Tall Order - Chapter 5

The sun was rising in the distance, Katsuki was sitting on the doorstep to tie his shoelaces, and Izuku was at his side. The first two parts of the occasion were normal, but Katsuki still had trouble making peace with the third. It had been years since the man was last a part of his life, and now they were side by side, shoulder to shoulder – well, they would have been, if not for...

He wasn't gonna say it again. Stupid fucking nerd and his late fucking growth spurt. What an asshole.

“Sun is coming up, Kacchan!” Izuku practically bounced in his excitement. “On your feet, get moving!”

Something flipped in Katsuki's stomach, and he grumbled to himself as he climbed to his feet, nodding faintly.

“Two laps today, since your ass won't be distracting me on the beach.”

“What's so distracting about my ass?”

“Shut up, nerd.”

“I know I do a lot of squats, but I didn't think-”

“Fucking christ, you're starting to sound like my dumbass friends, just shut your damn mouth!”

“Language, Kacchan,” Izuku teased. “Come on, let's run!”

“You better fuckin' keep up.”

“I will!”

His pace through the forest was much quicker than the day prior, more sure footed with a little bit of extra light to help him out, but Izuku's paces behind him were calm and steady, following him without an issue. 

“Do you still run every morning?” Izuku asked, levelling out beside Katsuki when the path widened. “I thought you would migrate toward the weights more, considering your quirk and everything, but you're still a cardio bunny, huh? I shouldn't be surprised, Kacchan does as Kacchan wants!”

Katsuki raised his pace to pull ahead, grumbling at the little laugh that came from behind him, the steps quickening a little more to catch up again.

“Okay, okay! No nerd talk!”

“No small talk,” Katsuki corrected him. “None of this 'oh you like to run? Nice weather! How's work going?' bullshit. We've known each other too long for that.”

“Oh!” Izuku nodded, wide-eyed. “Okay! I get it!”

“Good.”

“Then tell me, if you somehow came to be surrounded on all sides by equally capable villains, with no discernible gaps between them, which way would you attack first?”

“Haaah?!”

“They'd expect you to go in front or straight behind, right? Because one is easy and the other feels sneaky. So probably some arbitrary angle?”

Katsuki paused for a moment, silent other than the pounding of their feet as they moved from dirt to sand. 

“Up.”

“They're above you too.”

“How the fuck are they above me?”

“I don't know, they can fly!”

“Down.”

“They're under you too!”

“What the fuck?!”

“It's a sphere of villains! All interlocking in a perfectly regular pattern with no weaknesses!”

“Then I'll fucking blast a hole with my AP shot and get out through that, so I can attack this fucking ball of villains from the outside.”

“But where would you aim your AP shot?”

“You're a fucking nerd, did you know that?”

“Answer the question, Kacchan!”

“Up and slightly to my left, so I can use my right hand to propel me through it.”

“Ahh, clever. As expected from Kacchan!”

“You're such a fucking nerd.”

When Izuku giggled at him, despite all his willpower and his best intentions, Katsuki felt a laugh bubble out of his lungs. It was surprisingly bright, especially for him, and he wondered when the last time was that he'd smiled the way he did right then, running with Izuku at his side.

“Across the beach,” he declared, as they reached the bottom of the hill. “There's an opening just there by the big pine tree”

“That break in the bushes?”

“Yeah. It's narrow but it opens up soon.”

“Got it!”

He pulled ahead with a grin, laughing when Katsuki growled at him and raised his pace to match. It wasn't fair, really. He felt like he took twice as many steps as Izuku to match his stride length, although really it was probably only five for his four, but hearing his feet hit the ground quicker than Izuku's made him feel oddly defeated, like the nerd had bested him somehow.

As soon as the path widened Katsuki took off ahead, listening to the familiar bright laughter as Izuku followed, but soon they fell into step together, maintaining a comfortable pace as they looked out over the ocean.

“Pretty,” Izuku mumbled.

“Yeah,” Katsuki nodded, sneaking a glance across at the freckled face and soft green eyes. "It is."

─

“Please Kacchan!” Izuku begged, clasping his hands in front of his chest and giving Katsuki his best pathetic puppy eyes. “Yesterday's was so bad!”

“Not my fault.”

“For me Kacchan?”

Katsuki cursed himself for the way his stomach flipped, but he folded his arms stubbornly, raising an eyebrow.

“And what are you gonna do for me, huh?”

“I'll... Uh... I'll make the coffee?”

Katsuki snorted, but conceded a nod. He was starving, to be fair, and it wouldn't hurt to have everyone in his debt when they woke up.

“You know how to cook rice, don't you?”

“Uh... Sure?”

“Christ, Deku. Tell me you know how to make coffee.”

“Yes! I mean, I think? It's not hard! Right?”

“Just... Just sit down,” he sighed, shaking his head. “Should have known you were still relying on your mother for everything.”

“I'm not! I'm just... Busy, you know? I buy my food prepackaged so I can just heat it up.”

He looked away sheepishly, rubbing at the back of his neck as Katsuki glared.

“The fuck, nerd?!”

“I knoooow!” he whined. “It's just so much easier than learning to cook, though!”

“Get your ass over here.”

He stepped aside to make room, shoving a bag of rice into Izuku's hands, and pointed at the little cooker off to one side of the bench.

“What's the highest number on the bowl in the rice cooker?”

Izuku opened it up obediently, peering inside, hunting down the faint numbers etched into one side of the metal bowl.

“Uhhh... Twelve.”

“Alright, add twelve of these little cups of rice to that bowl, then fill it with water up to that twelve line.”

“Okay!”

While Izuku set to work on the rice, Katsuki hauled a pile of fish out of the fridge, giving it a quick sniff to make sure it was, in fact, fresh. All the knives in the drawer were dull as hell, so he took his time sharpening one first, watching Izuku carefully measure out rice and water.

“It's not a science, nerd. Just close enough is fine.”

“Oh! Okay!”

He moved much quicker with the permission to be sloppy granted to him, and when Katsuki was satisfied with the knife he set it aside, reaching for a second. The moment Izuku put the rice on to cook, he pointed at it, raising an eyebrow when Izuku gaped at him.

“Freshly sharpened,” he smirked. “Cut some vegetables for me.”

“All of these?”

“Yeah. I'll help you when I've finished the rest of the food.”

“How big?”

“Pretty small. They're for the soup.”

“Oh! Okay!”

He picked up the knife carefully and began to chop, leaving Katsuki to work on the fish on the other side of the counter. He worked with a practiced ease, the motions familiar and comfortable to his hands, and once he found his rhythm he sneaked a glance at Izuku. His tongue poked out the corner of his mouth in his concentration, eyebrows knitted together as he tried to slice and cube the vegetables to perfection, and the corner of Katsuki's lips twitched toward a smile. 

Everything was in cooking by the time they heard the first footsteps down the hall, Izuku sitting on the counter with his coffee mug, Katsuki leaning against the cupboards to watch the stove. He barely looked up when the first riser approached, but Izuku sat up a little taller, shooting a beaming smile out into the dining area.

“Good morning!” he called, with more energy than Katsuki felt he'd had in his lifetime. “Did you sleep well?”

“Yeah! How about you, Midoriya? You're up early!”

“Me and Kacchan went for a run around sunrise!”

Katsuki cringed at the words, already anticipating the teasing about to come from the familiar voice, but to his surprise, all he got was a little smile shot his way from a bright pink face.

“And now you're cooking? It smells amazing.”

“Kacchan is cooking,” Izuku corrected her with a laugh. “I just cut some vegetables and stuff, he did all the work!”

“Aw man, I'm jealous, I love Blasty's cooking.”

“There's enough for you,” Katsuki assured her quietly. “Enough for everyone. Well, might need to do more rice.”

“Really?! Wow, Blasty, what came over you?!”

“Shut up.”

“Seriously! You're never this nice!”

“I'm hungry as fuck and yesterday's food was shit, what do you want from me? I'll fuckin' eat it all myself and you can go without if you're gonna be like this.”

“No! It smells so good!”

“Then start putting out bowls and shit, Pink Ass.”

Mina laughed, nodding as she squeezed through to the right cupboard, hauling out stacks of plates and bowls and cutlery. She laid them out on the counter when directed, and Katsuki began dividing up soup and scooping rice, sending Mina and Izuku to lay them out on the table for everyone to choose from. When the fish was cooked he transferred the portions to small plates and handed those over too, finishing it off with a mountain of fried eggs to squeeze into the last gaps.

“There. Eat.”

Voices started to pipe up as he finished putting the second batch of rice in to cook, so he quickly obtained the food he wanted and took it out to the little patio where they'd eaten dinner the night prior, dropping onto a comfortable looking outdoor sofa. It was chilly, with a breeze running straight through the spot, but soon a warm figure sat down beside him on the little couch and he felt himself unconsciously shifting toward the warmth.

“It tastes amazing, Kacchan!” he praised, beaming that bright damn smile right in his face. “Thank you so much!”

“Whatever.”

“I mean it! I didn't think about how much work it is to cook for so many people, but you did it anyway and everything turned out so good!”

“I don't mind cooking,” he mumbled. “I'll cook for you again, if you want. You just have to ask.”

“Really?!”

“Not for all these losers,” he amended, nodding toward the growing group sitting down to eat inside. “But for you, yeah.”

“That sounds great, Kacchan! We'll have to arrange a time when you're back in town!”

“Yeah.”

“Or, um, maybe I could come visit you? I haven't seen where you live now.”

“Sure.”

Izuku's face lit up, and Katsuki blushed, looking away in a hurry. He could see Izuku's hand out the corner of his eye, returning to its path shovelling food into his face, and he hated himself for noticing just how thick Izuku's forearms had become. 

“Need more coffee?” he asked, oblivious as he set his food down on the little table and stood up. “Or food?”

“Y-Yeah. Thanks. Coffee. Um, and another egg.”

“Coming right up!”

He braved the crowds to retrieve their wares, sharing greetings and smiles with the rest of their company, and Katsuki half expected him to just not return. Sure enough, though, two minutes passed and Izuku was back on the patio, sliding the door closed to keep some noise away and pushing a hot mug into Katsuki's hands.

“Drink up, Kacchan! Get nice and warm!”

Something about the way he said it had Katsuki blushing again, bringing his mug to his lips and taking a long swig. Dark, strong, boiling hot – just the way he liked it, and Izuku knew it. True to his nerd nature, Katsuki supposed. He had notes on everything else about Katsuki, no doubt he had coffee orders in his dumb little notebooks too.

“Do you still have your analysis books?” he found himself asking, cringing over the words even as they came out of his mouth.

“Yeah! Although, um...”

“What?”

“You'll think it's stupid.”

“Probably. Tell me.”

“I don't label them 'for the future' anymore. I guess that made me kind of happy, when I realised I didn't need to.”

“Yeah,” Katsuki nodded faintly, not a single scathing comment finding its way into his mind. “The future is now.”

He shivered a little when a breeze blew through, and Izuku pulled his hoodie off without a word, draping it around Katsuki's shoulders. The thing swamped him, he hated to admit – at least two sizes too big. It was soft, though, and warm from Izuku's body heat. As much as he wanted to shove it off, he found himself nodding gratefully, pulling it a little tighter around him before he took another sip of coffee.

“Thanks,” he mumbled finally, when the silence stretched a little too long.

“Any time, Kacchan! I know what you're like with the cold. It must be awful at night here, do you have extra blankets on your bed? I'll find some if you need them!”

“I do. Shitty Hair and Dunce Face told me the night I arrived that it gets cold here, they threw one at me as I was going to sleep.”

“They're such good friends!” he praised. “Be nice to them!”

“I am. Mostly.”

“I don't believe that for a second,” Izuku laughed. 

“I made them all breakfast, didn't I?”

“Only because I begged you!”

“Still counts.”

Izuku laughed brightly, leaning in a little closer as his body was wracked with it, and when their shoulders brushed together, Katsuki didn't pull away. Maybe, in fact, he leaned a little closer, moved into the touch, but he would never admit that to anyone.

“You look good, by the way,” he found himself mumbling, Izuku's eyes widening at him. “It's, um, good to see that you're doing well. Since we never see each other anymore, I mean.”

“You do too,” Izuku grinned, reaching out to ruffle his hair. “I like the hair cut!”

“Shut up,” he blushed. “Cut it out.”

“I do, though! It's all soft and fuzzy!”

Katsuki had finally taken the plunge around the time he turned twenty, shearing off most of his hair, and had gotten nothing but compliments on it since. He still had his signature spikes, only cut down much shorter to tame them somewhat, and Katsuki knew from plenty of experiences with his drunken idiot friends that yes, it did in fact feel extra soft that way. Izuku was fascinated by it, the pads of his fingers investigating the short, fluffy hairs, and it made Katsuki's scalp tingle under his touch. 

“Cut it out,” he said again, pulling away with a hint of reluctance. “Weirdo.”

“But it looks good! You look so grown up without your hedgehog spikes!”

“What about you, huh?” he demanded, grabbing a handful of Izuku's curls. “You lost half of your shitty mane too.”

“It kept getting in the way!”

“No kidding, with your damn mop.”

The back and sides of Izuku's hair were shaved down to almost nothing, the top remaining just long enough to curl and spike at odd angles, the way it had for as long as Katsuki had known him. Just long enough to grab hold of, to shake him around lightly as he laughed. Just long enough for Katsuki to bury his fingers in, pausing for a moment before he released his hold.

“I guess we're both growing up, huh?”

“Finally,” Izuku grinned. “Took us long enough.”

He held out a fist, and Katsuki bumped it with his own, smiling faintly as they both made the same dumb explosion sound effects they'd been making since they were toddlers. 

“I'm glad you came, Kacchan.”

“Yeah. Me too.”

─

Katsuki grumbled to himself as he dove off the end of the pier, eyebrows furrowed into a scowl, and he took a moment underwater to deal with it, to hide his frustration before he surfaced. As he shook his head, flicking water from his hair, he glanced up at the long stretch of sand where Izuku, once again, lay fully clothed on his towel. He contemplated stripping the nerd himself, dragging him in to swim, but even for him that seemed like too much. Besides, he wasn't that desperate just to see the asshole shirtless. His brain could laugh at him all it wanted for that claim, he was sticking to it. 

As he watched, Mina laid out her towel next to him, laying back to sunbathe at his side. He couldn't hear their words at first, but one sentence rang out loud and clear across the beach.

“You must be super popular with the ladies, Midoriya, tell me about your love life!”

He froze, fists clenching beneath the surface of the waves, and Izuku just laughed, shaking his head.

“Nothing like that! I'm a hero, I don't have time for dating!”

“Aw, come on, the rest of us do it! You gotta let loose sometimes!”

“Sorry to be so boring,” Izuku laughed sheepishly.

“There must be someone you like though, right?”

“Oi, Pinky!” he found himself yelling from the water, all eyes turning on him as he gritted his teeth, thinking fast. “There's a rope swing or some shit down by the forest, this time we compete for biggest splash.”

“Hell yeah!” she grinned, shooting a quick smile at Izuku. “You want to join us, Midoriya?”

“I'm good here, thank you though!”

She left him to his sunbathing, along with a few others taking naps in the sun and some swimmers who remained behind, and followed Katsuki as he led the charge down to a little bay he'd seen while they were running that morning. It seemed sturdy enough, not old and worn out, and with the length of the rope and the height of the tree that held it, it gave them plenty of distance to fly off and land in a deep patch of water.

“You've been holding out on me, Blasty!” Mina grinned, slinging an arm around his shoulders. “Why didn't you tell us about this earlier?”

“I don't know, seemed childish or some shit.”

“There's nothing wrong with childish! Fun is fun!”

He stood back to watch as they all began to play, taking turns to swing out and jump off the rope, competing for height and distance and splash and everything else they could think of. After a few turns he was goaded into, he slipped away, returning to the group on the beach and digging through one of the coolers.

“Having fun?” Izuku asked, when Katsuki sat down beside him. 

“Mm. Just tired.”

“Haven't been sleeping well, huh?”

“Earplugs helped a little, but not enough.”

“Come take a nap, then. It's nice here.”

He moved closer, patting his thigh, and Katsuki only stared at him blankly.

“Lie down,” he commanded, and Katsuki felt his stomach flip. “Come on, Kacchan.”

Trembling a little, and simultaneously cursing himself for it, he lay down on his towel, and Izuku gently tugged Katsuki's head in his lap. He wasn't sure why his stomach was full of butterflies all of a sudden, but Izuku's fingers combing lazily through his hair felt too damn good. He could see Izuku's eyes shining down at him like the most precious of emeralds, and when his cheeks filled with warmth he quickly closed his eyes to break the contact.

“That's the way,” Izuku praised. “Rest, Kacchan. Get comfy and take a nice nap.”

“Like I would ever want to sleep here,” he grumbled.

“Shhhh, just rest, it's okay.”

Izuku hummed quietly, and normally Katsuki would have told him to cut the shit, but in that one moment, in that one quiet little scene, it sounded oddly sweet. He sighed faintly, shuffling a little to get comfortable, since he seemed to be in it for the long haul, and Izuku smiled as he continued humming and petting, savouring the peace.

“Dumbass,” he mumbled, turning his head to one side a little and letting Izuku's fingers draw little circles against his scalp. “Weird nerd.”

“Uh-huh.”

With the sun beating down on them, a gentle breeze blowing off the ocean to keep them comfortable, Katsuki remained. He lay still, quiet, his face softening a little, and Izuku did his best to repress a giggle when he saw the fists slowly unclench, relaxing at his sides.

So much for not sleeping.

─

With Eijirou and Denki manning the grill, Ochako and Mina mixing cocktails, and a group of Ochako's co-workers Katsuki only knew by their hero names putting out salads and sides, he decided it was safe to retreat again. Out past the patio, into the grass and rock of the cliffside, there was a little spot in the trees that was sheltered from the wind, with a nice view out over the horizon. He was still within eyeshot of the group, no one would go panicking that he'd disappeared, and when the barbecue inevitably caught fire due to Denki's negligence, he was close enough to assist if they needed him – but still, with a little separation from the group, it was quiet, calmer, gave him some space to recharge his energy and be alone with his thoughts.

At that moment, his thoughts were stuck on a certain green-eyed man, who only hours ago had sat in the warm sand stroking Katsuki's hair like it was no big deal. He didn't even acknowledge the fact that they'd been apart for years without so much as a phone call to say “hey, how are you?” once in a while. And sure, coming out of high school they'd been doing better – they'd been friends – but it was nothing like the past two days. He hadn't been nearly as touchy, back then, so what had changed all of a sudden?

“Kacchan?”

He jumped when he heard the voice, breaking free from his thoughts into real, genuine sound, and when he whipped around to look, he found an apologetic smile waiting for him.

“I didn't mean to sneak up on you,” he said apologetically. “I brought you a drink.”

He held out a bright orange cocktail, and Katsuki eyed it warily as he accepted, giving it a quick sniff.

“Ashido said you'd like it,” Izuku assured him. “I assume she knows what you drink?”

“Pretty much,” he agreed, taking a sip and nodding faintly. “Yeah, it's nice.”

“Oh good!”

Izuku invited himself in, slipping into the little nook in the trees to seat himself opposite Katsuki and lean back against a thick trunk. He still wore the same sweet smile, like he didn't have a care in the world, and for a brief moment Katsuki envied him.

“You should smile once in a while,” Izuku teased, stretching his leg out to nudge Katsuki with his toes. “You're gonna get wrinkles.”

“Shut up.”

He swatted Izuku's foot away, realising his mistake the moment he reached to retaliate and failed. Izuku giggled at him, and he flushed red in the face, quickly retracting his leg again.

“Shut up,” he repeated, pouting. “When the fuck did you get tall, anyway?”

“Did I?”

“Shut the fuck up.”

Izuku giggled, but shot him another apologetic smile anyway. 

“A while ago,” he shrugged. “Maybe the year after you moved?”

“I was surprised.”

“Yeah, most people are. I'm still nothing on All Might, but who knows, maybe I'll get there.”

“All Might is a freak,” Katsuki grumbled. “You're fine as you are.”

“But if I'm as tall as All Might, won't Kacchan be obligated to marry me?”

“Can't believe you still fuckin' remember that from kindergarten.”

“So do you.”

Ruby eyes locked with emeralds, and for once Katsuki broke first, turning his gaze back out over the ocean and taking a long sip from his drink.

“Do you ever think about the way things used to be?" 

"Like when I was an asshole in middle school?"

"Like when we were kids who thought we were invincible" 

Katsuki paused for a moment, contemplating, and settled on throwing a small rock at Izuku's chest. He threw it lightly, and Izuku caught it easily, but still his freckled cheeks squished into a pout.

“I'm still invincible, dumbass,” Katsuki sneered. “You're gonna be better than All Might without learning to think you're infallible? Stupid.”

“You're the idiot,” Izuku said softly, smiling again as he threw the rock back. “I'm glad you're here, the others... I mean, don't get me wrong, I love them all! They're the best friends I could ever ask for! I never thought I'd ever have this many friends, let alone this many who really like me but-”

“But they don't get it,” Katsuki agreed. 

“I wish I could just take my villains one at a time, like they do.”

“It's hard to stop thinking, right? About the people behind it all, the people who could be planning our demise at any moment.”

“I'm sorry I ever put this burden on you.”

“Don't,” Katsuki said firmly, Izuku's eyes widening. “I'm glad I know, glad I can be prepared. Glad I can help.”

“I'm glad I have you at my back.”

“Fuck you, I've never been behind you in your life!”

“That's not what I meant, Kacchan!”

He smirked, and Izuku softened at the sight, pausing to take another drink of his bright green concoction. 

“Come and get it!!”

Katsuki huffed quietly, their peace snatched away, and Izuku cracked a smile as he looked over at the madhouse rushing to get their meals. Eijirou and Denki were throwing patties on buns in every direction, and bowls of ingredients were being passed around with no sense of turn or order, a complete lack of logic. He cringed at the sight, but as Izuku stood up, he ruffled Katsuki's hair lightly.

“Can I eat here with you?”

“Y-Yeah.”

“Cool. Hold my drink, I'll bring yours.”

“You don't have to-”

“It's fine. No tomato, no cheese, you want bun?”

“Um, yeah, just, um-”

“One bun, two burgers?”

“Yeah.”

“Got it. Back in a minute, don't miss me too much.”

With a drink in each hand, Katsuki watched him go, cheeks tinged pink again. All those damn years and Izuku still knew what he ate? He didn't think even Deku was that much of a stalker. He watched as Izuku slipped into the group, grinning as he wove between people like some kind of obscure dance. Never once bumped into anyone, never spilled anything, just held a plate in each hand, darted in to where he needed to be, then popped back out again with his new ingredients. 

“Here you go! Eat up so you can get big and strong!”

Katsuki glowered as Izuku set the plate in his lap, giggling at his own dumb joke, and retrieved his drink from Katsuki's grip. On a plain white plate sat a lightly toasted burger bun, split in half, each side topped with meat, lettuce and onions. 

“Hot sauce,” Izuku explained, when Katsuki glanced up at him. “Not ketchup, I'm not an idiot.”

And hot sauce, drizzled into little smiley faces on top of each burger.

“You're absolutely an idiot,” Katsuki huffed. “How old are you, six?”

“But you are what you eat!”

Katsuki snorted, covering his mouth quickly to stifle the stupid laughter that burst from him, and Izuku's grin was triumphant as he watched on.

“You're such a fuckin' nerd,” he laughed, eyes watering as he looked down at the happy little smiles again. “Oh my God.”

“But I made you smile.”

“Yeah,” Katsuki nodded, wiping stupid tears from his eyes as he finally found some sense of composure. “Yeah, you did.”

“So I win.”

“Whatever, nerd.”

He took a big bite from his burger, taking the opportunity to chew instead of speaking, cursing every stupid word he'd blurted out since Izuku sat down. He didn't know why he was making such a fool of himself, didn't know why he even cared about making a fool of himself, honestly. It was only Deku after all, they'd done plenty of embarrassing things in their lifetimes. They'd been to kindergarten together for fuck's sake, Izuku had seen everything at this point. 

Besides, they were friends, weren't they? If you couldn't embarrass yourself in front of a friend, who could you embarrass yourself in front of?

Why was he embarrassed in the first place?

He looked up, at Izuku's freckled cheeks, puffed out with food; at his dark green hair, tinted lighter at the ends where more light shone through; at his wide eyes, the orange tints of the sunset lighting them up with golden hues spread among the shimmering green.

Oh, fuck.

Yeah, they were friends, and yeah, he'd started feeling awkward, and yeah, he kept making a damn stupid fool out of himself, but worst of all, it had taken him fucking forever to figure out what should have been so damn obvious.

He had a crush on his childhood friend.

The same nerd he'd teased for crying when he tripped and skinned his knee, before kissing it better and taking his hand, leading him back to the classroom to get a bandaid. The same nerd he'd pushed aside, who he'd let – who he'd encouraged an entire class of kids to bully mercilessly for years. And yet, he was the nerd who had always been there, even when he'd been a total asshole. Who had given him a fair and challenging fight, all the way through high school.

The nerd who he would never even guess was a nerd anymore, at first glance. He only knew because of their history, because of the way they talked.

His friend.

His friend, with the smile that never faded, the thighs as thick and solid as the tree trunks surrounding them, and still so fucking tall.

“Is everything okay, Kacchan?”

“Y-Yeah. Fine. Um, food is good. Thanks.”

“You're welcome!”

He took another bite, turning away to avoid the cheerful gaze as he chewed, staring out at the slowly sinking sun as he contemplated.

He was so fucked.