Work Text:
The shower is still running. Shouto is toweling at his damp hair, keeping one ear on the muffled sounds of his boyfriend still washing up in his bathroom.
His boyfriend, the word still brings a pleasant fluttering in his stomach and delightful shivers down his spine even after eight months of being together.
While he and Katsuki haven’t been dating for that long, what they’ve created together so far has been one of the best experiences in Shouto’s life. He feels safe with Katsuki. Understood. Feels like he doesn’t have to always be strong and put on a face that says ‘bear it all, no matter how much it hurts’. And while it may be a little early for this, Shouto knows he can show all of his faces, all his emotions, to Katsuki and he’ll welcome them.
Take care of them, like he takes care of Shouto.
There’s hardly any second guessing with them as they’re both blunt and straightforward people. Shouto says it how it is and Katsuki doesn’t cut corners. Stubbornness can very well be the flint to an angry fire, but they always work together to put it out – or stoke it into something more…pleasurable.
Shouto doesn’t know what prompted him to daydream about his boyfriend so early in the day, no less when he’s just in the other room, but there’s something special about their shared mornings.
Living alone had been bliss until two of the top heroes realized they have to pull at frayed ends to get their hectic work schedules to be in their favor. He doesn’t regret moving into an apartment on his own after graduation, Shouto likes his alone time and the comfortable silence. It helps him unwind after the boisterous and chaotic day at work.
Although the idea of waking up and falling asleep next to Katsuki without having to worry about commuting from one apartment to the other and then to the agency is beginning to sound more and more appealing as days go by.
Even now, with Katsuki walking out of his bathroom in nothing but his boxer briefs and a towel around his neck after a night and a morning spent tangled in the sheets, Shouto starts to associate it with home.
At one point he must have finished drying his hair, because the towel in his hand is now discarded on the back of the couch and soft hairs are falling over his eyes when Shouto tips his chin up to look at Katsuki.
They share a small smile, blue and grey eyes glancing to the very obvious love bite on the side of his boyfriend’s neck – there’s a matching one on his own neck, although a little higher up, just below his ear, Katsuki says he’s most sensitive there – before they bounce back to the ruby gaze trained on his face. Letting his body succumb further into the plush couch cushions, Shouto stretches out his legs and reaches to wind one foot around his boyfriend’s ankle, tugging him forward in a halfhearted manner.
“Whatcha’ looking at, shortcake?”
Katsuki inquires, tilting his head to the side as a grin forms on peach colored lips. He brings the towel to his sandy blonde hair, now a deeper shade while it’s still wet from his shower.
“At you.” Shouto knows it’s a rhetorical question, could see the mocking edge of his words in the sharpness of Katsuki’s eyes, but he still replies, feeling a little overwhelmed with his, mostly naked, boyfriend looming over him so casually.
The grin widens, signaling to Shouto that indulging in silly banter was the right answer, and he sees Katsuki’s knees buckling forward the smallest bit at the ongoing tugging of his leg. He looks like he wants to tip over and tackle Shouto on the couch, which sounds really good right now, as for some reason, Shouto’s still feeling all warmed up and ready to go, despite their morning activities.
“And? See something new? Did anything change?”
Katsuki humors him, makes a show of turning his face from left to right while rubbing the towel over the fluffy mane of his hair, spikes poking out with every stroke. Shouto decides to play along, dragging his eyes all over his boyfriend’s face – from his pointed eyes to the slope of his nose, down to his edge-cutting jaw and ever so slightly chapped lips stretched around a lazy smirk – and decidedly coming up with the same conclusion he always has after indulging himself into staring at Katsuki.
He’s really really handsome. And cute, most time on accident, but if Shouto were to say that out loud Katsuki would end up doing something not so cute to him.
“No, you still have your gremlin face.”
Saying that without allowing his face to break into a fit of chuckles is harder than Shouto anticipated it to be when he was reminded of how Kirishima and Kaminari used to tease Katsuki back in high school when he’d attempt to intimidate them with his stares.
Katsuki kicks him in the shin, gentle but pointed, before throwing his own towel on the other end of the couch. He leans lower just enough to grab at Shouto’s foot – that’s still hooked around Katsuki’s calf – and pulls him forward, causing his back to slide down the cushions. Shouto finds himself on his back on the couch, his boyfriend looking down at him with a self-satisfied smirk dancing on his lips.
Shouto really wants to kiss him.
He often comes to that conclusions at the worst times possible, at least according to his friends. Apparently wanting to kiss Katsuki after he’s threatened to blow someone’s head off and cackling out loud isn’t the best moment to realize you want to kiss him. Nor when he’s in the middle of rearranging a villain’s ‘ugly mug’, while he’s covered in soot and blood.
“You’re a pain in my ass, you know that, halfie?”
“Hmmhm,” Shouto hums, shrugging his shoulders and bumping them into the backrest with the awkward position he’s seated in.
At the easy response, Katsuki manhandles him to properly lie on the couch before he climbs on top and squeezes Shouto’s face with one hand. His thumb digs into Shouto’s cheek ever so slightly, the gesture puckering his lips up.
His boyfriend does this a lot, cups Shouto’s face and just looks at him. It gives him the perfect excuse to watch as Katsuki’s put-on glare dissipates into an expression Shouto’s only seen him make when they’re alone. When his hardened face softens up, snarl morphing into a genuine smile and the fire in his eyes dying down into warm flames.
Having decided that he’s waited enough, Shouto pulls him forward into a kiss, eager mouths slotting together seamlessly. It’s been a learning curve, kissing Katsuki. From slow and experimental to frenzied and sloppy, to reverent and so full of affection, Shouto wouldn’t know to tell you which kind is his favorite. He loves all kisses from Katsuki.
Not that he has to pick a favorite when Katsuki’s here to give them all to him.
Warm and cold hands grab at wide shoulders, anchoring the man on top to him and not giving him any leverage to dare and pull back, lest their kiss breaks. A pleased hum reverberates against his spit-slick lips, prompting Shouto to part them and welcome the warm caress of Katsuki’s tongue in his mouth.
Calloused and gentle hands hold him by his waist and face, pulling him up and off to couch so their chests touch, thumb rubbing soft strokes right at the edge of his scar. Shouto can almost feel the echo of Katsuki’s heart each time their torsos come together with every inhale, a little pleased to know its rhythm is as erratic as his own.
Every time he kisses Katsuki it reminds Shouto how lucky he is to have him. How he never imagined he’d get to have something like this, something so good and perfect and made just for him, because there is no other explanation to how right it feels for them to be together.
His boyfriend’s hungry mouth trails kisses from the corner of his lips to his jaw and down his neck, licking a teasing stripe over the love bites he bit into Shouto’s skin last night – or are they from this morning? – before ducking his head to nip at his collarbones. A shock of blonde hair comes into view, and in an attempt to watch his boyfriend torture him with pleasure, he ends up with more hair in his face.
The giggles escape him before Shouto can stop them, and the noise prompts Katsuki to lift his head and look at him.
“What’s so fucking funny, Shou?” There’s a curious smile on his face, along with a delicious ruddy flush high in his cheeks.
Shouto indulges himself in one more chaste kiss, then a few more pecks before he feels his nose scrunching once more.
“Your hair tickled me.” He explains, rubbing at his nose with two fingers to get rid of the itchy sensation. Though for some reason, Katsuki’s current expression seems to tickle something inside him, and it causes Shouto to burst into a fit of laughter.
It used to be unusual for Shouto to laugh this much and this open and unbridled. Not anymore, not when he’s with Katsuki. He hears his boyfriend huff out a laugh of his own, but he’s still looking at him. He’s watching Shouto with these eyes, with such a focused gaze that it melts his heart a little when he sees it.
His laughter is interrupted by a hand that brushes back his bangs followed by Katsuki’s mouth connecting with his forehead in a firm kiss.
“Let’s go out.”
Shouto’s eyebrows rise in surprise. They haven’t made plans for today.
“Now? But we haven’t had breakfast yet.” Usually, Shouto wouldn’t be so stressed about missing breakfast, but every time his boyfriend spent the night at his place, he’s cooked something for them to share. He always makes sure Shouto doesn’t skip any meals.
Katsuki nods, looking like he already has a plan, even though he didn’t tell Shouto they’re going somewhere today.
“Yeah.” He’s already dragging Shouto off the couch, an unfaltering smile present on his face, “Go change and I’ll whip up something for us to eat. Don’t take too fucking long or the food’ll go cold!” Katsuki instructs, pushing him towards the bedroom to get ready.
Shouto doesn’t know what’s gotten into him, but if this means they’ll spend more time together, then he’s not complaining.
__________________
After a delicious and arguably late breakfast, since they spent most of their morning in bed, Katsuki and Shouto are now walking in the direction of the park. At least, that’s what Shouto assumes they’re doing, as his boyfriend hasn’t mentioned their destination yet.
Though, he figures it doesn’t really matter. Not when the weather is so nice and he’s holding onto Katsuki’s hand as they walk through the city. The warm Spring breeze flutters through his hair, the chirping of birds grazing his ears in a melodious song. Katsuki’s palm is warm and a little sweaty around his own, the left one – his fire side – but it doesn’t bother him in the slightest.
“What if your quirk goes off because of my fire?”
Shouto had asked at the beginning of their relationship when Katsuki kept reaching for his left hand instead of the right one.
“What, can’t handle a few sparks, half and half?”
Was the counter he got from his boyfriend, which was so on-brand for him that it got Shouto to intertwine their fingers together and squeeze his hand tighter.
After walking through the front gate of the park closest to Shouto’s apartment, he’s about to ask Katsuki why he brought them here, when his attention is effectively stolen by something else. Or better said, someone else. Shouto’s already cooing and psspss-ing towards one of his four-legged friends, the stray, orange tabby cat that likes to lounge next to the park fountain.
He’s walking forward, crouching with his hand extended, waiting for the cat to come to him.
“Come here, Tora, c’mere.” He doesn’t have to turn around to see his boyfriend’s face, he can almost hear the way Katsuki is rolling his eyes at how easy Shouto is around cats.
The cat, Tora as was nicknamed by Shouto, trots forward and bumps its little head against his knuckles, before it rounds his crouched form. Tora plops between Shouto’s bent knees and shows its fluffy tummy, looking up at the man for pets and scratches.
Shouto indulges her, as he does with all the cats that let him get close enough to pet them, and sinks one hand into fluffy fur to gently rub at Tora’s belly.
“Good girl, Tora. Did you eat well today?” He asks her, awaiting her drawn out meow in the midst of a purring storm.
She looks better than she did the first time he saw her in the park, skinny and a little scruffy. Tora is much rounder now, fur soft with a shiny coat. If his place allowed pets Shouto would’ve taken her in, but he’s still unsure of how good of a cat owner he could be.
He doesn’t often doubt his capabilities, otherwise he couldn’t be the hero he is today, but when it comes to things like love and taking care of others, Shouto still thinks he falls somewhat behind compared to others.
“Don’t mention food or she’ll start crying for treats.” His boyfriend calls from the bench he’s sitting on, watching the two of them.
Katsuki must think otherwise if he chose to pursue the relationship he has with Shouto. It reassures him, to know his boyfriend thinks so highly of him, otherwise Katsuki wouldn’t have spent so much time into building what they have.
As if on cue, Tora jumps up at his words and starts yowling and pawing at Shouto’s pants. She’s very smart, he concludes, if he’s learned to pick up on what different words and sounds mean. He immediately feels bad about bringing it up since he forgot to stash a few treats into the jacket he’s got on now.
“I’m sorry, baby, but I don’t have any treats on me right now.” Shouto apologizes lowly, scratching behind her ears instead.
He chances a look at Katsuki, who looks about done with the both of them, but digs into his coat pocket for a bag of what looks to be cat treats.
“Oh.” Both Shouto and Tora perk up when Katsuki shakes the bag, prompting the cat to prance in his direction.
“Oi, calm down, furball, they’re all yours. Shou, catch.”
Shouto lifts one hand and catches the bag of treats thrown in his direction. Tora follows suit.
“You don’t want to feed her yourself?”
Katsuki waves him off with one hand, “She likes it better when you do it.” Shouto kind of wants to ask him how he knows that, because surely Tora didn’t tell him herself, but then he feels claws digging into his knees, so he shifts his attention back to his hungry friend.
Shaking a few treats into his palm, Shouto extends it out for Tora to eat. She follows eagerly, raising one striped paw and pressing it onto his arm, just holding it there. Like she’s wordlessly telling Shouto to keep it there until she finishes eating. He’s always found cats to be so fascinating.
He lifts his head to look at Katsuki again, motioning for him to ‘look at how cute she is’, who just rolls his eyes at them again, fondly, but shoots Shouto a smile in response.
At the content grin on his boyfriend’s face, Shouto considers the possibility of Katsuki having planned this. Well, he does know that Shouto likes to stop and pet stray cats – no matter how much he complains about having to stop at every other street, he always lets Shouto have his fill – but he’s never the one to keep cat treats tucked somewhere in his coat pockets.
No matter if this was planned or not, Shouto feels happy right now. With Katsuki watching him feed Tora, and very soon, the two other stray cats that like to frequent this park.
___________
Shortly after, they continue their walk through the city when they pass by the familiar sign of their favorite bakery.
He catches sight of their strawberry cakes through the large window at the front and tries not to make it too apparent that he’s staring. Katsuki tends to reprimand him, good naturedly though, about ‘eating too much sugary shit, halfie’ and he doesn’t really want the cake anyway. It’ll only mess up his diet, his father always said-
Used to say. Doesn’t say it anymore, because Shouto’s an adult now. He’s long gotten from under his father’s thumb and is free to do whatever he wants. But, some things are harder to shake than others.
Shouto averts his gaze.
He’s stopped in place just seconds later when Katsuki tugs on his arm with a short, “let’s go inside”, and Shouto thinks he wants to check out if they still have the 5-grains bread he always buys from here. He remembers his boyfriend talking about when he raided his pantry only to come up with a half empty bag of what he dubbed to be ‘the shittiest bread you could buy, halfie’.
But as soon as they step inside, Katsuki doesn’t walk them to the display of freshly baked bread. Instead, still holding onto Shouto’s hand, he guides them to the refrigerated display where they hold their cakes and sweet confections.
“Are you getting something for your parents? Or is this for Auntie Inko?” He asks, because he’s never really seen Katsuki indulge in these type of sweets and the only time he buys them they’re for someone else.
“No, idiot. We’re getting something for you. Pick whatever you want.”
Katsuki nudges him in the shoulder and jerks his chin towards the displayed cakes.
Shouto’s eyebrows furrow.
For him?
“Why?”
Katsuki raises one eyebrow at him.
“Why not?”
And the simple response seems to do it.
Katsuki is right, why not?
An easy smile climbs on his face and Shouto feels light on his feet. It’s such a distinct sensation, but he always recognizes it when it happens because it always comes up when he’s with Katsuki. Maybe this is what it feels like to be in love.
“I want the strawberry cake. We can share a slice if you want, they’re not that sweet-”
“Three slices of the strawberry one, please. Two to go and one here.”
Katsuki is haste in making their order, the lady on the other side of the counter moving swiftly to pack up their desserts. One slice is neatly placed on a ceramic plate, served with two spoons and a dash of powdered sugar.
“We’re eating here?”
Katsuki takes the paper bag and the plate, thanking the lady once more. He then points to one of the more secluded tables at the back of the bakery, Shouto following suit.
“Figured you wanna eat one of the slices now.”
Shouto does, but he didn’t say anything since he expected Katsuki to retaliate by saying they need to eat dinner first. There were times where his boyfriend complained about Shouto ruining his appetite with snacks and candies before they could eat the dinner he cooked.
It might sound silly, but Shouto feels a little like he’s getting special treatment.
He feels special.
And he must be special, to have Katsuki indulge him like this.
They sit across from each other and Shouto pushes the plate right in the middle, handing one teaspoon to Katsuki. He ends up eating most of the cake, leaving the tart pieces of strawberry to his boyfriend, who much prefers those to the sweet cream.
“What do you want for dinner?” Katsuki brings up when Shouto’s almost finished with the slice of cake. He’s still munching on the soft vanilla sponge when his boyfriend reaches across the table to swipe what must be whipped cream from the corner of his mouth.
Shouto almost chokes on his bite when he sees Katsuki lick his finger right after.
“Anything you feel like making. I’m not picky when it comes to your cooking.”
He really isn’t. Katsuki’s homemade meals are just as delicious as Fuyumi’s are – and what little he remembers from his mother’s cooking. It also helps that his boyfriend oftentimes exchanges recipes with his sister.
The conversation also gives Shouto a sense of domesticity. All this, waking up together, taking long walks in the park and planning their shared meals makes Shouto feel a little like an old married couple, as strange as that sounds to him. It also sounds good, because it’s with Katsuki.
“Can’t believe you didn’t use this opportunity to ask for cold soba.”
“Mmm, I know my limits.” Shouto shoots back, licking the last remnants of cream from the plate, “And you made me soba two days ago. I didn’t think you’d be so generous to make it for me again so soon.”
Katsuki hums, clearly amused at him, and reaches to grasp Shouto’s hand on the table. They’ve held hands so much today that the pleasant thrum in his chest threatens to spill past his ribcage.
His boyfriend isn’t keen on public displays of affection and Shouto hasn’t been familiar with any kind of display of affection until he started making friend at UA. Though, the kind of affection he shares with his boyfriend is far different than the one he shares with his friends.
Despite it, they’ve both gotten used to just reaching out for each other and touching. Taking what they want, because they know the other will indulge them.
But today it felt like Katsuki couldn’t physically let him go. Like the natural state of their hands is to be intertwined with each other.
“I may give you shit about it, but I would’ve made it for you if you asked me to, Shou.”
It takes him a little aback, even if Shouto knows, he knows, Katsuki would indulge him like that. Within reason, he reminds himself, but even so…Katsuki indulged him last night and this morning, and he’s been indulging Shouto all day, now that he thinks about it.
“I know.” Shouto assures him, not that he thinks there’s need for that, but his thumb still finds its way to the back of Katsuki’s hand to rub small circles into the skin. He feels Katsuki squeeze his hand once, twice. “How about mapo tofu tonight?”
“We gotta make a trip to the store for that. Your fridge is a disgrace, Shou.”
Shouto smiles despite the blatant insult, he knows it’s nothing to get upset over. “Let’s go then.”
Shouto squeezes his hand a third time.
______________
They cook dinner together, as Katsuki had more than just mapo tofu in plans for tonight, and work always gets done faster when they do it together.
There’s several side dishes, alongside a platter of tonkatsu and even a medium sized bowl of cold soba. Somehow, Katsuki managed to whip out the homemade noodles while he tasked Shouto with frying the pork cutlets. He sets the table while his boyfriend makes the finishing touches on their dinner, before they both sit down to eat.
The remaining two slices of cake get their own spot on the dinner table, right at the center.
As he looks over the appetizing display of food, then back up at his boyfriend, his lovely boyfriend Katsuki, Shouto starts to go through the special dates in his head. It’s not anyone’s birthday, nor any special holiday that he should’ve kept count of.
“Today isn’t our anniversary.” Shouto states out loud, taking in the confused look on Katsuki’s face.
“No, it’s not.” Katsuki responds. His eyes are searching for something on Shouto’s face though, one hand hovering over his metal chopsticks. Shouto’s drumming his own fingers across the rounded side of his bowl of soba.
“Then, what are we celebrating?”
He asks, just in case he forgot something. Midoriya would’ve informed him if there was a holiday today, but even after going through his mental notes, Shouto comes up with nothing.
“The fuck are you talking about? We’re not celebrating anything.”
Shouto looks down at the food once more, still feeling the saccharine tartness of the cake he had earlier linger on his tongue. Along with the sweet kisses he sneaked from Katsuki while they were cooking.
“But you cooked all this food.” He reasons, before pointing towards the dessert, “And you got me cake.”
The furrow in his ashen brows deepens. Katsuki doesn’t seem to understand what Shouto is getting at.
“So?”
“So, I was just wondering what the occasion is…”
The frown loosens and Katsuki puts his utensils down. His lips purse, gaze flicking up at the ceiling like it always does when he takes a few seconds to think about something. Ruby eyes land back on him.
“There’s no occasion.” His boyfriend shrugs, “Just wanted to do it.”
Is it really that easy for Katsuki to do all that for Shouto just because he wanted to?
Shouto wants to say something, but stops when he notices his boyfriend isn’t done.
“You always make this face when you look at me, and when you see the cats at the park and get to feed them. Or when you get to eat cake.” He’s taken to gesturing with his hands now, but his eyes are still trained on Shouto. He feels seen, like Katsuki’s taking him apart, but in the best possible way.
Then his boyfriend makes a face, like he just remembered what he was so desperately searching for, “I guess I just like seeing you happy. And I know this shit makes you happy.” He says, so easy, so simple, like it’s that easy and that simple.
Maybe it is. Maybe for him, with Shouto, it is that easy and simple.
“So, there’s no special occasion, and we don’t need to do all this if you don’t want to. But I just felt like it.” He finally digs into his food, then shrugs and chances another look at Shouto, “You looked like you enjoyed yourself today and that’s enough for me.”
Shouto feels his cheeks stretch with how wide his smile must be right now. There’s no hiding behind his food right now, not that there’s a reason to do so.
“I did. I love spending time with you.” He adds before taking a bite of his soba noodles, humming at the delicious aroma, “You’re lucky you know me so well.” Slips out after Shouto is hit with the reality that his entire day had been filled with delicious food and the best company he could ask for.
He doesn’t expect an answer, expects their dinner to turn into the comfortable quietness it usually does with the two of them, but Katsuki manages to take him aback one more time.
“Yeah, I’m a lucky bastard to have you, aren’t I?”
Shouto’s heart jumps up to his throat.
He thought he was the lucky one. But seeing how Katsuki is looking at him now, makes him think that his boyfriend knows very well how he feels.
“We should move in together.” Shouto blurts out before they can finish eating, and that gets his boyfriend coughing violently on his mapo tofu.
His boyfriend might be glaring at him with watery eyes and no doubt a scratchy throat right now, but that night he indulges Shouto once more and shows him how on board he is with the idea of finally sharing a home together.