Posted this on AO3 a while back, just forgot to put it here.


"Okay so maybe if we take a left here..." he muttered, dragging his unwilling companion with him. "And then a left again..."

"Deku."

He swallowed, hesitantly glancing up. "Y-yes, Kacchan?"

"We're fucking lost."

Izuku flushed, wide green eyes looking anywhere but his uncharacteristically calm boyfriend. Truthfully, he'd come to the same realization twenty minutes ago, but he knew that if he admitted to it, Katsuki would just snap at him. Maybe even blow something up and give their location away in the process.

Let's play cops and robbers in the woods! Hagakure had suggested, full of excitement whilst jumping up and down. She may have had a bit too much to drink, her telltale signs being that she was leaning onto Ojiro a bit too heavily; and that Izuku had seen many cups floating around that night. Not as many as Kacchan, of course, but enough for him to start worrying.

With the lights turned off! Ashido had finished. Her added comment had convinced Izuku that she too wasn't entirely with them, considering that they were in the middle of a small clearing, their only source of light being the fire they'd set up- courtesy of Todoroki. Anyone who suggested shutting off the lights in the middle of the woods should probably cut back on the booze a bit. Though that may be just him.

(On the other hand, Izuku had to say, Ashido was a lot more subtle with kicking back her alcohol than he'd have expected. He hadn't even figured she was the slightest bit buzzed until she'd opened her mouth.)

At the suggestion, Katsuki's immediate response of "fuck no" had been drowned out by the voices of their classmates agreeing. Unsurprisingly, Mineta's voice stuck out above the others; the concept of being in a dark, deserted forest with tons of girls a bit too fun for him.

Anything could happen in the dark, he'd said, eyes practically glistening as he set his sights on Yaoyorozu.

As a result, he was now stuck with Shoji, sporting a burn mark that definitely hadn't been Kacchan's doing. ("I sneezed," Todoroki claimed)

Since most of them still wanted to get out of this party alive, they'd settled on heading into the woods in pairs of two. Izuku had immediately been swarmed by most of his classmates, asking to pair with him. The formerly Quirkless hero wouldn't lie; all the sudden attention had him slipping back into his old middle school habits. Furiously blushing, stuttering, and making himself look smaller than he actually was. He wasn't very proud of his reaction, but old habits died hard, he supposed.

Though all that discomfort had quickly come to an end once Katsuki snarled at everyone to back off. That Izuku was his. He'd set his palms alight with a minor spark, just for good measure. It hadn't been needed. A few of their friends had already figured the two of them would pair together.

Izuku's discomfort stopped, but his blushing intensified.

"W-we're not lost, Kacchan!" Izuku protested meekly. He squeezed his boyfriend's hand despite his words, needing to feel his presence. The last time they'd been in the woods like this, he'd nearly lost him to a group of villains. "We're the robbers in this game, we're supposed to be hard to find!"

Katsuki merely stared at him with those dark, alluring eyes, drawing Izuku in without a word. That was the main (and only) power shift in their relationship; the fact that Katsuki could mesmerize his boyfriend without even trying to. Izuku dared to say that it worked even better than Shinsou's Quirk.

It was unfair, really.

Sighing, the explosive blond turned his eyes heavenwards, giving Izuku the room to breathe while he scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, but that doesn't mean it should be hard for us to find the way back."

"I-I know the way back!" Izuku protested hotly.

His boyfriend merely raised an eyebrow.

Izuku had come to find that, when Katsuki drank, he mellowed out quite a bit. For some reason, his alcohol tolerance was off the charts, and since Izuku knew that that wasn't due to experience (Katsuki hadn't allowed himself much time to indulge in things like drinking) he brushed it off as genetics. There had been times - although rare - that Izuku's mother had gone off to visit Katsuki's, and hadn't come home until the later hours, drunk off her mind, with a more-than-sober looking Mitsuki calmly carrying her inside and giving Izuku the most apologetic of looks. Ironically, the temperamental woman was usually the one who had downed an entire bottle on her own, while Izuku's mother had only managed to get through a couple of shots.

It was the main reason why Izuku decided on not consuming anything alcoholic.

And considering his boyfriend was already so alike to his mother, Izuku figured that their tolerance for booze was another trait they shared. Katsuki didn't get drunk; he got quiet. Calm. It was the only way Izuku could tell whether his boyfriend had been intoxicated or not. The quickest way to find out was to 'accidentally' bump into him. If you died, then he was probably sober.

"Deku," he started again, slipping his hand out of the other's and tucking it into the pockets of his sweatpants. Izuku tried not to feel too cold at the loss of contact. "You've literally been going around in fucking circles for the past ten minutes."

"Y-you don't k-know that..."

Katsuki nodded his head towards a nearby tree, eyes almost blank as he motioned for Izuku to inspect it closer. They lacked their usual fire, but Izuku didn't mind. Someone other than him calling him 'Kacchan' usually brought that fire back quicker than it had gone. "I've been leaving marks every time we pass this tree," Katsuki explained, and Izuku's face flushed even more when he noticed the light charring on the bark of the tree. He'd been wondering why he smelled smoke every three minutes. "I've blown this thing up three times now."

"I...I-I, uh..."

Katsuki smirked. "Lost for words, are you, nerd?"

Izuku huffed. "Kacchan!"

With a sharp-toothed grin, Katsuki grabbed his hand again, fingers intertwining with Izuku's as he dragged him along. That was another thing Regular Kacchan didn't like but Not-Quite-Drunk Kacchan didn't mind. Displays of affection.

He dragged Izuku into the opposite direction, looking perfectly at ease even when the smaller boy stammered puzzled protests against his actions. "Be quiet, Deku." he finally replied, ducking underneath a tree branch and holding it up for Izuku to slip through. "Just walk with me."

Izuku stiffened, his cheeks reddening as he tried to form a decent, intelligent-sounding reply. But of course, his tongue and brain had decided this would be the perfect moment to shut down.

"T-That- Kacchan, you- uhm." Izuku looked away. "W-we need to get back. The others might worry."

"Fucking let them."

"Kaccha-"

With a sigh, Katsuki drew him in, lips pressing softly against his hairline. He smelled like alcohol, signature smoke and grass (a long story that involved a prank gone wrong and ended with Sero getting punched in the face) as he wrapped strong arms around a stunned Izuku. Had he been 'sober', Izuku would've probably found himself pressed against the nearest tree, Katsuki's lips devouring his own.

And while he would've had exactly zero objections to that, the boy had to admit, he loved Katsuki's hugs almost as much as he loved his kisses.

"You've- we've been dealing with a lot of shit lately," Katsuki started, voice tight as he squeezed Izuku closer once the freckled boy returned the sudden - though not unwelcomed - gesture of affection. He allowed himself to melt into Katsuki's touch, snuggling against his chest like a kitten searching for warmth as Katsuki continued. "If things are already this fucked up now, let alone when we become pros. We won't have time for moments like these anymore. So just...just walk with me." He looked away, his face flushing a light scarlet. "Shitty nerd."

Izuku stared up at him in part surprise and part wonder. What Katsuki was saying wasn't wrong, they really had been busy the past few months. Internships, field training, Quirk enhancement- it was the sole reason they were actually here to begin with. When Kirishima had suggested it, everyone saw it as a chance to unwind after such a long period of continuous training. No one had gotten it into their minds to say no. Even Katsuki had agreed without much protest.

Though because of all that training, the only times Izuku was actually able to see his boyfriend was in class; where all he could do was stare at the back of his head. It had been frustrating, to say the least, especially after having gone through so much to even get to this point. Get to a well-functioning relationship.

He hadn't thought Katsuki had felt the same way.

"Okay," he finally said, after minutes of tense silence. (Katsuki was getting anxious, he could tell) Izuku's hands unwound from around Katsuki's waist and moved down to where the explosive boy had placed his hands on his hips, gently removing them before grasping his hand. Izuku smiled at him, full of affection as he lightly tugged on his boyfriend's hand. "Let's go. For a walk, that is. I'm sure they won't mind too much if we leave for a little while." His expression morphed, playfully shooting the blond a stern look. "A little while," he repeated. "Don't go dragging things out."

Katsuki smirked, the previously bored look he'd been sporting disappearing into one of pure mischief, and Izuku almost paled as he recalled his words. Knowing Katsuki, he'd probably taken it as a challenge.

He leaned closer, close enough for his warm breath to ghost over Izuku's lips. They locked eyes, and the poor boy's breath shot right back into his throat.

"Make me," Katsuki purred, voice barely above a breathless whisper. "Deku."

They didn't come back until four hours later.