Chapter Text
Katsuki didn’t like Izuku. Not in that way.
They were childhood friends. Nothing more, nothing less. Sure, Katsuki thought he was attractive, but it wasn’t in the “I want to fuck you” way, he just… noticed how cute his friend was. Messy green hair; freckled cheeks that turned pink amusingly fast; eyes that made Katsuki think of the forest they used to play hide-and-seek in; the type of smile that could make the entire room feel warm; plump lips—no, Katsuki didn’t think about Izuku’s lips.
At all.
Katsuki could admit that he enjoyed Izuku‘s company, but it was completely platonic. They had known each other since they were little, so it was just second nature to him. He didn’t miss him when they were apart, it was just that the room felt an awfully lot colder without him.
And, yes, Katsuki was a little annoyed to hear that Izuku was dating someone (Todoroki Shoto of all people!), but that was only because he knew he could do better. Katsuki was miles better than Shoto, so why didn’t Izuku just choose him instead? Obviously, Katsuki would reject him, but at least he would know his friend had better taste.
Okay, there was a very slim possibility that Katsuki liked Izuku in a more-than-friends way. But it was just a fleeting crush, he would get over it soon enough.
He hoped.
“The hell do you even see in him?” Katsuki grumbled, kicking one of the stones as he walked across the school’s parking lot. “He barely talks, but when he does, it sounds like he’s got a stick up his ass. Not to mention his face. He’s always making that dumb fucking face, like he’s better than everyone.”
Izuku frowned, clutching the straps of his bag tighter (he still used the one Katsuki bought him three years ago). “I don’t know why you hate him so much, Kacchan,” he mumbled, eyes glued to the floor. “Sure, he might seem a little standoffish, but he’s actually really sweet when you get to know him.”
Sweet. For whatever reason, the choice of word made Katsuki cringe. He glared at the side of Izuku’s head, watching the green curls bounce with every step. “Just think you can do better, idiot. Much better, actually.”
“Won’t you give him a chance? For me?” Izuku stopped in his tracks, flashing Katsuki a persuasive smile. The blond noticed the way his eyes creased when he grinned, his freckles swallowed by his cheeks; the sight made his heart ache.
Katsuki scoffed and rolled his eyes, quickly turning away from Izuku. He couldn’t look at him anymore. “Fine, I guess I’ll do it for you, nerd. Just don’t expect me to play nice.”
Izuku grinned at that, hooking his arm through Katsuki’s as they headed towards his car. It wasn’t anything special, just something Katsuki bought with the money his grandmother left him. He took good care of it, though. Drove surprisingly slow despite his personality. He was always swearing and flipping people off, but he never went over the speed limit. Izuku always teased him for it.
They climbed inside, sinking into the seats as Katsuki twisted the key, bringing the engine to life. “Kacchan, could we go to Shoto’s house today? He invited me over and said you could come too. It’s a good opportunity for you to bond with him.”
Izuku was using Shoto‘s first name already? They only started dating two weeks ago. Katsuki pushed it from his mind, focussing on reversing out of the space. “Fine, whatever. But if you start eating faces then I’m going home, I don’t want to see that gross shit.”
“You’re so embarrassing, Kacchan.”
When they arrived at Shoto’s house, Katsuki parked his car on the side of the road and clambered out, slamming the door behind him. He wasn’t hiding his bad mood—hands shoved in his pockets, a deep scowl on his face. He was sick of thinking about the two of them together. Why did he even care? He really needed to get over this dumb crush. Fast.
Katsuki stomped behind Izuku, tapping his foot on the ground as they waited for the door to be opened.
“Hello,” Shoto said, his voice monotonous despite the soft smile chasing his lips. “You’re Bakugo, right? I’m glad you decided to come. We’re having soba today.”
The blond grunted in response, taking his shoes off by the umbrella stand before he padded inside. Shoto lived in a very big, very traditional house; everything looked new and freshly painted, and Katsuki could tell the family weren’t exactly struggling financially. Yet another thing that pissed him off about Izuku’s new, ‘perfect’ boyfriend.
Katsuki trailed behind the couple as they headed into the dining room where the rest of the family were already sitting. There was an empty seat at the head of the table, so Katsuki could only assume their father wasn’t present.
“This is Izuku and Bakugo,” Shoto said dryly, pulling out one of the chairs. Izuku sat beside him, cheeks flushed as he hurried to greet everyone.
“I’m Rei, it’s nice to meet you boys,” the middle-aged woman said, smiling softly at them. “Izuku, you must be Shoto’s new boyfriend. You make a lovely couple.”
Great. Katsuki’s scowl deepened as he sat in the seat opposite Izuku, forced to watch their lovey-dovey act for the entire meal. He wanted to crawl under a rock and die. Quick death, slow death—it didn’t matter, he just needed a way out of the situation. Why did he let Izuku convince him to come in the first place? This could only be torture for him.
“I’m Fuyumi,” the sister introduced, grinning widely. She had short, choppy, white hair with red streaks through it, thick glasses rested on the bridge of her nose. She looked a lot like Rei, but she had a much warmer aura.
“I’m Natsuo.” The middle brother was tall, well-built; he had white hair styled with gel, his eyes a soft silver. “Glad Shoto’s finally found himself a boyfriend, I was a little worried he was a lost cause.” He chuckled.
Katsuki turned to the last sibling expectantly, his eyes squinted. “Name’s Toya, but I go by Dabi.” His voice was deep and raspy, his expression blank as he fixed his gaze on Katsuki.
Katsuki couldn’t help but stare momentarily, surprised by how different he looked compared to everyone else. He had spiky, black hair; sharp, blue eyes that were difficult to decipher; studs in his earlobes, a hoop through his nose (Katsuki noticed a silver ball in his tongue when he spoke); tattoos covering both arms, a few more inked in other places. There was something… magnetic about him, something that made it difficult for Katsuki to look away. But he did, because he wasn’t about to give this ‘I go by Dabi’ guy the satisfaction of staring.
But, if Katsuki was being really honest with himself, he found Dabi annoyingly attractive.
“Got something on my face?” Dabi rasped, turning his attention back to Katsuki. Crap, he was staring again. He needed to think of an excuse.
“No,” he scoffed, folding his arms across his chest defensively. “I was looking at your tattoos. Where’d you get them done? I was thinking of getting one.” That was an obvious lie, but Dabi seemed amused by it.
“Did them myself, I have my own parlour,” Dabi explained, breaking eye contact as he glanced down at his food. “But I don’t like to give tattoos to high school kids.”
“I’m eighteen, I’m an adult,” Katsuki huffed.
Dabi hummed. “Still in school, though.”
“I’m a third year, I can—ow!” Katsuki glared at Izuku across the table after he kicked him, his shin burning. “The hell was that for, idiot?”
Izuku sighed. “You’re being rude, Kacchan.”
Everyone laughed as Katsuki rolled his eyes, shovelling soba into his mouth to stop himself from quipping back. The chatter came back around the table, but all Katsuki could focus on was the couple in front of him. Izuku was actually giggling at something Shoto said, and Katsuki had to resist the urge to lean across and punch him clean in the face.
Dabi smirked and moved closer, his mouth against Katsuki’s ear. He smelled like smoke and honey, a confusing combination for his brain when it was already short-circuiting. Katsuki wasn’t used to it, wasn’t used to being attracted to someone like Dabi, someone so rough around the edges. He was the complete opposite of Izuku, which was another confusing concept for his brain to try and comprehend.
“You have a crush on your friend, huh?” Dabi breathed out, chills slithering down Katsuki’s spine as he swallowed hard, his mouth suddenly dry. “That’s cute and all, but I hope you won’t be causing problems for my little brother.”
Katsuki kissed his teeth, abruptly standing from the table. “Thanks for the meal, but I should get going. I’ll see you tomorrow, Izuku.”
He bowed stiffly before excusing himself, quickly slipping his shoes back on and shoving his arms through his puffer coat. Katsuki knew the entire thing was a bad idea in the first place, felt like an extra piece as soon as he walked inside, but he let himself get swept away by Izuku again. He really needed to stop doing that. He probably needed to distance himself a little, but how could he? They had been friends for as long as he could remember.
Admittedly, Izuku often felt like a bad habit, one Katsuki could never really break. He didn’t want to, either; he liked being around him when things were simple, when it didn’t feel like his heart was being ripped out of his chest. But the easy days were gone, they weren’t kids anymore, and Katsuki really needed to accept that.
The blond fished through his pockets to find his keys, making his way towards the car as he tried to push the bile back down his throat. Why was he even upset, anyway? What did he expect? For Izuku to chase after him and make sure he was okay? Those days were long gone, and the reality of that left a hole in his chest where his heart should be. He was being so pathetic, he really needed to snap out of it.
Exhaling sharply, Katsuki leaned his frame against the car, dropping his head back as he looked up at the sky. He registered the sound of footsteps but didn’t bother to see who it was, he could already tell by the hazy smell of smoke.
“Want one?” Dabi rasped, holding out his pack of cigarettes. There was already one between his lips, hanging loosely as he spoke. “Sorry ‘bout earlier. Got a big mouth.”
Katsuki squinted his eyes suspiciously, snatching a cigarette from the pack as he hissed out a “thanks”. He was more of a social smoker, liked to go through an entire pack when he was drunk, but he figured Dabi owed him one.
“So tell me,” Dabi started, handing the lighter over to Katsuki, smoke spilling from his lips. Shit, he looked attractive like that. “How long have you liked him? Midoriya, I mean. I can’t tell whether you want to fuck him silly or hold his hand and take him out on a date. You’re a difficult one to read, you know?”
Katsuki rolled his eyes, lighting the cigarette and taking a big inhale, letting the smoke burn his lungs. “Shut the hell up,” he snapped. “How old are you, anyway? Look too old to still be living with mommy and daddy.”
Dabi kissed his teeth. “I’m twenty-two,” he said, moving to lean his back against the car, their arms brushing slightly. Katsuki tried to ignore the way his skin tingled. “I don’t live there, have my own place. It’s above my tattoo studio, actually. I just go for dinner once a week to keep Fuyumi off my ass.”
“Are you the oldest?”
Dabi hummed, throwing the cigarette stub on the floor, crushing it beneath his combat boot. “Me and Fuyumi are twins, so we’re both the oldest. Technically speaking, though, she’s three minutes older than me.”
“I’m an only child.” Katsuki shrugged, exhaling the smoke through his nose. “It sounds good, but it sucks most of the time. Just means there’s nobody else for me to blame.”
“You serious about wanting a tatt?” Dabi asked, dragging his eyes towards Katsuki. Truthfully, he never wanted to get a tattoo, he hadn’t even thought about it before, it was simply the first excuse that popped into his brain when Dabi caught him staring. But he was starting to change his mind when he noticed the interest in those piercing blues.
“Yeah, I want one,” he decided.
Dabi pulled his phone from his pocket. “I’ll give you my number, send me a message when you decide on a design. I’d rather you got the tattoo from me than a backstreet studio, just don’t make me regret this.”
Katsuki held back a smirk. “I won’t. Just give me your damn number already, idiot.”