"A Knowing Touch" | Art x Story Collab w/SapphireTwilight (Patreon)

Happy early Valentines, lovies! 💘 I hope you enjoy our little Valentine's treat, make sure to let us know what you think!

Also: even though it's just a small and subtle detail here, Katsuki's wearing Izuku's merch (muscle shirt), just like you voted for in the last poll! It gets a bit more attention in the story, hehe 🥰

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A Knowing Touch

Story by SapphireTwilight

Katsuki didn’t understand why people had housewarming parties. If he asked, he was sure the extras would pour out a hundred excuses for why it was important. Something about the beauty of life, or supporting their fellow heroes. But Katsuki knew his old classmates would celebrate a soggy bowl of cereal with a party if they could. So when he saw that Hanta and Shoto were hosting an event at their new house the week before Valentine’s Day, he almost blew up the invitation. He hadn’t planned on attending, knowing he could use his agency as an excuse.

But then they played dirty.

“You’d think after twenty-five years, Katsuki would be able to turn Izuku down,” Denki said, Katsuki glaring over at him. 

“I can say no to the nerd whenever I want to!”

Izuku laughed next to Katsuki on the couch, their shoulders brushing while he nodded. “Kacchan makes it a point to tell me no daily.”

“Then how did you get him to come to Shoto and Hanta’s housewarming party?” Momo weaved her way through the several people sitting on the living room floor to return to her spot next to Jirou.

“I just explained that since all of us would be here, he’d have to work with one of the newer heroes. And after the incident at the fish market—”

“How can someone be a hero if they’re afraid of fish?!” The new graduate had a full-blown panic attack mid-battle, and Katsuki had to give a pep talk while avoiding fish guts and punches. It ended with far too many stories about him getting ‘soft’ and his suit smelling like the tide. Annoyed all over again at the embarrassing situation, he leaned over and pinched Izuku’s cheek. “Are you and the hobo just letting anyone in the hero course?”

“Kaw—hann,” Izuku whined, trying to push him away while the rest of the party laughed at them.

After the extras stopped their noisy reaction, Mina switched the conversation to one that made her smile a little too mischievously. “So, what is everyone doing for Valentine’s Day?”

“Working.” Tokoyami’s quick answer wasn’t surprising, as the man was at his happiest when he was using his quirk against villains.

Toru took the complete opposite route. “Ojiro and I are going to the aquarium. He’s planned the whole day for us to spend together.”

“I’m staying home.” Denki sighed and dramatically leaned against Kirishima, making Katsuki roll his eyes. “The last thing I want to deal with is a bunch of happy couples in love.”

“It doesn’t have to be romantic,” Tsu argued, glancing between Ochaco and Tenya. “We’re hanging out, but it’s for a fundraiser that supports research on quirk-related diseases.”

More people tossed out their feelings about the holiday, a mixture of positive and negative views. Katsuki didn’t have an opinion; he never dated, so the romantic part of it lacked any importance. But he did have a tradition that meant more to him than most would guess.

As if reading his mind, Izuku glanced back at him, offering a hopeful smile. “We’re still doing our All Might marathon, right?”

“Duh.” 

They’d done it as kids, only missing one Valentine’s Day (when Katsuki had chickenpox). Even when Katsuki ‘hated’ Izuku, treating him like a pest over a friend, the nervous boy still showed up on his doorstep on the day of love. Katsuki glared and huffed the entire time, muttering insults Izuku never deserved. But he always opened the door for Izuku to step inside, forgetting he was supposed to hate the freckled boy for a night.

“Seriously?” Hanta’s teasing tone made Katsuki look over, scowling when the man shrugged. “Look, I know it’s a done deal and all, but don’t you think you could have come up with something a little more romantic?”

“What are you talking about?” Katsuki asked, confusion growing when his friend laughed.

“Dates on Valentine’s Day are supposed to be romantic. And Izuku’s too nice to ask for more, but at least get him some flowers—”

“Hah?” Scrunching his nose, Katsuki ignored the weird flutter in his stomach to cut Hanta off. “Didn’t you hear Frogger? People hang out without it being romantic, dumbass. Me and the nerd have been doing movie marathons for years.”

“Y-Yeah.” With a laugh that tugged at something in Katsuki’s chest, Izuku held both hands up in front of him and offered the quiet group a smile. “Kacchan and I… we’re not like that.”

Despite Izuku’s reply supporting Katsuki’s original claim, a wave of annoyance washed over him. Why did he say it like that? The ‘that’ in question was hard to put a finger on, but irritation dragged his arms up to cross over his chest. Sinking lower on the couch, he didn’t feel like he had won the argument. Maybe because Izuku sounded like he was forced to say it? 

He knew their friendship was solid, and their duo work was better than ever. Getting Izuku the suit and having him return as a hero was the best choice Katsuki ever made. And yet here, Izuku sounded like the thought of admitting they were friends hanging out on Valentine’s Day was painful.

“Oh, look at these!” Ochaco helped Aoyama pull out a box from under the coffee table, her eyes sparkling with ‌excitement. “Shoto, are these the games we used to play in the dorms?”

“Ah, yes.” Moving to kneel by the discovered items, he helped pull out the games while laying them out on the table. “Mina gave them to Hanta and I for our housewarming gift last week.”

“So you re-gifted your garbage to the first suckers who would take it?” Katsuki asked, Mina sticking her tongue out before she defended herself.

“I actually thought it’d be kind of fun to play some games from when we were teenagers. You know, for nostalgia’s sake!”

“Didn’t Present Mic give these to us because we needed to learn how to ‘test things’ like normal kids after the war?” Shoji asked, the group’s snickers and embarrassed laughs blending in the air. 

“I mean, I don’t blame him.” Momo’s cheeks were a bit darker than normal, and Katsuki wondered how many drinks she’d had throughout the party. “We were a bunch of… curious teens who were too traumatized to know how to date.” 

“She means horny,” Mineta added, Jirou throwing a pillow at him from across the room to hit him in the face. “Hey!”

“As if you’d know; you were never invited.” The girls nodded at Jirou’s claim, and Katsuki remembered the pervert being locked in Denki or Hanta’s room when they played. 

Katsuki didn’t participate, either, though his absence was voluntary. He never saw the appeal of the stupid games, knowing what their real purpose was. Class 1A went through hell and back, and clung to each other afterward for several years. Trauma bonded people. So when their bodies started growing beyond the shock and pain, they needed to explore their hormones without being emotionally vulnerable. Who cared who someone kissed if a die roll or a card pull told them they had to? 

And since Katsuki was too busy trying to gain full motion with his arm again, he pushed through his body’s weird reactions and dealt with them on his own.

“I mean, I’m down to play!” Denki joined his friends on the floor, grabbing one of the boxes and skimming over the rules. “Man, I loved this one. I got to make out with Kirishima and Jirou in one night.”

“Is that the only way you get people to touch you?” Shinso asked, arching a slow brow when Denji sent him a grin.

“You did it without any help.” 

“Let’s start with something safer!” Ochaco’s sentence didn’t match the blindfold she pulled out. Everyone but Katsuki seemed to recognize the game.

“What the hell is that?”

“Relax, it’s nothing kinky.” Mina waved off his scowl, clapping her hands together. “It’s actually really sweet. Everyone pulls numbers for the order we go in. Whoever’s turn it is goes into a side room and gets blindfolded with this quirked mask.” 

“What’s special about it?” he asked, Tsu stepping in.

“It makes sure that whoever is wearing it can’t see anything for ten minutes. It’s got an alarm that goes with it—”

“Here!” The old-school clock hovered in the air, proving Toru was holding it.

“But it doesn’t just blind you,” Koda said, glancing at Shoji as if needing confirmation. “It kind of dulls the other senses, too.”

Shoji nodded. “We put a lemon under Tenya’s nose when he wore it and he couldn’t smell anything.”

“He couldn’t taste it that well, either. Though the tartness came back full force after he took off the mask,” Ochaco said, laughing when Tenya scrunched his nose. 

“It was most unpleasant.” Tenya brushed off his shirt, despite there being no dust on it. “I could feel things that touched me, but when I tried to touch back, it felt like I was wearing gloves.” 

“Why the hell would you willingly do that?” Katsuki asked, almost regretting his question when seeing how excited the group grew. 

Even Shinso, who barely had a pulse, smirked. “How else are you gonna get the class to kiss you, Blasty?”

“Hah?”

“Shinso is leaving out some details,” Izuku rushed out, putting a hand on Katsuki’s bicep to ease his tension. “The game is really about… showing people how much they mean to you.” 

“Yeah, it’s not even a romantic thing.” Jirou wrapped her ear-jack around her finger. “One by one, everyone goes through the room the blindfolded person is in. They don’t have to do anything, but if they want to say something they normally wouldn’t, they kiss you.”

Before Katsuki could ask how that wasn’t romantic, Ojiro stepped in. “Where they kiss sends a message to the person. The back of the hand means they respect you. If they’re grateful to you, then they kiss your forehead.”

“Cheeks are for platonic love.” As if to prove it, Aoyama leaned over and kissed Kirishima’s, who laughed while scratching the back of his head.

“Aw, thanks, man.”

“The only kiss that carries any romantic undertone is the lips.” Shoto glanced at Hanta, his smile small but genuine. “If you have a crush that you’re too shy to admit, then you kiss them.” 

While Hanta took the hint and kissed his boyfriend, Ochaco finished the explanation. “Because everyone goes into the room one by one, nobody knows where the others kiss. And we made a rule that nobody gets to tell the person blindfolded the order of who went into the room.” 

“I loved this game back at UA.” Mina pushed up to her feet, moving out of the living room. “I’ll go cut up some paper so we can pick numbers!”

“Everyone’s in, right?” Even without seeing Toru, Katsuki could hear the excitement in her tone.

“If Mineta is playing, he has to go first every time,” Jirou said, her firm tone proving she wouldn’t budge. “And if he does anything funny, he gets kicked out of the game.”

“Is there anyone else who didn’t play?” Momo asked, her eyes growing a bit wider when falling on Katsuki. “Oh, Bakugo—”

 “I’ll pass.”

“What?” Izuku sat up straighter, a frown stealing his lips. “You won’t play?”

“Why would I?” Katsuki crossed his arms, showing how little he cared about the game. “I ain’t interested in being blindfolded and letting your weirdos do shit to me.”

“Dude, we’re not gonna grope you,” Hanta said, rolling his eyes. “We know you can blow people up without sight. You used to train with Endeavour blindfolded, and I for one wouldn’t risk it for a peck squeeze.”

“I don’t care, I ain’t playing.”

When the group groaned in protest, Izuku spoke up. “Kacchan, remember last week when I did all the paperwork for our shift?”

Narrowing his eyes on how Izuku brought up the random event, he slowly nodded. “What about it?”

“Well, you told me that you owed me a favor.”

“No.”

“You said anything, Kacchan.” Which he had, needing to get out of the agency before he blew up everyone inside it. “And Kacchan always keeps his word, right?”

“Nerd—”

“So all I want for my favor is you to play the game.” Izuku, to his credit, didn’t look nearly as excited about the request as the other idiots snickering in the room. If anything, he seemed nervous, but determined, to cash in on his favor. “Just this game, okay? You don’t have to participate in any of the other ones if you’re not up to it.”

“This is a shitty use of your favor.” But Izuku looked prepared to waste it. Sighing, he slumped back on the couch, glaring at the overly cheerful crowd watching them. “If anyone touches me anywhere lower than my shoulder, I will blow this entire house up.”

“I don’t think my insurance will cover that,” Shoto replied, far too calm after the threat.

Despite his warning, the group cheered, quick to start the game. People pulled numbers, and Katsuki felt bad luck was on his side when seeing he was the last person to wear the blindfold. Hanta suggested using the basement for the ‘isolation room’, as it had two entryways and would be safe if things got a little ‘heated’. Katsuki’s nose scrunched when the man sent a wink toward Shoto, who looked unaware he was in a relationship at all. 

For Katsuki’s part, he didn’t kiss anyone. If his lack of full engagement in that part of the game surprised the old classmates, they needed their heads checked. But he promised Izuku he'd participate, and he wasn’t a liar. So Katsuki bent the rules to better fit his comfort. When he stepped into the room, his view of the person expressed itself in less vulnerable measures. He flicked foreheads, tapped the backs of hands, or pinched cheeks for the very few people who deserved it. They still smiled like idiots, though didn’t speak out about the gestures. 

Everyone except Shoto, who was dumb enough to thank him (which Katsuki would not admit made his ears burn as he stormed out of the room).

The only person he didn’t bend the rules for was Izuku. Stepping into the basement, Katsuki planned to follow the same makeshift game-plan and tug on his cheek. But as he got closer, something about the idea lost its appeal. Izuku looked stupid sitting there, hands politely folded in his lap while he waited for something to happen. From where Katsuki stood, he could see the faint trace of Mina’s lipstick on the curve of Izuku’s cheek. How many others had happily showered the nerd with platonic affection? Had anyone…

Without permission, his eyes drifted down to lips that were chapped from the winter weather. Izuku struggled with self-care, including keeping chapstick or Vaseline for the dry air. But even when Izuku chewed the hell out of the skin, it looked soft. His own mouth twitched before he scowled, unsure why it tingled with an unspoken desire. Something about the sensation raised his anxiety, forcing him to push through it and act without thinking. 

His hand dropped onto Izuku’s shoulder before he bent down. Katsuki pressed a shaky, but firm, kiss to the spot where Izuku’s hair parted on his forehead. From how Izuku’s breath caught, he remembered the scar from the war that once sat on the soft skin. Katsuki tried not to think about why the touch sent lightning through his body, or the reason for his increased heart-rate. Instead, he pushed away before his body’s overheating got hot enough for Izuku to feel. Without looking back, he rushed out of the room, heading to the backyard porch to take some space. 

“Don’t be fucking stupid.” He shoved his hands into his sweatshirt pocket, watching his breath turn into smoke from the cold air. “The nerd probably got kissed by everyone. And it was just a shitty forehead, not—why did I do that?”

Because he was grateful for Izuku coming back to his side. Actually, no; after everything Katsuki had put Izuku through, grateful didn’t feel like a big enough word. It was something he couldn’t phrase without minimizing the sensation in his chest. And he wanted to tell him, like Izuku deserved. But showing it once without someone’s life being put on the line somehow was scarier than fighting All For One. So the nerd had to wait until he was blindfolded and hindered by a quirk to get it. And… it was all Katsuki deserved to give. Even thinking of Izuku as more than his partner felt selfish; his atonement still hung heavily on his shoulders.

“Alright, Blasty!” Mina popped out as soon as he stepped back into the house, grabbing his wrist before he could pull away. “It’s your turn.”

“Fantastic.” He didn’t hide his displeasure, but his overly excited friend didn’t bat an eye at the dry reply. She was practically humming as she led him down the stairs and into Shoto and Hanta’s basement. The space was hotter than upstairs, forcing Katsuki to shrug off his sweatshirt to keep from overheating.

“Oh lala.” Mina’s teasing tone made Katsuki look up, scowling at her grin. “Nice shirt.”

“Fuck off.”

“Does Izuku know you’re wearing his merch?”

Katsuki refused to admit his ears grew warmer, wondering how Mina even knew what it was. The shirt was minimal: a simple teal stripe down the sides of the black tank-top. He didn’t even remember buying it, but the memory of Izuku’s shy excitement seeing the shirt displayed in a store window had seared into his mind. Sure, he wasn’t a full-time hero, but people still knew what he’d done for them. And nobody understood that more than Katsuki, who always tugged on something from the ‘Deku Collection’ whenever he wanted to feel the nerd’s presence a little closer. 

“Just shut up and put the damn mask on.”

“Relax! No need to shout. Sit down on the couch so I can reach you.”

As soon as he settled on the cushion, Mina was on him, yanking the blindfold over his eyes. Once the silk was tied around the back of his head, a weird pulse of energy poured over him. Like he was dunked underwater, everything felt muffled. It messed with his equilibrium, and he was silently thankful he had been sitting when Mina put it on him.

“Can you see me?” Even her voice sounded far away, like he’d shoved cotton in his ears. Being disconnected from his senses made his pulse race, the lack of control leaving him far more vulnerable than he liked. A flash of the sludge monster crashed through him, combatting with feeling his heart explode for the worst sensations he’d ever experienced. But after taking three slow breaths, Katsuki fought through the instant panic and brought himself back into the current moment.

“No, dumbass. That’s the point, right?” Her laugh got closer, and Katsuki jumped when a sudden pressure smacked into his cheek, taking a moment to realize Mina had kissed him. She didn’t stop there, peppering kisses all along his forehead and nose until he growled and jerked away from her. “Alright, alright! I got your message, so fuck off.”

“I love you, my favorite angry Pomeranian.” Then, she was gone, and Katsuki felt the silence of the distorted room fill the space again.

For a moment, he wondered if he’d be there for the entire time alone. It wasn’t like he had any false belief about being anyone’s favorite person in the class. Half of them hated him for a good chunk of their time in school. Sure, he probably earned their respect on the field, but this game wasn’t about him as Dynamight. It was him, Katsuki, and their feelings for him. The best he could hope for was the same as Mina; stupid joke-kisses over anything serious.

But a heartbeat later, he was proven very wrong. Like they were on a conveyor belt, people swept through the room. There were no joking kisses or taunting touches. Everyone took their time in pressing pecks of affection on Katsuki, never crossing the line or using the moment to hurt him. It was kind of overwhelming, not expecting the flood of kindness and silent praise. Katsuki knew he wasn’t always the nicest to them, his own demons putting walls up between anyone who was kind. But with how warm each new kiss on his hand, forehead, and cheek felt, the more it seemed everyone had been waiting for a chance to show their feelings for him.

And then, there was only one person left. Katsuki had kept count between classmates to try and figure out how much longer his turn would be, leaving a single slot left. Unlike the others before, the final person took longer to enter the room, though Katsuki barely heard the basement door shutting. The quirk really messed with his senses if he almost missed such an obvious noise. Despite his best attempts, he couldn’t guess any of the people that had crossed his path, meaning he wasn’t sure who his final opponent was.

When the silence lingered longer than his nerves could withstand, he scoffed. “Stop staring at me, ya weirdo.”

Like Katsuki pulled the unknown person’s strings, he felt the air shifting around him when a body stepped between his parted thighs. He silently cursed Shoto’s rule about no shoes in the home, knowing he would have had a better guess of the mysterious entity by their gait. Again, Katsuki felt the hair on his nape rising with the lack of progress, huffing when he was left to simmer in the intense silence. 

So, he pushed. “There’s four minutes left until the damn alarm goes off, and I’m not getting any younger. So whatever you wanna do, just do it, and maybe I won’t blow your face off.”

He lifted his hand as a fake threat, but his wrist was caught in a grip that buzzed with something… familiar. Instantly, Katsuki hated that his brain was a little disoriented by the quirk, though all of his nerve endings went wild when a kiss brushed his fingers. Despite it being the least intimate of the actions, the slow way each knuckle was individually kissed made something catch in his throat. His fingers twitched at the sensation, though no sparks surged out. The warm mouth blew out a shaky breath before the grip on his wrist flipped the hand up, a kiss planted on the center of his palm.

What the fuck, his mind screamed, even as his body relaxed into the affection. Anyone with half a brain knew how dangerous his hands were. Only someone with a death wish would put their face near his palm. Even though it was his right hand, it still packed a powerful punch. Yet the person touched the weapon like it was something to cherish, giving a smaller peck before they pulled away.

Except the touch didn’t drop. There was a tremble in the hand on his wrist, and Katsuki’s brows furrowed at the continued strange behavior. Why was the person nervous now? They’d already done the risky act. Before he could ask, the heat of the body in front of him moved forward, almost boxing him in against the couch when leaning over Katsuki. The kiss on his forehead threw him off, as nobody before him had kissed multiple places. Without reason, his ears started to burn with a blush, and Katsuki squirmed under the soft pressure against his skin.

“Oi,” he forced out, pretending his plugged ears couldn’t hear the breathless edge. “Don’t get cocky, you’re pushing it—”

Except his threat cut off after the lips moved down, grazing his skin the entire way between his forehead and cheek. He tensed, his pulse throbbing under the grip still holding his wrist without any strength. The touch rattled in his head, but he couldn’t figure out why. The kisses felt like they were tearing his logical reasoning apart like cotton candy. His breathing picked up, and he held his other hand out, though hesitated to reach forward. Without knowing the person’s height or gender, there was no way he could guarantee he’d push on an appropriate place. But with his racing heart and overheating body, Katsuki needed to get away from the person kissing his scarred cheek so—

“Wh-What’s your deal?” Katsuki asked, needing an answer for the aura swirling around them. “Why are you…if you’re fucking with me, I’ll kill you.”

He didn’t get a verbal response, but the hand floating in the air was collected in another warm hand. Katsuki flinched at the touch, yet didn’t pull away when his arms were tugged forward. Without his eyes, he had to trust the person guiding him. And though his heart wanted to burst out of his chest (again), Katsuki knew nobody at the party would hurt him. He fought against his instant defensive urge to blast the person back, eyes widening behind the blindfold when his palms met the warm curve of a waist. The thick fabric of whatever the person was wearing, paired with the quirk, meant he couldn’t fully grasp if it was a girl or guy he was touching. 

“Hey,” he called out weakly, though everything went too quickly for his mind to catch up. A second later, the familiar touch, just outside of his quirked recognition, pressed to his cheeks, tilting Katsuki’s face up. 

Then, a hot mouth caught his, kissing him.

Instantly, his mind went wild, unable to stay on one thought before three more crashed into it. He felt hot all over, body quickly reacting to the slow way the lips danced against his. Everything about the moment felt surreal, like kissing in a tropical ocean. Warm, comforting, but tinged with an unknown that kept his breath shaky. Even though he couldn’t grasp what was going on, his body seemed fully aware of what he unconsciously wanted. His head surged forward, deepening the kiss with the mouth that seemed to get sweeter the more it lingered on his.

He should have felt robbed, or furious, that his first kiss was stolen in a dingy basement with half his senses smothered. Katsuki felt like he was being fed his favorite meal after having his mouth numbed out. As if kissing harder would solve the problem, Katsuki leaned into the palms cradling his jaw. He opened his mouth to run his tongue over the wet lower lip sliding against his. Ears rushing with blood, he couldn’t hear the noise that vibrated through the kiss. Was it a gasp, a moan? Maybe his name, which made something hot simmer in his stomach. 

With a grunt of his own, Katsuki tugged the hips in his hand forward, and the person in front of him understood without words. Instantly, a body climbed into his lap, straddling him before sealing their mouths together again. The weight and strength of the thighs against him screamed ‘male’, though he knew some of the girls in their class were built to take a punch. He couldn’t find it in himself to care currently; the addictive motion of the kiss took all of his focus. One of his hands slid up toward the firm back, clutching onto the person who wrapped a strong grip around his nape and melted into the next movement of their mouths.

Because there was more to the kiss than the physical; the feelings poured into the exchange blinded him more than the fabric over his eyes. Care. Passion. Adoration. Each new blooming emotion was a firework against his mouth. He wasn’t sure what being drunk felt like, but if it was anything like this, he got the appeal. Katsuki couldn’t understand how intense the connection would feel without the quirk. Could it actually get better? He tried to imagine it, but every attempt washed away when a desperate swipe of the unknown person’s tongue dipped into his panting mouth. His toes buzzed, the desire of more twining with the need to know who was pouring such admiration into their kiss. It felt like love. True, well-nourished—

The blaring sound of the warning timer broke their lips apart, Katsuki swearing through a gasp. They’d been kissing for three minutes? He tried to catch his breath while his hands loosened on the person in his lap, though he regretted it the second the weight vanished from his thighs. He tried to reach out and swipe the person back, but they were quicker, avoiding him and running across the room. Katsuki shot off the couch, but the lack of knowing the space made his shin smash into the coffee table, the pain stopping his attempt to follow. The door must have smashed into the wall from how loud the noise was. And then, the silence returned.

Katsuki was alone again.

“What the—get this shit off me!” Katsuki growled as he tried to rip off the blindfold, but it refused to move no matter how hard he pulled. The minute between the warning alarm and the final one felt like a year, and he shouted when he finally felt the give of the fabric in time with the new noise. With a roar, he threw the blindfold to the ground, not hesitating to aim his hand at it before blowing it up. Without an inch of remorse, he grabbed his sweatshirt and raced from the basement, taking two stairs at a time while he rushed up into the house.

The second he saw the bulk of his old classmates, he unleashed his anger. 

“Who the fuck was it?” As expected, everyone looked at him in confusion, most pausing mid-action while they waited for someone else to speak. Not willing to wait for everyone to get their heads out of their asses, he growled. “Tell me who the last person in the room was, now.”

“W-we can’t,” Koda said, unaware of his huge frame when hiding behind Shoji. “It’s the rules—”

“I don’t give a flying fuck about the rules!” His eyes darted around the space, looking for anyone that seemed abnormally anxious or afraid. Some people, like Shoto and Hanta, were missing. He couldn’t find Kirishima, and Jirou walked in after he started yelling. Others, like Shinso, only gave him a dry look before turning back to Izuku. The nerd seemed too used to Katsuki’s anger to turn around and face him.

Finally, Mina took a step forward, wagging her finger. “Sorry, but rules are rules. We can’t rat out who did what… unless somebody did something inappropriate to you.”

“They—” 

He stopped himself, knowing he couldn’t claim that. It would be a lie, and for some reason, he didn’t want the person to think he hated it. Now that he had his full senses again, there was something clawing at the back of his mind. He knew the person, obviously, as they were one of his old classmates. But it was more than that; he knew them in a way that made his fingers itch with the need to hold them again. And he was sure that whatever he felt, as confusing as it was, was mutual. So why had the person ran away? And why weren’t they coming forward now?

“Katsuki, are you okay?” Sato’s call across the room snapped him from his thoughts.

“I’m going home.” Ignoring the protests from the group, Katsuki stormed across the house, bumping into Izuku on the way. “Watch it, Freckles.”

“Um, Kacchan?” 

“Later.” He didn’t wait, avoiding the concerned look before he slipped past him. He yanked on his sweatshirt while ripping the door open. He didn’t give a second look back to his friends calling out to him, stepping into the freezing night. Tonight, he needed to process what happened, and try to gather as much information as he could from memory alone.

Tomorrow, the hunt began.

**

Being too smart for his own good, Katsuki was able to knock out several people from his investigation. Anyone who was in a relationship, like the idiots who hosted the event, were quickly shuffled into the ‘they better not have’ category. Most of his friends weren’t openly flaunting their sexuality, so going by the default ‘straight’ didn’t really work. Even guys he’d only seen date girls didn’t mean anything, since several sexualities meant anyone was free game.

What did knock out some of those ‘maybes’ into ‘no way’ was the size of the person. If someone like Sato or Shoji were on top of him, the insane height would have given them away. Thankfully, that also meant that creepy Mineta was off the table. But after trimming out the obvious outliers, Katsuki’s investigation got harder. He wasn’t sure how much the quirk affected his senses, so weight might have been skewed. And the clothes the person wore gave nothing away.

And he wanted to focus solely on discovering who stole his first kiss, because he had questions. But, like the world was working against him, something else bubbled up to distract him. Izuku had been acting… strange. He wasn’t as chatty during their patrols, his texts having less rambling. When Katsuki asked him to meet up to train, Izuku couldn’t find the time, mentioning the class working on a project that needed his attention. He left right after their shifts were done, and never came in early to go over their routes. 

The biggest thing that dragged Katsuki’s attention from the mystery person, was Izuku being… sad. That kept Katsuki up later than his bedtime, staring at the ceiling like it’d have an answer for him. He had given Izuku back his dream. Respected him when he didn’t jump headfirst into being a hero again, and met him at the pace he wanted to take. Before the party, Katsuki had thought everything was going great. What else could he give to Izuku that he hadn’t offered already?

So he tried to focus on grilling everyone about the party, hoping to get information about either problem currently plaguing his mind. But with Valentine’s only a day away, his leads were dwindling to the ones he had avoided.

“Seriously?” Shinso’s bored look always annoyed Katsuki, though after a day of hunting down and questioning people, it really got under his skin. “You wanna know if I was the last person to visit you in the basement.”

“Why would I ask if I didn’t want to know?” Katsuki asked, crossing his arms. They rarely shared a shift together, but he used the opportunity to corner him for the matter at hand. “I already asked Glasses, Dunce Face, and Ponytail today. None of them had any helpful information, and I know you’re always lurking around where people can’t see you.”

“And this is supposed to make me help you?” Shinso asked, rubbing his temple in a way that reminded Katsuki of their old homeroom teacher. “You keep bugging people about this, but you haven’t told anyone why.”

“It’s none of their damn business.”

“Ugh.” Seeming tired from the conversation alone, Shinso leaned against the wall of the alleyway they were taking a break in. His droopy eyes stared out at the sidewalk beside them. “Why not ask Izuku?”

Instantly, Katsuki honed in on the new focus of their conversation. “Is that why he’s been avoiding me? Cause he knows something about it? And why the hell did he switch shifts with you today?” 

“Wow.” Shinso turned to stare at him, as if to see if he’d say something else. When Katsuki scowled and stayed silent, the insomniac sighed. “And they said you were a genius.” 

“Oi—”

“You seriously don’t know who it is?” The blunt way Shinso asked made Katsuki jerk back, not used to his voice carrying the undertone of annoyance. “When you stop and think about it, you can’t figure out who has a crush on you?”

“I wouldn’t be here if I did!”

Katsuki’s irritation wasn’t because of the man standing in front of him. It was because, deep down, he also felt like it should have been obvious. The answer was a word he’d said a million times, but sat right on the tip of his tongue. Even if he couldn’t wrap his brain around the entire picture, the blurry vision was there. Anytime he tried to put a face or name to it, his brain flipped back to the kiss and how right the person felt against him. Like the last piece of the puzzle was in those few minutes, and he simply needed to break past something in his mind to see it.

Shinso seemed to be on the same page, pushing off the wall to walk past Katsuki. “I can’t tell you, cause I promised I wouldn’t. But I can say you better figure it out. Otherwise, you’re going to miss out on something you probably don’t deserve. Something many other people are waiting in line to take from you.”

“What’s that supposed to—”

“All heroes, come in!” Their communicators cut his question off, which shouted the alert for villain activity. “We’ve got a big disturbance by the playground. Everyone that is available, head over here.”

“Shit,” Katsuki muttered, both rushing out to do their actual job.

Except he couldn’t shut his brain off the way he normally did when fighting villains. Shinso’s words rattled around in his head, trying to dig out the elusive knowledge hiding somewhere in his mind. As he avoided attacks and tried to blow the annoying villain into the next country, his focus wouldn’t stay locked. At the worst moments, shadows of information popped up, one strong enough to make Katsuki miss a hit from the low-life. He growled in frustration before launching forward, using way too much of his quirk to squash the annoying bug.

He didn’t bother with medics when he stormed off the battlefield, choosing to sulk in his agency while he undressed.

  “Kacchan?” Katsuki looked up from the boot he was unlacing, surprised to see his normal duo partner leaning awkwardly against the locker room wall.

“Look who decided to show his face.” Scowling when Izuku winced and grabbed one of his biceps, Katsuki looked back to his boot and wiggled it off. “You done avoiding me? Or am I gonna have to wait until tomorrow for you to tell me in-between All Might movies—”

“Um, about that.” He knew Izuku well enough to know when he was planning to say something he didn’t want to. “I… don’t think I can actually make it.”

“What.” He was on his socked feet in a second, walking toward Izuku while the nerd tried to rush an explanation.

“I’m sorry, but it’s just—Ochaco heard that I technically didn’t have a date for Valentine’s Day, and there w-was a guy at her clinic she thought I could… maybe—”

His fist slammed into the wall next to Izuku, sure his eyes were full of daggers when staring his duo partner down. “What.”

Katsuki knew he’d repeated the simple word, but his vocabulary dissolved in a matter of seconds. His brain couldn’t process what Izuku was implying. He was going to date someone? Romantically? Share some tacky dinner or romantic movie, anything except be by Katsuki’s side on a day that had always been theirs? Anger and discomfort swirled in his muscles, and he wasn’t sure if he wanted to punch something or rip something to pieces.

The reaction felt childish and out of character. Why was he freaking out so much? He hated his plans being changed at the last minute, but he knew it wasn’t about that. Katsuki should have been fine with the reason behind the abandonment. Hell, all of his other idiots were going out, and he didn’t give a fuck about them. If they’d asked to hang out, he would have shut them down without a second thought. But Izuku was meant to be with him on Valentine’s Day. That was just how they were! It made sense, even if nobody else understood, because it was… them.

So why, while Izuku stared at him as if waiting for something, could Katsuki not think of anything to say?

As if reading his mind, Izuku’s shoulders slumped, a flicker of defeat crossing his face. The morose expression vanished when green glanced to the right, his eyes widening. “Kacchan, your face. You’re bleeding.”

That, for some reason, jarred some words from his throat. “You’re dating people?”

“Not really.” Izuku’s focus wasn’t on the conversation, yanking a cloth from his belt pocket before he tried to wipe the blood from the wound from the earlier fight. “I mean, this is… really new. Things sort of happened, and I guess I thought it was time to move on.”

“From what—”

But then, Izuku reached up, cupping his face in his hands to check the cleaned cut. Like a Detroit Smash, the night that had haunted him for days slammed into his chest. The scrape of the palms, the space between the fingers, and the way Izuku tilted his head felt identical to the stranger who had stolen his heart like a thief in the night. He couldn’t breathe for a moment, staring in shock while Izuku swiped his thumb over Katsuki’s cheek with a frown. 

“Kacchan, did you even get this checked out?”

“Fuck.” He wasn’t sure if he processed Izuku’s question or if he simply ignored it, but his brain refused to leave the new information swirling through his head. “It was you.”

“Me what—” Instantly, Izuku froze, hands locking in place while his eyes darted over to meet Katsuki’s gaze. The panic flooded his expression, and Katsuki could read the thoughts forming in his partner’s head. He was going to freak, rush out some terrible excuse, and then run from him again. Probably hide and use his stupid friends as shields. Katsuki would lose the moment if he let Izuku escape.

So the second Izuku’s hand started to pull away, Katsuki moved.

“Oh, no you don’t.” Grabbing his wrists, Katsuki took control of the moment, slamming Izuku against the wall. Knowing Izuku’s dominant power was in his legs, he kicked one heel to make Izuku fumble to regain his balance, making him spread his legs and lose some leverage. Securing his hold on the wiggling arms to make sure he was pinned, he stepped into his space, pressing their bodies together to fully pin him. 

“Kacchan,” Izuku pleaded, still trying to get away like a frantic rabbit. “Kacchan, please—”

“Shut up.” Then, Katsuki dove down and kissed him.

The sensation was familiar and different in all the right ways. As Izuku melted into the connection, barely putting up a fight before returning the kiss, Katsuki’s body shivered at the onslaught of feelings crashing into him. The touch, the emotion, and the urgency between their lips wrapped around his heart and squeezed. Everything he wanted to experience without the quirk met his expectations and then some. Izuku’s twitching wrists twitch under his grasp. The hint of cucumber melon shampoo under the sweat and dirt from their shift. Even the weird aftertaste of whatever Izuku ate for lunch made Katsuki groan, tilting his head to deepen the kiss.

How had he overlooked something so obvious? He knew Izuku like the back of his hand. Had his mind blocked him out because he couldn’t imagine the freckled sweetheart of Japan ever seeing him as someone to love? 

“Why?” Katsuki barely pulled his mouth back to ask his question, making sure to seal their mouths together between each set of words. “Why are you letting Kirby set you up with an extra?”

“Cause my kiss—” Izuku moaned when Katsuki sucked on his jaw, one leg sliding up to unconsciously wrap around his waist. “I-It was a goodbye.”

“Goodbye?” He forced himself to pull back just enough to meet the half-lidded gaze under his. “What, like you’re done with me?”

Izuku hesitated, and he arched his neck up to steal a quick kiss. Like maybe he was scared he wouldn’t be able to again. “I thought it was time to… move on. It wasn’t fair to either of us for me to keep waiting for our relationship to become something romantic.”

“You wanted that?” It felt obvious now, from their bruised mouths and flushed cheeks. Katsuki’s grip had slowly moved up, Izuku happily spreading his fingers to link their hands together. But even as their bodies pressed together like magnets, he needed to hear the confirmation.

“I’ve always wanted that.” Finally, the fear shifted into bashfulness, Izuku huffing out a laugh through a shaky smile. “Since the first time I asked to watch All Might with you on Valentine’s Day. Kinda creepy, huh?”

“You’ve always been a weird little stalker.” He doubted the insult held any bite when mumbled against the warm lips he wanted to kiss for the next century. “You better cancel your date with that loser.”

“Yeah?” Hope filled the fingers squeezing around his. “What do I… I tell him?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Katsuki knocked their foreheads together, enjoying the warm air shared between their mouths while he spoke. “Say you’ll be with your damn boyfriend.”

Izuku’s eyes brightened with happiness before he shook off one of Katsuki’s hands cupping his face exactly as he had on the couch. Katsuki closed his eyes, leaning into the touch while letting Izuku kiss him again.

Maybe housewarming parties had a use after all.

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