Not For Me

“Let me guess, you’re allergic to fun?” Denki goaded, poking Katsuki with the beer bottle. “Should’ve figured that out a year ago, really.”

“Did your parents never teach you not to be an ass?”

“Nope!”

Katsuki glared at him, and Denki shrugged, grinning to himself as he popped the bottle open and took a swig himself.

“You know you’re not gonna be arrested for one drink, right? We do this all the time.”

“And I fuckin’ let you do it in peace, even though I, personally,choose not to drink. Why the fuck can’t you do the same? You call me the disrespectful one.”

“Your loss, dude! It might be good for you, you know. Might loosen you up a little, for once.”

“It’s not good for anyone.”

“It’s fine. You’re such a prude!”

“Fuck off.”

“Okay, okay! Whatever, party pooper.”

He finally gave up, moving on to hang out with Eijirou and Hanta across the room, already setting up for some stupid drinking game.

The assholes of 2-A had decided on underage drinking as their latest group hobby, and Katsuki loathed it. It had been bad enough that one time they decided on group tap dancing – it was loud as fuck, but at least the exercise and shit was good for them. What kind of future hero spent their days drinking beer?

“You’ll like it, I swear! Beer is gross, but these taste amazing.”

Katsuki looked up to see a similar scene unfolding nearby, the damn Deku getting all awkward and stuttery as Round Face tried to offer him a bright red concoction. All his friends were drinking them, just like Katsuki’s idiot squad and their beer, but Deku was holding a bottle of water, just like always. He was the only one smart enough to not get himself involved in that shit, the only one who knew what deep shit they could end up in. Even the stupid halfie had been known to down a few glasses of Yaoyorozu’s fancy wine, and Four Eyes himself, fearless class leader and all that bullshit, was more than happy to suck down a sugary mixed drink with his friends. Why were all his goody-goody classmates suddenly so keen to break the law? Idiots, the lot of them.

“Really, I’m okay,” Izuku was insisting, cheeks flushed. “I appreciate the offer, but I’m not really a drinker.”

“How do you know if you’ve never tried? One drink won’t hurt, surely! It’s tasty, and it really helps you relax, with everything going on in our lives lately.”

“W-Well...”

“You fuckin’ deaf or some shit, Round Face?” Katsuki spoke up, before he even realised his lips were moving. “He said no, leave him the fuck alone.”

“Sounds like you could use a drink or twelve too.”

“What the fuck did you just say to me?”

He stood up, and Ochako followed suit, staringhim down despite being like a foot shorter and half his weight. He narrowed his eyes at her, daring her to try anything, and Izuku stumbled over his words as he leapt up to separate them, trying his best to defuse the situation.

“Thank you, Kacchan, but I can say no on my own,” Izuku assured him. “And Uraraka, I know you mean well, but really, I’m fine without!”

“You don’t have to abstain just because your precious Kacchan does, you know. Let him complain about it if he wants, he doesn’t own you.”

“Alright, fucker, listen up,” Katsuki seethed, barely resisting the urge to deck her in the face. “Did you ever think to ask why he doesn’t want to drink? Huh? Or did you just decide to make your own stupid, inane, baseless assumptions so that you don’t have to feel bad for being a bitch about it?”

“Don’t you dare-”

“Because I know why the damn nerd doesn’t drink, and he knows why I don’t drink, but you fuckers sure as hell never thought to ask, did you? And every damn person in this room except for you is kicking themselves right now for never asking, for never thinking to say ‘do you mind if we drink in front of you still? Will that make you uncomfortable?’ and fuck, I can understand not asking me, because I’ll just fuck off to my room when it’s too much, but him? I thought you were meant to be his friend.”

The room went dead silent when Katsuki stopped speaking – understandably, he thought, since it was probably the most words he’d said to any of them ever.He was a man of few words, that was the way he liked it, but god damn if he couldn’t monologue when some asshole pissed him off.

The worst part was, he wasn’t even pissed off for himself. Denki was annoying, sure – he goaded and made stupid jokes, but he always fucked off afterward. Eijirou stopped offering after the first few times, just said to let him know if he changed his mind; Mina never asked or prodded at all, just told them all to help themselves if they wanted anything; hell, even Hanta only made the occasional stupid joke or poked at him a little, trying to get him to try it out. But Izuku’s friends were somehow relentless about it. He’d always thought his friends were the dickheads, but apparently he had been very wrong.

Katsuki grabbed Izuku by the wrist, dragging him off to the elevators while the building was still quiet, and it wasn’t until the metal doors slid closed that he finally released his grip.

“Thanks for sticking up for me,” Izuku said softly, managing a weak smile. “I’m never sure what to say.”

“Tell them to fuck the hell off.”

“You know I won’t do that.”

“Then just... Come sit with me. If anyone starts shit, I’ll tell them to fuck the hell off.”

“You wouldn’t be annoyed at me for intruding?”

“We’re past that shit.”

A small part of Katsuki was nervous that Izuku might disagree – that little insecure piece of his brain that was always yelling at him, telling him he’d screwed everything up and could never make up for it all. It wasn’t silenced, when Izuku smiled at him, but it was certainly muffled significantly.

“How about now, then?” he asked brightly – the nerd was always so enthusiastic about hanging out, it would have been annoying if it wasn’t so weirdly endearing. “They’ll probably um, come to my room in a bit. To ask questions. Maybe apologise, but... Probably not. And I’d uh, rather not deal with them.”

“You don’t need to explain yourself,” Katsuki grumbled, as the doors slid open on his floor and he nodded Izuku toward the hallway beyond. “Just ask when you want.”

“Okay!”

The relationship between them had become oddly peaceful over their first year-and-a-bit of school, and Katsuki was silently very grateful for that. He’d done a lot of shit to fuck Izuku up over the years, he could only continue to be glad that Izuku was so damn resilient, that he’d found his way to U.A. regardless of Katsuki’s bullshit and given him the chance to make amends. He’d apologised, eventually, once he’d realised exactly how messed up he felt without Izuku around him and how he didn’t want it to happen ever again, and while he hadn’t exactly... confessed, he had acknowledged, to himself, in the dead of the night, that maybe, maybe, there was... something more, in his feelings about the nerd.

“Have a seat, or whatever,” Katsuki offered, unlocking his dorm room door and pushing it open. “I might grab some chips or something, you want anything?”

“Nope, I’m good!” Izuku assured him, that smile so bright even though his eyes didn’t quite match.

“At least take my water, you left yours behind.”

He grabbed a bottle from the mini-fridge his parents had bought him not long before they moved into the dorms, and held it out pointedly, waiting for Izuku to take it. Izuku’s smile softened a little as he accepted, the cap clicking quietly as he popped it open.

Katsuki liked that smile a lot better. Small and genuine was so much nicer than wide and fake.

“I feel like I’m weird, or something,” Izuku admitted, crawling across Katsuki’s bed to get settled. “They all talk about it like it’s so normal, and even Iida does it!”

“Didn’t Four Eyes try to commit revenge-murder once?”

“Shhh, I wasn’t meant to tell you that!”

Katsuki smirked, and Izuku managed another little smile of his own, ducking his head slightly to hide it.

“They just seem so relaxed and happy when they’re drinking, and they get so social, everyone hangs out with everyone, even though they never would during class and stuff. It seems nice.”

“You don’t have to drink to do that,” Katsuki pointed out. “No one would turn down your sunshine-ass if you wanted to hang out or have lunch together or something.”

“You would.”

“Fucking says who?”

Izuku blinked at him, smile replaced with a jaw that hung open slightly, like he’d lost his voice the moment he tried to respond.

“I said yes like two minutes ago, didn’t I?” Katsuki huffed, grabbing a bag of chips that rustled too-loudly in the awkwardness. “I told you, if you want to hang out, just ask.”

“But in public?”

“It’s not like no one knows we do it,” Katsuki pointed out, climbing up beside him on the mattress. “You told them all about Catch A Kacchan, there’s fuckin’ nothing that will shock them now.”

A warmth hit Katsuki in the face, and it took him a moment to register the bright green eyes right in front of his, wide and terrified as...

Izuku kissed him.

Fucking Deku kissed him.

“What the fuck?” Katsuki growled, grabbing him by the shirt when he tried to run away. “Explain yourself, damn it.”

“Th-That would shock people r-right?” he laughed awkwardly, the sound almost painful. “J-Just kidding?”

“You do know that would be the shittiest joke you could ever pull on someone, right?”

“Right,” Izuku squeaked, face burning bright red. “I’m sorry, let’s just forget it happened, okay? I know Kacchan doesn’t like me like that, Kacchan doesn’t like anyone like that, it was just a stupid mistake and I promise I’ll never do it a-”

Izuku’s voice cut off with a short eep when Katsuki yanked him back in, pressing their lips together a little more roughly this time, his tongue licking across Izuku’s lower lip encouragingly.

“O-Oh,” Izuku squeaked, pulling back for a moment to see Katsuki’s blush. “I uh, take it back. I mean, not the k-kiss, but I take back-”

“Just shut the fuck up and kiss me.”

“Yes Sir!”

─────

“I’m sorry,” Tenya said quietly, as Katsuki brewed a massive pot of coffee for the countless classmates who would no doubt come raid it once he and Izuku were finished. “I should have stopped them from pushing you, I didn’t think.”

“I don’t blame you,” Izuku smiled faintly. “Thank you, though, I’m glad to know you care.”

“If anyone gives you trouble about it in future, please let me know, I’ll have your back.”

“Thank you, that means a lot.”

“You, too, Bakugou.”

Katsuki’s eyes darted up from his mug, staring blankly, and Tenya managed an awkward smile.

“If Kaminari keeps giving you a hard time, or anyone else for that matter, I’m happy to help in any way I can.”

Katsuki nodded once, lost for words, but Tenya seemed to take that as a good enough answer.

“And if you ever want to talk about it, I’m all ears.”

“I thought you had the robo-leg shit,” Katsuki grumbled. “Isn’t it octodude who has all the ears?”

Tenya laughed brightly, and even Izuku managed a snort, clapping his hand over his mouth to stifle it. Katsuki cracked a smile of his own, betraying his favourite straight-faced humour, and Tenya dared to clap him on the shoulder lightly as he began to pass.

“Always a pleasure to see you both,” he said fondly. “I’m going to get some more sleep.”

“Drank too much, huh?” Katsuki smirked. “Maybe you could learn something from me and the nerd, after all.”

“I have many things to learn from you both,” Tenya answered without hesitation, painfully sincere. “But I’ll add this one to the list.”

Despite the early hour, when Izuku led the way through to the common room, there was already a group gathered. Half of them had probably slept right where they still sat, Katsuki suspected, and much like Tenya, most of them would probably take off for another nap the moment their painkillers kicked in.

“No way,” Ochako was saying, as Tsuyu whispered in her ear. “Why would I do that?”

“He’s your friend.”

“I don’t have to be friends with all his friends!”

“Ochako.”

“Nope!”

Katsuki raised an eyebrow when Izuku looked over at him – even with only half the conversation, they both knew immediately what was going on. And honestly, Katsuki had had enough of it. She may have been gutsy, but Ochako had a habit of getting on his last nerve when it came to being stubborn. And yeah, he was equally as stubborn, he knew that, but she chose the stupidest things to put her foot down on and he hated it!

“Listen here,” Katsuki growled, thumping over to sit across the table from the pair. “I’m only gonna say this once, and you’re going to listen, and you’re not going to say a damn word.”

Ochako opened her mouth stubbornly, but Tsuyu clapped a hand over it, hushing her as she nodded for him to continue.

“My childhood friend’s family was destroyed because of his asshole father’s drinking problem. He was an abusive piece of shit who couldn’t even stop drinking for ten seconds to see how much he was hurting people. The moment he had that one harmless drink you assholes keep preaching about, he couldn’t stop. I will not risk ruining my life, my career, my family and my friends, just to drink some shitty fermented water or whatever the fuck that doesn’t even taste good. If you want to risk throwing away everything just to get a buzz or whatever, then be my fucking guest, but you will not pressure me and Deku to do it. Do you hear me?”

Ochako stared at him, and for once he saw regret in her eyes, realisation that she’d fucked up and she knew it. He wanted to be satisfied by that knowledge, but he was too busy glancing over at Izuku, at the carefully straight expression he kept plastered on his face to keep from cracking.

“Me and Deku are going back upstairs,” he grunted, standing up with his coffee mug in hand. “Think fucking hard about what you want to say to him next time we come back.”

“Take care, Bakugou,” Tsuyu said softly, her hand still carefully silencing Ochako’s lips. “And you, Midoriya. You deserve a break.”

“Thank you,” Izuku answered, his expression not cracking. “I’ll see you this afternoon.”

“I look forward to it.”

Izuku managed to get all the way into Katsuki’s room before he finally cracked, and Katsuki pulled him straight into a hug, stroking his back as he whispered reassurances. It was all so foreign to him – he’d never been the one to comfort someone before, let alone Deku – but somehow his body just seemed to know.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, pulling Izuku’s head to his chest. “I knew you wouldn’t want to answer their stupid questions, I thought...”

“Thank you,” Izuku whispered, sniffling against Katsuki’s shirt. “You did a great job, I appreciate it, I’m just...”

“I know,” Katsuki answered, when Izuku didn’t finish his sentence for a good ten seconds. “I get it.”

“Thank you for um, being... General.”

“It’s not my job to tell people your personal shit.”

He dragged Izuku onto the bed, holding him close, and Izuku managed to keep his tears at bay with the strong arms wrapped around him. Honestly, he’d thought he’d run out of tears to shed for that, but there he was, proving himself wrong.

“You’re so lucky you have a good dad,” Izuku hummed.

“You can share him, he’d be cool with it.”

“Thanks, Kacchan.”

“Any time, nerd.”

─────

Katsuki grimaced when the drinks came out again, preparing himself to deal with the fall of everything they’d so carefully held back. The dorms had been tense the whole day, a careful balancing act, words stacked to the sides in neat little boxes instead of being spoken out into the world. Hanta offered a box of cans to Denki, and to everyone’s surprise, Denki shook his head.

“I think I’m good tonight,” he shrugged, leaning back on the couch and kicking his feet up into Katsuki’s lap. “Might just hang with Kacchan and his new boyfriend.”

“Sounds good,” Izuku agreed, while Katsuki glared silently at the encroaching socks. “You and I don’t hang out enough!”

“You’re always welcome to come hang with us!” Denki assured him, waving toward Eijirou and Hanta as they cracked open a can each. “Do you play video games? We have an endless squad tournament going on, I’ll add your name to the scoreboard!”

“That sounds fun,” Izuku beamed. “Thanks for asking!”

“Any time, dude! Come play some fighting games tomorrow night. My room, no drinks. Boom boy will be there, just follow him or show up when you’re ready, super casual.”

“I’m looking forward to it!”

He pulled his feet out of Katsuki’s lap finally, shuffling a little closer to them on the couch instead, and Katsuki couldn’t help but relax a little as the two of them chatted away – it was pretty clear what Denki was doing, but he still kind of appreciated the effort, even if it wasn’t subtle.

“How are you all?”

Katsuki looked up to see Tenya joining them, taking up the final spot on their couch, and he blinked at him stupidly as he turned to look at them, joining the conversation effortlessly. There was only a bottle of water in his hand, unlike most of the class, and Katsuki couldn’t stop the tiny smile that tugged at his lips.

“You guys had a good point,” he explained, when he caught Katsuki staring. “None of us need to be drinking, especially not at our age. Why jeopardise our entire future just for a drink? So I thought I’d take a break for a while, if you don’t mind having my company.”

“Gladly,” Katsuki answered, watching Tenya’s eyes widen. “Don’t look at me like that, Four Eyes.”

“Here, these will help.”

Katsuki looked up to see Shouto bearing down on them, a large box held in his hands. He narrowed his eyes at it, the box style and even the brand name vaguely familiar, but before he could ask or complain, the box was being set in Izuku’s lap.

“What is this?” he asked, voicing Katsuki’s confusion perfectly.

“Non-alcoholic beer,” Shouto answered, so matter-of-fact about it.

“You don’t like beer.”

“No, but everyone else seems to, so I figured it was worth a try.”

“Did you buy this for me?”

“For everyone. Everyone who wants it, anyway.”

“That’s so thoughtful of you.”

“Mind if I join you?”

One by one their group continued to grow, a small gathering of people who chose not to partake for the night, and Katsuki couldn’t help but think he should have kicked up a stink earlier. Peer pressure was a bitch, and he suspected without it, half their class would never have started in the first place. As much as he tried to avoid social gatherings, he’d kind of liked knowing that he and Izuku had become the safe zone – the group anyone was welcome to hang out with, if they didn’t feel like drinking.

He hoped that satisfied Izuku’s desires.

“Guess you’re not allergic after all,” Denki teased, when he caught Katsuki laughing.

“Not my fault you guys don’t know what fun is.”

“Yeah,” Denki smiled, elbowing him lightly. “I guess you had a point, for once.”

“Say that again, Sparky, I dare you.”

“For once.”

Izuku grabbed him before he could strike, falling back onto the carpet with Katsuki clutched in his arms, and despite his struggles to escape, Katsuki couldn’t help but crack a smile.

“You’re such an ass,” he complained. “Both of you!”

“Take it up with my parents,” Denki grinned, taking a sip from his non-alcoholic beer. “They never taught me not to be, apparently.”

“You’re so fuckin’ dead at game night.”

“Bring it on.”