A LONG TIME COMING
[IzuKatsu Fluff] [SFW]
#SaysiWritesThreads

The town looked smaller to Izuku at thirty-five than it had as a child, so much more confined and claustrophobic than his apartment in the city where he'd spent the past decade. He should visit more often, he knew, but it was hard.

Hard because he knew every time he left the city, there was a chance people could get hurt in his absence. Hard because despite his amazing mother, the town didn't exactly hold fond memories for him. Especially the old middle school.

Sure, there were a few spots that still made him smile. The old park, where he and Kacchan had played together hundreds of times, before Kacchan began pushing him away. The street near home, where All Might had chosen him to be a hero.

But beyond those few moments, it was all bittersweet. Places where his classmates had made fun of him, where people had told him to stop trying and learn his place, where Kacchan had pushed him away and said they weren't friends anymore.

He wondered how Katsuki was doing, these days. If Izuku thought he didn't go home enough, Katsuki was next-level. More often than not, the Bakugous were travelling to see him rather than the other way around.

At least he answered the door, Izuku supposed. At some point in his life, Katsuki would have left them in the cold, told them to piss off back home. He'd grown up since then, Izuku knew, from their brief meetings in the field.

He'd gotten a genuine smile out of the man, the last time they met. For three years, every billboard announcement had had them switch places. First and second, back and forth. But last time, Katsuki had kept it. Two in a row.

“Catch up, nerd,” that smile said. “What happened to not letting me get ahead, huh?”

If anyone was going to beat him, he was glad it was Kacchan.

He was still gonna claim the next three rankings though, no way was Kacchan gonna beat him.

Izuku blinked in surprise when he found himself outside the Bakugou household, staring at their pretty front door. He'd been so lost in thought that he'd turned a street early, finding himself at a familiar gate that used to seem so tall.

Well, it couldn't hurt to drop by. There was a car parked in the drive, so they must be home, they might even be happy to see him! He'd known them his whole life, after all, it was only right to check in occasionally!

That was how he found himself knocking on the front door, listening to surprisingly heavy footsteps from inside – oh, no. Had they sold the house? Was he bothering some poor stranger? He should have asked his mother first!

“Haaah? The hell are you doing here, nerd?”

Izuku's jaw dropped when he found the thick, muscled form eyeing him over, his biceps criminal under his sleeveless shirt, red eyes narrowed at him with a hint of... was that concern?

“I was walking by and thought I should come see how your parents were doing! I didn't know you were in town too!”

“Just got here this morning. The old folks aren't home from work yet.”

“They still work?”

Katsuki snorted at the question, smirking as he stepped aside and waved Izuku in.

“Careful, the hag'll slap you if she hears you say that. She insists she's not old enough to retire.”

“I meant the money!” Izuku insisted, pouting as he slipped his shoes off. “Aren't you supporting them? They're your PARENTS.”

“Of course I am, asshole!” Katsuki huffed. “But they WANT to work. Freaks.”

It had been one of the first things Izuku did, once he got a steady pro-hero job. His mother had done so much for him, and it was his turn to repay the favour, buying her a much nicer apartment that she wouldn't have to pay rent on.

“So, you're on vacation, huh?” Katsuki asked, surprising Izuku with his new affinity for small talk.

“Yeah! I don't visit enough, but I'm trying to be a good son!”

“Don'tcha think you should be working on your ranking?”

Oh, there it was. So much for small talk, he just wanted to take a jab at Izuku for being second. The best of the losers, Katsuki liked to call it. Of all the people who weren't number one, he was the best.

He dropped onto the couch when Katsuki waved him toward it, leaning back to watch as Katsuki pulled two mugs from the cupboard, setting to work making tea. Izuku half expected him to sit down and drink both mugs in front of him, but no.

Katsuki just sat down and slid him one, made exactly the way he liked it, before he took a swig from his own.

“What've you been up to?” Izuku asked quietly, blowing on his tea before he took a sip. “I haven't talked to you in...”

“Years?” Katsuki finished for him, shrugging. “You know how it is. Always working, or nursing stupid injuries and shit. Everyone else is off getting married, half of them are having kids, and I'm just here like who the fuck has the time?”

“Right?!” Izuku agreed, excited to finally find someone who shared his plight. “Uraraka just had her second baby and I'm like, weren't we in high school last week?!”

“Shitty-Hair is always sending me baby photos.” Katsuki agreed. “The fuck.”

“I was way too busy fighting crime for that shit,” he continued, sparing a glance for Izuku beside him. “You too, I assume. How the hell do you even meet someone you can handle spending your entire life with?”

“I haven't even had a crush on anyone since you in high school!” Izuku agreed. “And these people are madly in love?! What are we missing here, Kacchan?!”

“You what?” Katsuki demanded.

“...I don't know what you're confused about.”

Katsuki stared him down, and Izuku just waited patiently, eyes wide.

“You liked me?” he hissed.

“Yeah??” Izuku's eyebrows knitted together, equally confused. “I flirted with you every day?”

“Haaah?! When?!”

Izuku gaped at him – he had no idea Katsuki was so OBLIVIOUS as a teenager.

“Kacchan sugoi!” Izuku praised, fluttering his eyelashes. “I'm gonna catch up to you! Kacchan, help me with my quirk, you're so smart!”

“But that shit was TRUE.”

“Is flirting not allowed to be true?”

"That is not flirting! Flirting is... Teasing, and calling them names and shit!"

"...Kacchan were you flirting with me in high school?"

"FUCKIN' OBVIOUSLY, YOU STUPID NERD."

For a moment Izuku was silent again, staring at Katsuki's flushed cheeks and marvelling at just how adorable he was when he was embarrassed. It was rare to see much other than a smirk or a scowl on that face, the little pout was too perfect.

“I'm really happy,” he said finally, a bright smile spreading across his face. “Knowing Kacchan liked me once, that I wasn't just a bother, it makes me so happy!”

“Cut it out,” Katsuki growled, pinching at the rosy, freckled cheeks. “Stop.”

“Stop what, Kacchan?”

“The SMILE,” he growled. “It's ridiculous.”

“But I'm happy! You should try it once in a while, it's fun!”

“Shut the hell up.”

Izuku wasn't sure which of them leaned in first, but Katsuki's lips were warm, and so soft.

“Kacchan,” he whispered, when they parted for a moment. “I missed you.”

“Don't ruin the moment,” Katsuki snorted. “Use that damn mouth for something useful for once.”

“Don't talk to your boyfriend like that, it's not nice.”

“Boyfriend?” Katsuki asked sceptically, raising an eyebrow. “Since when?”

“Since now.”

“Says who?”

“Says me.”

“Someone's a little demanding for being SECOND BEST.”

“But the best at KISSING remains to be seen,” Izuku pointed out with a little smirk. “Don't you wanna prove you're the best, Kacchan? I bet I can be a better boyfriend than you.”

“I'm not ten years old, Deku. I know what you're doing.”

Izuku hummed to himself, looking away innocently.

“I guess that means I'm the winner, if Kacchan doesn't want to compete.”

“Don't you dare. I'll woo the fuck out of you.”

“I'll believe it when I see it!”

Katsuki kissed him again, a little more gently this time, and it was all Izuku could do to keep from smiling, relishing the feel of his childhood friend, his best friend, the only person who had ever truly understood, pressed against him.

“I guess we've already spent our whole lives together,” Izuku pointed out, when they parted for air. “Maybe when other people met their partners, it was just like this, except they hadn't always had it.”

“You're a nerdy piece of shit.”

“Aww, Kacchan is flirting again!”

“Shut the hell up.” Katsuki blushed faintly, nipping at his lower lip. “Come on, more of this before the old people get home.”

Izuku obeyed, looping his arm around Katsuki's neck and letting himself fall back on the cushion.

Katsuki loomed over him, pressing him into the couch with his demanding kisses, always searching for MORE. His hand raked through Izuku's curls, and Izuku's snaked up a dark shirt, squeezing at sculpted abs and moaning into his lips.

It wasn't his FIRST kiss, technically, but the others PALED in comparison.

Neither of them heard the car pull up outside, nor the front door opening down the hall.

It wasn't until Mitsuki called out that they jumped apart, wide-eyed and messy haired, breathing hard as they took a moment to come to their senses.

“What, no 'welcome home'?” Mitsuki demanded. “Still as rude as ev- Oh, do you have a guest?”

She poked her head into the room, lighting up when she saw Izuku's wobbly smile pointed her way.

“H-Hi,” he squeaked.

“Izuku! It's been so LONG! What are you doing here?! Not that you aren't welcome, of course! Are you and Katsuki back in touch finally? He never shuts up about you, so it's about time! How are you?!”

“I-I'm good,” he stumbled, “and you?”

Masaru raised his hand in a little wave, waiting for Mitsuki to calm down again before he spoke.

“It's been a long time, Izuku! How long have you been in town?”

“Just a couple of days! I wanted to drop by and see how you both were!”

Mitsuki was ready to start babbling again, more nonsense about things that had been going on in town, babies who'd been born, elders who had passed on, apparently oblivious to the fact that Inko would have already filled him in.

Katsuki cut her off the moment she started, somehow managing to silence her with the way his expression changed, the tiniest of smiles tugging at the corner of his lips.

“Welcome home,” he drawled sarcastically.

Mitsuki was about to lecture him for the tone, but Katsuki continued, halting her in her tracks.

“Have you met my boyfriend?”

The room fell silent.

“Fucking finally,” Mitsuki laughed, making Izuku blush bright red. “It took you thirty-five years to ask out your childhood crush? You stubborn brat, it's about damn time that you lowered your pride and told him how you felt.”

“Welcome to the family,” Masaru added, with a painful sincerity. “We're happy to finally have you back in our lives.”

Izuku teared up at that, and Katsuki pinched his cheek again, giving him a little shake.

“Don't start with all the sappy shit,” he insisted. “Come on, nerd, you're a HERO. Act like it.”

“But I'm happy,” he sniffed, wiping his eyes on his sleeve. “I missed you all!”

“Then you should have told me sooner, fuckin' idiot.”

For the first time since they were toddlers, Katsuki pulled Izuku into his arms, hugging him tight and leaning his cheek on soft green curls, breathing in the sweet smell of pine trees and campfires that Izuku had always possessed.

“There, there,” he said awkwardly, patting the nerd's back. “Uhh, it's okay, Kacchan is here?”

Izuku giggled, and Katsuki was weirdly proud of himself for snapping him out of the tears so quickly.

The green eyes raised to look at him, shining with tears, and Katsuki sighed as he nudged his head back down again, hiding the dopey smile in his chest.

“I missed you too, nerd.”

Mitsuki was babbling nonsense again, but in that moment Izuku only had eyes and ears for his Kacchan – for the one person he had spent his entire life with, and still wanted to continue the pattern. The person he wanted to go home to.

“Move in with me,” he demanded, snuggling into Katsuki's shoulder. “When we go back to the city.”

“Haah? Why don't you move in with me?”

“Okay! Thanks for asking!”

Katsuki rolled his eyes, but Izuku couldn't rid himself of the stupid smile.

A short flash of light shocked him out of his stupor, looking up to see Mitsuki fussing with her phone, humming over the image as she turned it this way and that, contemplating angles.

“Lie back down, Izuku! It was cuter!”

“The fuck, old hag?” Katsuki demanded. “Cut the shit!”

“I just want one nice photo of my brat and my lovely new son being cute together, is that so much to ask?!”

“YES.”

Regardless, he still leaned in when Izuku snuggled up to him again.

“Much better! Now when the ladies at work brag about their sons' wives and girlfriends, I can one-up them finally! My son the number-one hero and his adorable boyfriend, the number-two hero! Beat that, bitches!”

Katsuki seemed to have given up, sighing as he leaned on Izuku's hair again, but Izuku picked up his phone, waving it at Mitsuki faintly and mouthing “please” where he hoped Katsuki wouldn't notice.

“Maybe you won't be such a little brat anymore, with Izuku to take care of you. Do you think you can calm him down, sweetie? It would be nice if he could stop YELLING so much, you know?”

“Like you can talk, fuckin' hag!”

“I doubt it,” Izuku giggled, squeezing at Katsuki's bicep lightly in warning. “I wouldn't want to, though! Kacchan is the cutest when he gets mad!”

“You have the patience of a Saint, my sweet son.”

“I think we've discussed this enough for one day, dear, don't you?” Masaru asked with a smile, getting a genuinely GRATEFUL look from Katsuki. “It's been so long, why don't we let them update us on their lives and work instead?”

“Fine, fine,” she sighed. “You treat him good, little brat. Don't you dare hurt my wonderful new son.”

“Like I would, you damn hag!” he growled. “He's my boyfriend, leave him the fuck alone.”

To Izuku's disbelief, Mitsuki SMILED at that.

“Izuku, sweetie, just answer me one more question, would you?”

“O-Of course,” he stuttered. “Anything you like!”

He swallowed hard, preparing himself for the worst, but Mitsuki wore a soft smile.

“When I start designing your wedding suit, is a whole waistcoat in his hero-orange too much for you? I'm so sorry he picked such an awfully garish colour, I did try to talk him out of it! Maybe we just go with a tie instead?”

Katsuki didn't get a chance to berate her for any of it; by the time he opened his mouth, Izuku was already grinning, leaning back to plant a tiny kiss on his cheek.

“I always thought we'd go with red, like his pretty eyes.”

“Of course,” Mitsuki sniffed, wiping a tear from her cheek. “I'll get started right away! It'll be ready for a Spring wedding!”

“When the fuck did we get engaged?” Katsuki grumbled, cheeks still a little pink. “What the fuck, nerd.”

“I'll buy you a ring tomorrow,” Izuku grinned. “A super pretty one.”

“Like hell you will, nerd! I'LL buy YOU a fancy ring!”

“Okay!”

Katsuki fell silent, gaping at the conceited little grin on Izuku's lips, and finally settled for pinching his cheek one more time.

“You're a manipulative little shit.”

“And you love it.”

“I love you,” Katsuki agreed, his eyes softening a little. “Nerd.”

“I love you too, Kacchan. Marry me, okay?”

“Whatever,” he sighed. “Doesn't sound like I get a choice, does it?”

“Nope! It's destiny, Kacchan!”

Katsuki sighed again, more fondly this time, as he stroked his fingertips down Izuku's cheek.

“I guess I should send destiny a fruit basket.”

//The End!//