been himself recently.
“Oh, yeah, of course! I’ve just been having a bad week, don’t let me stop you from having fun.” He laughed nervously. He really meant it though, he hated making people wait for him, needing him to catch up. So, he wouldn’t let them, he’d lie to them if it meant they’d go out and live their lives. Leave him behind. He’d be fine.
Izuku walked back to his house, carrying his notebook against his chest while he kicked the pebbles by his feet. That’s when he heard it, the rough rolling of wheels against cement, he turned his head to watch the blonde glide smoothly on rough surface. The truth is, Izuku didn’t walk here on accident, it’d became a habit of his to walk to this spot, where he knew he’d see the blonde doing his favourite hobby. Izuku liked to watch, to stare, to think. He liked thinking about Katsuki, imagining how hard he worked to learn to roller skate and to get that skilled at it. He could watch the blonde for hours, doing simple or extreme tricks, even just skating around a bit. It felt like a breath of fresh air, maybe Izuku was slightly envious of the boy at some points, he imagined how free it would feel to be able to fly across the ground with ease and confidence. Just like Katsuki did.
The blonde continued to skate around the small patch of concrete with his friends, sometimes crashing into each other for fun – not hard enough to hurt anyone. Izuku liked watching, it was weirdly pleasing to see someone slide so easily and effortlessly on the ground. However, it was his problem, and now he had to deal with the consequences of his staring habit.
Katsuki glanced at the green-haired boy, his smirk faltering slightly as he continued to skate across the area. Though that split second of his focus changing seemed to mess up the blondes’ focus entirely. Izuku watched as Katsuki turned his head back in front of him, his right left foot pushing off and not sensing the small bump ahead of it. The skater tripped, his wheels colliding with the small bump and threw him off track as he tried to regain balance. The freckled boy froze, or it felt like he did, in reality he was running towards his childhood friend, for what? It felt like he couldn’t control his actions, like his mind had frozen and his body took over. He dropped his notebook, his body rushing over to the blonde he admired so much.
When Izuku got over to Katsuki, he wrapped his arms around the blonde’s chest and held him still from behind. Everything really did freeze in that moment, all Izuku could hear was his heart beating unusually fast in his chest and the heavy, aggressive breathing of the boy in front of him. The green-haired boy opened his eyes, he doesn’t really remember closing them, everything happened to fast to register such a small action. He was suddenly very aware of how stupid he looked, holding so tightly onto some guy that never really interacted with him in school or any place where someone else could see them together. He probably looked like some weird creep who wanted Katsuki’s attention.
Izuku felt Katsuki push him off, steadying himself on his skates before turning to the green-haired boy angrily. “What the fuck was that?”
The greenette stumbled back from the push, attempting to secure himself on the ground before looking up at the boy. “Uhm, wh- you were going to fall so.” Izuku stumbled over his own words, fidgeting with his hands as he stood there awkwardly.
Katsuki furrowed his brows, pushing a finger against Izuku’s chest. “I was not.” The blonde put emphasis on every word, gritting his teeth as he leaned into the other’s space. “I don’t fall. Got that?” He didn’t wait for Izuku to nod quickly, he knew the green-haired boy would. Katsuki pushed off the boy and continued to skate like nothing had happened, while Izuku let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.
Izuku continued to watch the blonde skate off for another minute or so before sheepishly walking over to the notebook he had dropped for Katsuki. He felt everyone’s eyes on him, but he tried to shake them off in his head as he crouched down to pick up his book, it had landed on the grass, face down, open. It wasn’t muddy but there were dried scrapes of dirt on the open pages now. Izuku let out a sigh before dusting off the paper and putting the notebook against his chest once more as he walked off towards his house.
The summer wasn’t being kind, not to Izuku anyway. It was hot, too hot for the boy that found comfort in fully clothed skin. He didn’t have anything to hide; he just liked wearing long sleeves and pants. The greenette grumbled as he struggled to take off his school blazer while simultaneously walking with a notebook in hand. The boy bit down on the collar of his blazer, pulling slightly as he squirmed in the clothing.
Izuku finally made it to his house a few minutes late due to the heat. “Hey mom, I’m home.” He called out, his mother came rushing towards the door at the sound of his voice.
“Oh! Izuku! You came back later than usual, are you alright?” Inko stumbled up to the boy, grasping his hand with a worried look.
“I’m fine, it’s just the temperature. You know I don’t do well in the heat.” The green-haired boy smiled softly at his mother’s worry. He knew she cared for him, but sometimes it could get a little overwhelming.
“Okay, okay. Uhm, well, you know that notebook you always write in?” The woman asked, worry amplifying on her face.
Izuku paused, raising a brow. “Uhm, this one?” He lifted up the book that was hugged to his chest.
Inko shook her head with a nervous giggle. “No, no, not that one. The one you keep at home most of the time.”
The green-haired boy nodded. “Oh, yeah, it’s just my notes on hobbies and stuff, why?”
“Yes, I know, I uhm.” Inko fiddled with her fingers, looking down with an anxious smile. “Well, I may-or-may-not have accidentally thrown it out…” The woman chuckled again with strain as she looked up to her son’s face.
Izuku’s eyes widened, panic setting into his veins. “What?! What? Why??” The freckled boy stuttered over his mumbles.
“I’m sorry Izuku! I really didn’t mean too, I just noticed when I was trying to clean your room and… I’m sorry.”
They both broke down in tears – it runs in the family. Izuku was crying because he put a lot of work into his notes, he cared about them like they were collectables. Inko was crying because Izuku was crying.
After the emotional moment between Izuku and his mom, he ends up telling her it’s okay and he can re-create the whole thing within a week. Just to make her feel better. But in reality, the boy would hunch over at his desk, breathing heavily with a hand in his hair and a pen hovering over a new notebook for 20 minutes straight. His brain was foggy, like he’d forgotten every word he put into those notes. The green-haired boy threw his head back with a quiet groan, staring at the ceiling with all hope lost. He did manage to scribble out a few sentences here and there; “Black, orange and dark green skates.”, “Average speed of 12-15MPH.” and “Always cleans his wheels and smoothes them when they’re rusty.”
Izuku didn’t want to admit it, but in reality, his ‘skating notes’ were overall just notes on Katsuki specifically. Though he didn’t mind too much. The boy closed his notebook at 00:30AM and tucked himself into bed with a headache.
Today is Friday, the last day before summer break. Izuku woke up with a grin despite last night being close to terrible. He wanted to make the most of today, because it’d be his last day in 2nd Year of High school. And he’d be 19 soon, meaning he probably had to focus on getting some type of income within the next few months. This summer break, and this day would mark the last time he can be seen as a kid and not as a jobless adult. He knew that, so he was going to make this summer break last.
The greenette jumped out of bed with a yawn, he considered himself an early bird despite hating mornings because he could and he would get up with full energy, even if he didn’t want to. His morning consisted of, brushing his teeth, packing his bag, eating his favourite breakfast – honey nut cheerios, and saying goodbye to his mom before heading off with his notebook in hand.
On his way to school Izuku couldn’t help but fantasize. The boy always dreamed of leaving his room in the middle of the night without his mother knowing, heading out to lakes with fireflies, cliffs where he could make wishes and some sweet, secret beach house. He knew it’d be boring alone though, so he dreamed of people coming with him, his friends, his classmates, maybe even Katsuki. Izuku scoffed at himself and his dreams, they were so unrealistic. But maybe that’s what makes them dreams.
Students came into class with laughter, groans and chats. No one really wanted to be there but not many of them minded it either, after all, it was the last day of this year. A certain green-haired boy sat down in his usual seating plan, bringing out his notebook and pen and placing them on his desk before pushing his classic yellow bag under the table. He sat down and began scribbling in the book, some doodles of skates and gear with occasional notes beside the sketchy pictures.
“Alright everyone, I know it’s your last day of school before summer; however, it is still school. I’m going to need you to focus. Can you all do that for me?” The classroom seemed to groan itself as the students sighed out a reluctant ‘Yes, sir.’ To Mr. Chatino. The teacher went on; “Okay, thank you. Today I’m going to assign you a project, it’s nothing too big, and to be honest you can’t give it to me after the holidays, so you don’t even need to do it. I will know if you don’t though as I’ll be expecting them when you’re in your 3rd year.”
The class stayed quiet, a rare occurrence but it seemed like they all had some respect for the teacher they shared this year. “The test is going to be about hobbies, about your peers, about your year in my class.” Mr. Chatino summarises. “You are going to write a short essay about one of your classmates’ hobbies or school sport. “How are we going to do that?” I hear you ask, well. You will assign yourself a partner, you will spend…” The teacher lets out a hesitant humming sound. “About a week with each other during summer break and write down as many notes or just things as you can about your partners’ hobby. Hell, even write the essay as soon as you can if you’re that desperate.”
Izuku lets out an internal cheer and relieved sigh. He has an excuse to be close to Katsuki over the break, to re-write all his notes on the blonde. This couldn’t be more perfect. That was, unless the boy he admired so much wasn’t a some-what anti-social jock. The man went on about the project for a while, during which, Izuku was more focused on how to approach Katsuki after school.
“Hey, Kacchan! I was wondering – for no reason at all, if you could be my partner for the summer project?” He’d say happily.
“Fuck no, nerd, get lost.” Katsuki would most likely reply.
Izuku pinched his brows, trying to get rid of the nagging headache that came onto him. The green-haired boy did his best to focus in class that day, which he wasn’t too bad at, once he got a grip on a small amount of focus it’s like he could milk it for weeks. The problem came around when Katsuki would get called on for a question answer or when his name would be sternly yelled out for being too loud/not doing his work. Though the freckled boy did his best to just shake off the name.
School eventually ends and the greenette wasted no time, Katsuki didn’t usually practice when it was the day of summer break – because he’d always practice even harder, longer and rougher during his free time, which he had a lot of during school breaks. However, Izuku also knew that a race was coming up for Katsuki, so he refused to waste a single bit of possible practice. The freckled boy walked up to the skating area; his notebook tightly held against his chest like usual.
The blonde was on a bench nearby, checking his roller skates and adjusting them as needed. The green-haired-boy watched as he gathered his courage to go over to the skater. Izuku took a deep breath and started making his way up to Katsuki, tensing and tightening his grip around his notebook.
By the time they were a few feet away Katsuki glanced up as he felt someone’s presence. Seeing the greenette, he furrowed his brows. “What do you want?” The blonde scowled as Izuku ground his foot against the gravel beneath him.
“Uhm, so, for the project, I was thinking, because I know you skate a lot, and I kind of like watching it, uhm, if you didn’t notice, and…” Izuku avoided eye contact as much as he could, he was sweating just from this. “Well, I thought it’d be cool if you were my partner so I could have a reason to watch and maybe you could teach me stuff about it and y’know, I co—”
“Whatever. I don’t care as long as I get my shit done, just don’t bother me and you can do your creepy stalking thing.” The blonde replied.
He said yes. In a Katsuki way.
Izuku grinned widely after a momentary shocked face. “Reall-“ The boy cut himself off as he saw the others’ glare.
Izuku relaxed into the bench, placing his bag by his feet and bringing out a pencil and rubber. He flipped open his notebook, feeling the paper between his fingers and feeling grounded on his seat. As Katsuki got used to the skates and did a few, slow draft laps, Izuku started to doodle and sketch out the blonde’s form and how he prepared to do full laps and routine.
It was a perfect excuse.