WMUWSE / Chapter 2 (ENG) (Patreon)

Izuku had woken up in his tent around 11 a.m., having fallen asleep wearing nothing but his underwear. It was so hot that he could see beads of sweat forming on his skin. The sunlight filtered through the thin fabric that separated him from the outside world.It was actually kind of funny, when you thought about it — in a campsite full of massive trees where most spots were shaded nearly all the time, their tent had ended up in the sun during the worst hours of the day.

When he turned his head, he didn’t see his best friend on her mattress. He had left her sleeping on the boys' couch…

“Uuuugh…” Izuku groaned, running his clammy hands over his face as memories of last night, or rather, early that morning, came flooding back.

He had run away.

When Katsuki had caught him watching, he'd looked Izuku up and down with a completely stunned expression.

Izuku had stammered some awkward excuse, something stupid about looking for the blond to wish him goodnight, before bolting and leaving his best friend passed out cold on their couch.

Only when he closed the cabin door behind him did he realize the issue in his beige shorts. The very obvious bulge staring back at him.

Shit.

Katsuki had seen that, hadn’t he? Oh god… he definitely saw it…

No wonder the guy had looked so shocked. He probably thought Izuku was some pervert  and, frankly, he wouldn’t be wrong.

Because once he got back to the privacy of his tent, after making sure the flap was zipped and his phone was turned off (just in case spies were listening... or worse: his mom. You can never be too careful ), he stripped down to his boxers, flopped onto his mattress, and… okay, maybe he’d relieved a little “pressure” and then fallen asleep like a piece of trash, covered in his own fluids.

Now he was sweaty and disgusting.

The night was over and his brain was functioning again after letting his dick pilot him straight into humiliation and guilt.

He felt bad.

Like, really bad.

He had jerked off thinking about his neighbor. His neighbor who had seen his boner. Maybe — hopefully — the blond hadn’t noticed… or thought Izuku had a TV remote in his pocket or something...

“Idiot…” he muttered, throwing his legs over the side and sitting up, grabbing a shirt nearby and pulling it over his head. He winced at the crusty feeling on his stomach.He grabbed a random pair of shorts, peeked out of the tent to make sure the coast was clear, and stepped out. The air was surprisingly cool, the heat had been trapped in the tent by the sun’s rays, but outside, Izuku almost shivered from the breeze.

He grabbed clean clothes and his toiletries bag, then headed for the showers.

They were communal, but the shower stalls were private, closed off by tall partitions, so the only way to tell if someone was inside was by listening.

Luckily — or maybe because the gods of shame were taking pity on him — Izuku seemed to be alone. He chose the stall furthest from the entrance, like he was trying to hide while cleaning the evidence of his unholy crimes, and locked himself in to shower.

Afterward, and 27 existential crises later, he turned off the water and wrapped himself in his big towel.

A few seconds later, he heard two voices enter.

“No, I’m not playing with him anymore. I already told you, damn it.”

He immediately recognized Katsuki’s voice and froze before he could open the stall door.

“I know, but it’s just a 6-month tour. You’ll be back in spring.”

Izuku knew that voice… he’d heard it before but couldn’t quite place it… Should he go out?Mmh... No. He didn’t want to see Katsuki, especially not with a stranger, in the showers.

“No way.”

“I thought you still wanted to do music.”

“Tch. Of course I do. But I’ll do it my way, with people I choose. Not with that group of junkies your brother dragged in off the street.”

“…Okay. Fair. I don’t really like them either, to be honest. I feel like they’re a bad influence on Touya. That’s why I wanted you to join.”

Touya?

Oh right! Now he remembered the voice — it was the youngest Todoroki, the one with the mismatched eyes… Shouto ?

“Look, half-and-half… I’m not your idiot brother’s babysitter. He’s old enough to make his own choices. If you’ve got a problem with that, tell him yourself. And stop bothering me on my fucking vacation !”

Footsteps stomped away. Then silence…

Izuku waited another two minutes to be sure he was alone, then dressed quickly.

He opened the shower stall door… and found himself face-to-face with the red-and-white-haired boy.

Who now stared at him, totally bewildered.

Izuku was cursed.

First, he got caught ogling Katsuki. Now, he was getting caught eavesdropping on a conversation that wasn’t his.

He should’ve drowned in the shower.

“Were you listening to us?” the other boy asked.

“W-what? No! I was just… showering…” He bit his lip, then sighed. “...Okay, maybe I heard something… but I swear I wasn’t doing it on purpose!”

“Mmh. It’s fine. Not like it was a secret anyway.” Despite his stoic look, Izuku caught a hint of sadness in his voice.

He stepped closer, frowning slightly. “Uh… are you okay?”

Shouto raised an eyebrow, probably wondering why this green-haired mess was sticking his nose in his business. “I’m fine. I should go.” He turned to look directly into Izuku’s eyes and offered a faint smile. “Yours are pretty too.” Then he left.

What was pretty—…

Oh.

His cheeks started heating up.

Izuku walked back toward his tent, confused. He hung his towel on the line he and Ochaco had strung up, tossed yesterday’s clothes into the dirty laundry bag, and flopped onto his mattress.

Was Shouto being nice? Returning a compliment?

Or… was he flirting ?

Izuku snorted.

No way.

Izuku was not what you’d call “hot.” He was short, baby-faced, and his freckles didn’t help. Not to mention his messy hair and questionable fashion sense.Okay, maybe he had a decent body, his thighs and ass were thick, more muscle than fat, thanks to the dance classes Ochaco had dragged him into two years ago. He had ended up loving them and kept going even after she quit.

But besides that? Not cute. Not sexy.

So Todoroki definitely wasn’t flirting. No way.

As he finished tidying up, Izuku noticed a tuft of blond hair through the cabin window. Katsuki was focused on something, wearing big black headphones, his head bobbing to the beat.His lips moved, like he was silently mouthing words, then he stuck a pencil between his teeth.

Izuku wished he was that pencil. For like half a second.

Was he studying? But they were on vacation and college didn’t start for two months... Maybe he was doing some kind of extra work?

He should probably ask—

A hand on his shoulder startled him. He turned to see Kirishima smiling at him, glancing from him to the window. “Oh, Kats must be writing again.”

“Writing?” Izuku asked. “Like... a writer?”

Kirishima chuckled. “Something like that. He was our band’s songwriter. One of the singers too, when he felt like it.”

Izuku turned toward the window again, wide-eyed. “He writes songs?!”

“Yeah. Mostly when he’s upset…”

Izuku raised an eyebrow. “But he’s always upset…”

“Exactly.” Kirishima laughed harder. “He probably brought a whole bag of blank notebooks. I think he’s already filled two since we got here.”

“Two?! In…” Izuku did the math. “In a week?!”

“Yeah, he doesn’t sleep much.” Kirishima shrugged.

“What are you idiots doing?”

They turned toward the now-open window. Katsuki had pulled his headphones down around his neck and was staring at them.

“I was telling Midobro how awesome you are!” Kirishima grinned.

“Damn right I am.” His red eyes locked onto Izuku’s, and a slow smirk curled on his lips.

Everything from the previous night rushed back, and Izuku flushed hard. He quickly looked away from his living fantasy. “Uh… have you seen Ochaco?”

“She left with Denki and Sero. Tried to call you, I think.” Katsuki replied.

Oh shit, he hadn’t turned his phone back on…

“Yeah, Sero mentioned a local market not far from here. They left about 20 minutes ago” Kirishima added.

“Oh… Okay.”

“Hey, you wanna hang with us?” Kirishima asked, still smiling warmly.

Izuku looked at him, then glanced at Katsuki, who just shrugged. “Sure, why not?” he said, smiling back.

He followed Kirishima inside the cabin and settled comfortably on the couch. It was almost becoming a habit, like it was his place too, and Kirishima seemed more than happy that Izuku felt so at ease around them.

“By the way, this cabin’s different from the other ones in the campsite... Why’s that?” asked Izuku.

It was true, the little building looked very different compared to the others.

Unlike the rest of the plastic or prefab units scattered around the campsite, this cabin looked older, yet well-maintained. The outer walls were covered in dark wooden planks, like the window frames and front door. The roof resembled that of a small house, with reddish tiles speckled in patches of green and brown moss. The terrace in front of the entrance was made from the same wood, as were the railing and the few steps leading up to it. The inside, however, looked fairly new, maybe recently renovated. The walls were freshly painted, the hardwood floor spotless and clearly new. Only one part seemed untouched, a beam in the corner that looked preserved intentionally. Izuku figured it was because of the little carved markings etched into it.

Small lines, drawn by a knife or something similar, with years written beside them. Each year had two marks, one on the left and one on the right, with only a letter next to each: “K” and “I.”Only the ones labeled “I” stopped the year Izuku turned seven, while the “K” continued.

It didn’t take much for him to realize it had been used to measure the height of two kids over the years.

“Oh yeah, this place belongs to Bakugou’s parents,” said Kirishima, pulling Izuku from his thoughts.

At that moment, the blond came out of his room.

“It’s your parents’? So you’ve been coming here a lot?” Izuku asked.

Katsuki raised a brow. “Every summer since I was born. It used to be my grandparents’, then they passed it down to my parents, and now it’s mine.”

“Like a family heirloom? That’s so cool!” Izuku beamed. “I would’ve loved to come here as a kid…”

“Same here!” Kirishima chimed in. “We could’ve been best buds and built forts in the woods!”

Izuku laughed. “Yeah! That would’ve been awesome!”

“You’re both idiots,” grumbled Katsuki, sitting down at the table across from Izuku.

“Oh, come on dude, I bet you did that kind of thing when you were a kid!”

“No.” The blond scoffed, and Izuku thought the conversation was over, until Katsuki added,“I built a fucking fortress . Not some shitty little cabin that’d blow away in a breeze.”

Kirishima lit up with the biggest grin Izuku had ever seen. “That’s my man! You think it’s still standing?”

“Fuck, I hope so. I spent a whole damn summer on it… Only problem is, it’s been way too long and I don’t remember where it is anymore.”

“But if you were a kid, it can’t be that far from here. I doubt your parents let you go deep into the forest,” said Izuku, resting his chin in his hand.

Katsuki looked at him, then shrugged. “I was a little wild back then. I could’ve gone pretty far.”

“Obviously,” Izuku and Kirishima said at the same time, then looked at each other and burst into laughter.

Katsuki scowled. “The fuck’s that supposed to mean?!”

Izuku covered his mouth, trying not to laugh more, while Kirishima doubled over, holding his stomach and howling with laughter.

Izuku was sure Katsuki would knee them both into next week, or make them gnaw down trees with their teeth, but, to his surprise, the blond laughed with them.

“You’re both fucking assholes,” he muttered, but there was no venom in it. It was almost… affectionate.

The next 30 or 40 minutes passed with the three of them talking about everything and nothing.Well, mostly it was Kirishima chatting with Izuku, while the blond occasionally grunted out responses without ever getting too involved.

“Oh, that reminds me! I’ve got a date with Mina today!” Kirishima said cheerfully.

Mina was the girl working at the snack bar. Izuku had learned that she and the boys had known each other since high school. Katsuki had even helped her get her summer job there. Izuku hadn’t gotten the chance to talk to her much, just the few times he ordered snacks.

“You’ve been dating for three years. Calm down,” said Katsuki without looking up from his phone.

“She’s my sun, man… You just don’t get it. You’ve never been in love!” Kirishima pouted.

“Well, shit. Hope I never do if it turns people into idiots like you. Love melted your brain more than it already was.”

Kirishima didn’t bother responding to that. He turned to Izuku.“What about you, Midoriya? You got a boyfriend?”

Izuku was openly gay, or at least, he didn’t hide it. He’d mentioned it during one of their late-night talks when everyone was sharing romantic experiences. “No… I don’t have a boyfriend. I’ve been… really busy with school.”

“Nerd,” muttered the blond with a smirk, still not looking up from his phone.

“Oooh? And that super cool guy you were with in the showers earlier?” Kirishima teased with a sly grin.

Of course he must’ve crossed paths with Todoroki shortly before Izuku had come out…

“N-no! Not at all! We just… bumped into each other…” Izuku quickly glanced at Katsuki to gauge his reaction, and was surprised to see the guy scowling even deeper than usual (which was saying something) and staring at the floor between his knees, saying nothing.

He must’ve figured out Izuku heard the conversation…

Maybe Izuku should apologize later, make it clear that he hadn’t meant to eavesdrop...

“Oh, okay, sorry for assuming…” Kirishima said sheepishly. A notification sound pulled his attention to his phone. “Welp, sorry guys, I gotta bounce! My queen awaits!” He grinned as he left, leaving Izuku and Katsuki alone in the cabin.

The silence that followed was… awkward.

Izuku knew he had to say something, so he gathered all his courage and did just that.

“I’m sorry… I-I didn’t mean to overhear you and Todoroki in the showers, I was already there and… and you two were talking, and I didn’t want to interrupt…”

“It’s fine. I don’t care,” Katsuki muttered. “It’s not like it was personal anyway.”

Not personal? So Izuku was allowed to be curious? Not that he wanted to know… (Who was he kidding… of course he wanted to know. His stupid, curious brain had to know.)

“You were in another band before?”

Red eyes narrowed.

“I-I mean… you don’t have to talk about it! Obviously! It’s your life, and I have no—”

Katsuki laughed. “Shit, relax. You’re allowed to ask questions, I’m not gonna kill you.” He set his phone down and crossed his arms over his chest. “I was in the band with half-and-half’s brother. Touya.”

“You know Touya?”

The blond raised a brow. “You know him?”

“We met him with Ochaco. He’s at the spot we originally wanted to book…”

He sighed. “Figures… Yeah, that’s him.” He leaned back in his chair and stretched out his legs under the table. “I was in his band for two years. Until high school. Then I quit and formed my own with the idiots you know.”

“You didn’t always do music?”

“No. My parents put me in a bunch of extracurriculars in elementary school, supposedly to ‘channel my hyperactivity and anger’... Like martial arts. Then I started conservatory at the end of primary school.”

“That’s when you got into music?”

“Not really, actually.” He looked up at the ceiling. “I didn’t even listen to music before I met the Todorokis. I met Shouto there when we were twelve. He just decided we were friends or some dumb shit, so one day he dragged me to his house and his brother was there, plucking his guitar and writing some song.” The blond laughed. “It was awful. The guy has a great voice but sucks at writing.”

Izuku smiled.

“Then the bastard had the nerve to challenge me. Said if I thought it was so bad, I should do better. So I did.”

“You wrote a song?”

“I wrote twelve.”

Izuku’s eyes widened. “You… What?!”

Katsuki sniffed. “Yeah. Touya never let me go after that. Asked if he could use my stuff, and I said yes. He got popular fast. Two years later, he ditched his band for another one, and since they needed a drummer, I joined.”

“You played with them for two more years after that?”

The blond nodded. “But that group was… weird. Touya changed. Started drinking, using drugs… I was only fourteen but even I knew that wasn’t normal. He was always eccentric but a decent guy… then he started acting like I was just there to write their damn songs. Like they were using me to get famous and I was nothing without them. So I quit.”

He took a big swig from his water bottle, leaning against the kitchen counter.

“Soon after, I started high school and met the guys. Denki already played guitar with Kirishima, and Sero did a bit of bass. We joked about forming a band, and one thing led to another… We started performing. First for school, then local gigs… and yeah.” He smirked at Izuku. “Now you know everything.”

“Katsuki Bakugou: Origins.” Izuku returned the smile.

“Fucking nerd.” Katsuki chuckled.

“But that doesn’t explain the modeling thing.” Izuku blurted. He was too curious now. And Katsuki already knew he’d seen the photos, so no point pretending he wasn’t dying to know more, even if it made him want to curl into a ball.

“Hm? Oh, that. It’s pretty simple: my parents are in the fashion industry. They use me as a model for their shit sometimes. That’s it.” He said it like he was commenting on the weather.

“In fashion?”

“My dad’s a designer, and my mom’s a former model who became his assistant after I was born.”

Izuku nodded. Okay. That explained a lot. He should probably write all this down somewhere so he wouldn’t forget. Maybe even keep a notebook just for observations on the blond…

Wait… observations ?! Like a lab subject?!

Okay, no. He wasn’t studying him. Katsuki wasn’t a monkey in a zoo.

Still… a few notes couldn’t hurt. For memory’s sake.

“Now, my turn.”

Huh?

Izuku looked up and met a sharp, wolf-like gaze. When had Katsuki gotten so close? His heart jumped.

He was caged in. Katsuki had one hand on the table, the other gripping the back of the couch behind Izuku’s head, trapping him with no clear way out.

Oh no.

No no no.

He knew exactly where this was going.

“So… what were you doing last night?”

“W-what do you mean? Uh, well… we all hung out together, and then I went to bed… haha…” Izuku purposefully avoided his accusing eyes.

He knew what he’d done. He was a pervert who’d peeked at a guy undressing without consent. Was that illegal? Oh god, that was definitely illegal… What if Katsuki pressed charges?! Izuku would end up in jail! And then he’d never get into the university of his dreams, and his mother would never cry tears of joy at his graduation—

“Hey! Breathe, idiot!”

A light slap on the cheek snapped Izuku out of it. He blinked fast, gasping.

“You okay? You spaced out and started hyperventilating…” Katsuki was kneeling in front of him now, looking genuinely worried, one hand on Izuku’s knee.

“I’m fine… sorry about that…”

“Don’t apologize for your panic attacks, dumbass. It’s not like you can control them.”

“O-okay…”

“And forget last night. I was just messing with you. I’m not mad.”

Wait… what?

“You… you’re not?”

“Of course not. Hell, I’m half-naked in pictures anyone can find just by googling my name. You think I’d freak out over some idiot catching a glimpse of me in my underwear for three seconds through a doorway?” He stood up and ruffled Izuku’s hair. “Don’t stress over dumb shit, nerd. We’re good.”

“We’re… good,” Izuku repeated dumbly, like he couldn’t believe he had just narrowly avoided death by extreme embarrassment.

The blond flopped back into his chair and grabbed his phone again.

His phone—

“Shit!” Izuku jumped to his feet, startling Katsuki.

“Uh—”

“Sorry! I forgot to grab my phone and turn it on. If my mom calls and it goes straight to voicemail, she’ll rent a helicopter and fly here to make sure I haven’t drowned in the lake.”

Katsuki snorted. “Don’t exaggerate, nerd. She wouldn’t—”

The look Izuku shot him said everything .

“…Okay. Go get your damn phone and come back.”

“You want me to… come back?”

The blond raised an eyebrow. “Yeah. What, you scared to be alone with me? Do I intimidate you?” His smirk was back, smug and tilted.

Izuku stared for a beat before grinning right back as he opened the door. “I’m not scared of you… Katsuki.” He slipped outside before the blond could fire back.

He practically ran to the tent, found his phone, and powered it on.

One message from Ochaco popped up, she’d left with Denki and Sero to check out a local market. He replied quickly, then sighed with relief. One less thing to stress about.

Still looking down at his screen, he nearly ran into Katsuki, who was waiting right outside. The blond grabbed his arm just in time to stop him from falling.

“Watch it, damn nerd…” Katsuki muttered.

Looking up, Izuku noticed the gym bag slung over his shoulder. “Uh… are you going somewhere?”

“Lake.”

“Oh…”

“Don’t make that face, idiot. You’re coming with me. Weather’s too nice to stay inside, and I haven’t hit the water yet.”

“And you want me to come because…?”

The blond arched a brow. “Do I need a fucking reason? If you don’t wanna come, just say so.”

“No! I want to! Just gimme a minute—” He ran back inside the tent, grabbed an empty beach bag… Ochaco’s, labeled “Bitch Bag”... Ugh… whatever, it would do. He threw in a towel, sunscreen (he’d definitely need it), and whatever else he might need. He was already wearing swim shorts.

He dashed back out, smiling. “Okay! I’m ready!”

Katsuki laughed behind his hand. “You look like a goddamn puppy excited for a walk. I can practically see your tail wagging.”

Izuku pouted a little… but yeah, he was probably too excited. He didn’t even know why. He just really, really wanted to spend more time with Katsuki.

The blond ruffled his hair again before heading toward the lake, Izuku close behind. And honestly? The mood between them felt a lot better. Maybe they just needed time to adjust, to understand each other better and appreciate each other’s company.

Or maybe Izuku had just needed to survive seeing the blond half-naked to relax.

The walk to the lake was short, maybe five minutes if you strolled. Izuku wasn’t really paying attention. He was too distracted.

Once they arrived, they laid their towels and bags on the grass by the shore. Katsuki pulled off his shirt immediately, and Izuku tried so hard not to look… but with that wide field of vision, it was nearly impossible to miss all that smooth, sun-kissed skin—

Nope. That was it.

Izuku yanked off his own shirt and bolted into the lake, diving in to cool off his pervy thoughts.

What was wrong with him?! 

He hadn’t been this easily flustered since he was thirteen and realized he was gay thanks to his favorite superhero…

This was so embarrassing—

Well, at least only the fish could see his half-chub.

Hopefully no one noticed between his towel and here, where he was now deep enough that the water tickled his nose.

“What the fuck are you doing?!”

Oh god no…

He turned toward the voice and smiled. “H-hey!... I was a little hot…?”

Katsuki had joined him in the water,and since he was taller, it barely reached his shoulders.

Izuku could deal with that.

Even if his perfect, broad shoulders made him want to bite something…

Oh great.

Now he had vampire-cannibal thoughts. Was he turning into a vampire? Or a cannibal? Or a vampire-cannibal hybrid? Wait… would vampires technically be cannibals? They only drank blood, not flesh, so—

“What are you mumbling about now? Something about vampire cannibals?”

The blond was staring at him, one brow raised in amusement.

Thank god he hadn’t said the part about wanting to bite him.

“Oh, I… I was thinking about a book I read recently about vampires.”Nice one, Izuku. 10/10 excuse.

“A vampire book? Shit, don’t tell me you read that romance crap with sparkling bloodsuckers…”

Okay, he had read those when he was younger. One series in particular.But he was an adult now. He read adult things.

“N-no! I mean… it was… uhhh…” Think fast! “ Castlevania ! Yeah!”

Bless his nerd knowledge of video games. That sounded adult-ish , right?

Katsuki looked a bit thrown. “…The video game?”

“Yeah! There’s actually a bunch of books about it. Even some manga!”Izuku patted himself on the back mentally. Nerd power, activate .

To his relief, the conversation took off from there. They started talking about video games, then manga, then superheroes. They swam around, talking for almost an hour before coming back to lie on their towels.

“So what you’re telling me is that All Might was your gay awakening?” Katsuki asked, grinning.

Izuku, mid-sip of water, spit it out through his nose. “HMPF—! Shit!”

Katsuki howled with laughter, the sound echoing off the lake. He was beautiful. So, so beautiful… with the forest behind him, the sun glinting off his wet skin, that smile, that laugh…

Izuku looked away before he could be caught staring again. “Yeah… maybe… but I was only thirteen or fourteen!”

“Fucking hell, Deku. That dude’s like forty! He could be your dad!”

Izuku groaned. “Ugh… I know…”

“So you’ve got a daddy kink , huh?” Katsuki’s smile was pure evil.

“Oh my god! No!!!” Izuku’s face was redder than a tomato.

“Alright, alright… I’ll stop. You look like you’re gonna explode if I keep going. Even though it would be hilarious.” He grabbed Izuku’s water bottle and took a swig.

And yeah, Izuku was apparently a schoolgirl , because oh god , seeing Katsuki drink from the same bottle made butterflies flutter in his stomach. 

Like, the larval kind.

Change the subject, Izuku…

“To be honest…” Izuku said, shifting slightly on his towel, “before that, I saw him more like a role model. A sort of father figure, you know?”

Katsuki frowned and paused mid-drink. “…You didn’t have your father for that?”

“Huh? Oh… no, he died when I was a kid…”

And just like that, he dropped a mood-destroying bomb.

“Wait… what?” Katsuki blinked, clearly caught off guard.

Most people reacted with sympathy when Izuku mentioned his father’s death. But Katsuki… Katsuki looked shocked … and angry?

Angry?

Izuku didn’t know how to handle that. He was used to kind words and comforting looks. But this reaction “Uh… yeah…”

“How?”

“Car accident…” Izuku murmured. He didn’t feel like saying more. He’d been there. He’d been hurt too, badly, but came out of it better off than his father. He instinctively tugged on the orange string around his wrist, and Katsuki’s eyes flicked to it.

“Hey. I’m sorry for bringing that up…” Katsuki muttered softly, placing a cool hand on Izuku’s warm shoulder.

Izuku gave him a small smile. “It’s okay. It was a long time ago. I barely even remember what happened because of the concussion, so—”

“ The fuck? ”

So much for keeping it vague. Crap. Now Katsuki was staring at him like he’d grown a second head.

“I was… in the accident too…” Izuku admitted quietly.

Katsuki’s eyes widened like golf balls. His jaw dropped. “Wait — wait. You were in the crash that killed your dad? And what do you mean concussion ?”

“I hit my head pretty hard apparently. And my right arm needed pins for a long time…” He lifted his arm, showing the faded scar running along the inside of his bicep. It was pale now, easy to miss if you didn’t know to look. “And I’ve got a little C-shaped scar behind my right ear, but you can’t see it under my hair.”

Izuku braced himself for a reaction. Pity, disgust, something. 

What he didn’t expect was Katsuki gently grabbing his arm and running his thumb over the scar.

“You must’ve been scared,” the blond murmured, gaze locked on the mark.

Izuku felt his throat tighten. He had been scared.Not during the crash, he couldn’t remember that, but afterward, when he’d woken up with metal in his arm and bandages covering most of his head.

He’d been terrified.

Especially when his mind was blank, when he couldn’t remember anything from before.

Retrograde amnesia, the doctors had said.

He didn’t remember anything.

Not his mom, who had held his hand in the hospital while he looked at her with blank eyes.

Not the classmates who came to visit later.

Not the two adults, a blonde woman and a man with glasses, apparently family friends, hugging his sobbing mother.

Not even his own father.

The doctors told them to be patient, that the memories might return over time.But now, nearly twelve years later… nothing had come back.

The only thing he had from his life before the accident, the only tangible link, was the orange thread around his wrist.

His mom had kept it for him through his surgeries and recovery. She didn’t know where it came from, only that it had been very important to him.

And so, she’d held onto it, until he was strong enough to wear it again.

Katsuki must’ve had some kind of power over him, because Izuku found himself talking.

The words just came out like water pouring from a broken dam.

He told him everything. About the crash, the hospital, the memories, the thread… all of it.

When he finished, he didn’t dare look at the blond.

He just stared at the lake, knees hugged to his chest, and waited for Katsuki to process everything.

“So… you forgot everything from the first seven years of your life?” Katsuki finally said.

“Yeah.”

“And you really don’t remember anything? No people? No big moments?”

“Actually… sometimes I get flashes. Not much, mostly sounds or feelings. They only come up when something triggers them emotionally. But otherwise… no.” Izuku finally turned his head toward Katsuki, unsure of what he’d see.

The blond’s brows were no longer furrowed in anger. He looked… sad. Conflicted. Maybe even a little lost.

“But it doesn’t really bother me,” Izuku said quickly. “At the time, it was super weird. But now… I’m okay, you know? A lot of people don’t remember their early childhood even without head trauma.”

He chuckled a little. But Katsuki didn’t.

He stared at the lake, silent, thoughtful.

“It’s bullshit,” Katsuki said suddenly.

“Huh?” Izuku blinked.

“It’s bullshit. You say it doesn’t bother you, but that’s crap. You forgot your dad .How the fuck do you smile and say that’s okay? That has to be awful. He… he must’ve meant a lot to you. He was your father .”

Izuku knew Katsuki didn’t mean any harm. And somewhere deep down, past all the walls he’d built around that part of himself, he knew the blond was right.

It was awful.

It sucked to not remember his father, or the life they shared.

He tugged slightly on the orange bracelet. His anchor in the sea of lost memories.

Something cold touched his shoulder. Katsuki had squirted a bit of sunscreen onto his skin.

The blond gave him a crooked, familiar grin, one that was sharp and teasing but also oddly gentle.

“I’m not buying you aloe vera again just because you’re too dumb to take care of yourself,” he muttered, rubbing the cream into Izuku’s shoulder.

Izuku flushed. His body was definitely overheating now.

Wait…

“ That was you?! ”

“Hm?”

“The aloe!”

“Oh. Yeah.” Katsuki smirked. “You looked like a damn strawberry with all those freckles, wincing every time your face moved. It was pathetic. A sunburned strawberry dumbass.”

He shrugged like it was no big deal, then moved behind Izuku and started rubbing sunscreen onto his back.

“Damn. You really do have freckles everywhere. ”

Izuku knew he was blushing again. He could feel the heat radiating off his skin and not just from the sun. But Katsuki’s hands were strong and skilled, and as he pressed into a knot between his shoulder blades, a tiny sound escaped Izuku’s throat before he could stop it.

A pleased little hum.

He was horrified.

Katsuki definitely heard that.

But the blond didn’t say anything. He just rubbed the spot again.

“…Uh. Thanks.”

“Just don’t get burned again. That’s your thank-you,” the blond muttered, wiping the excess cream on Izuku’s face — leaving streaks of white across his nose and cheeks.

He ran to the lake to rinse his hands while Izuku frantically rubbed the marks off his face.

When Katsuki returned, he flopped onto his towel, arms behind his head. Izuku lay down beside him, gazing up at the sky.

The weather was perfect. The clouds were light and fluffy, like cotton stretched thin across the sky.

A gentle breeze cooled the heat on his skin.

“We should look for that damn fort,” Katsuki said suddenly.

Izuku turned his head, amused. “Oh? Now it’s a fort again?”

Katsuki rolled his eyes. “Shut up…”

Izuku laughed. “We totally should.”

“Good,” Katsuki said, standing up suddenly. “Then we will.” He smiled, bright and cocky, with the sunlight turning his blond hair nearly white.

Izuku’s heart stuttered at the sight.

Shit.

Katsuki took off running into the lake, and Izuku followed without thinking.

They spent the rest of the afternoon swimming, splashing, and goofing off.At one point, a little boy accidentally hit Katsuki in the head with a ball.Izuku thought for sure the blond would yell, but instead, he chased the kid around, pretending to be a shark, making him giggle uncontrollably.

Soon the kid’s sister joined in, and they played together until their parents called them home.

By then, the sun was hovering just above the trees on the far side of the lake.

They walked back to the cabin side-by-side, laughing and chatting like they’d known each other forever.

He might not have his childhood memories anymore, but Izuku had made so many others since. And he was sure this one, this day, would be among his favorites.

Just as they reached the front steps, Izuku’s phone buzzed.

He checked the screen.

It was a message from his mom.

A strange one. Surprisingly cold for the little woman who usually ended her texts with hearts and emojis.

This one had none.

Just a single sentence that made Izuku shiver a little.

Mom💚: We need to talk.