"I can't believe I got assigned with damn Deku of all people," Katsuki grumbled, attaching his gauntlets to his hero suit.

"It'll be fine, Bakugo, it's just patrol!" Kirishima just said, flashing Katsuki a sharp-toothed grin as he put on his ridiculous sleeves.

"You say that like Deku and I don't see each other all the damn time. It's like the universe puts him on a silver platter in front of me!"

"You say that like it's not exactly where you want him," Ashido snickered.

"Shut up, Raccoon Eyes, you don't know shit." Of course, Katsuki knew that was a lie – only Ashido knew that he actually like-liked Deku, and he had since the end of their first year. They were second years now, and his absurd crush on the damn nerd only seemed to have gotten worse.

"Oh, Baku, I know more than shit, I'd say," Ashido giggled.

"Shut your mouth before I do it for you."

Ashido snickered, but she left him alone. Katsuki shook his head, and then headed to the grounds where the bus was waiting. Of course barely anyone's here yet. Just Glasses, Ponytail, Half'n'Half, and Deku. Big whoop.

Katsuki let out an irritated grunt. "Can't those idiots make it somewhere on time?"

"Kacchan, don't call our classmates idiots."

"Exactly! Bakugo-kun, please show respect to your fellow peers!"

"They ain't my fellow anything. Most of 'em are just a bunch of dumbasses," Katsuki retorted.

"Bakugo, as a hero, you should be watching your language better, considering you'll be exposed to the media frequently," Aizawa cut in, walking over with Eri in his arms. "Your flashy Quirk ensures that you'll be in the spotlight often, and your impression upon the public will depend on your attitude towards them."

Of course, now that Eri was here, Katsuki knew he had to switch to a G rating.

Which meant he couldn't flip off Half'n'Half for saying, "Of course, that's something I learned the hard way, Bakugo. You would do well to learn from my own errors rather than being as typical of an idi - "

Deku had covered Todoroki's mouth before he could say anything more. Tch.

"You're not jelly, are you, Baku?" Ashido, who'd only just reached, elbowed Katsuki in the side.

"F – Shove off," Katsuki growled, tearing his eyes away from Deku and Todoroki, who were way too close for Katsuki's comfort. Hell, Deku was whispering something in Todoroki's fucking ear. "Where are the rest of the morons?"

Ashido just shrugged. Real fuckin' helpful.

It took what felt like hours, but finally, everyone had reached the meeting grounds.

"Deku, let's go," Katsuki said, grabbing Deku's arm to drag him away the moment Aizawa had allowed them to disperse.

"Wh—Kacchan, wait a sec—" Deku had managed to say, before Katsuki realized Deku had tripped over his own shoelaces.

"Why the ever-loving f—why do you have shoelaces on your hero costume, Deku?" What kind of idiot move was that? Shoelaces on a hero costume were impractical—they'd end up being a nuisance, getting tripped over or caught in something, maybe even set on fire, which would be an instant cause of danger to a hero and anyone he tried to save.

"Um," Deku said helpfully, "I don't know."

"Fu—freaking superb, nerd. You should take it up with the support department before it screws you over."

"I should," Deku agreed.

Katsuki huffed, but let it drop. "We're gonna be patrolling the southernmost areas of Musutafu, close to Shizuoka."

"Alright," Deku nodded, activating One For All, then bounded across the buildings, even stopping to smile and wave ta civilians. He'll make a damn good hero, Katsuki thought absently, launching himself into the air with a few explosions.

Thankfully, the rest of the patrol was a fairly quiet affair. They managed to hold up a purse snatcher and turn them in, and they stopped a passerby from using her fire-based Quirk to burn up a newspaper, but other than that, the streets were calm.

The two of them were only a short way off from U.A. when Katsuki felt Deku grab his hand. "Whaddya want, nerd?"

Deku didn't meet his eyes. "Can we . . . deviate from the patrol path for a bit?"

Sensing that something was wrong—of course, for Deku of all people to suggest that they directly disobey Aizawa's patrol order and miss a chance of anything less than an exemplary grade in heroics practices meant that something was wrong—Katsuki complied.

Deku let go of Katsuki's hand and sprung away, leaping from building to building, and Katsuki couldn't help but marvel at how Deku looked almost ethereal in the moonlight, bathed in the soft green glow of One For All as he smiled at Katsuki and gestured for him to follow.

Almost like a mythical spirit leading Katsuki into what was definitely a trap. Something important's gonna happen now, isn't it?

Katsuki pushed down the thought, and let out several light explosions from his palms, propelling him after Deku until they reached the top of a bank building.

Deku kept One For All active, its now-familiar crackle comforting to Katsuki as well, prompting Katsuki to let his own palms crackle a little with a few explosive pops.

"Kacchan," Deku said quietly, not looking at Katsuki, but at the city spread out before them, "I've been thinking . . ."

"Fuck, I better run, then," Katsuki grinned, casting a sidelong glance at Deku.

"Hmph." Deku nudged his shoulder against Katsuki's. "I've gotten better with safer plans, Kacchan. But anyway, I've been wondering . . . if something happens to me . . . can you take One For All from me?"

Katsuki instantly turned to glare at Deku, who interrupted him before he could say anything. "I'm not planning on getting myself hurt or anything, Kacchan. But . . . just as a safety precaution. There could always be more villains like All For One and Shigaraki out there, you know? I don't want One For All to die with me if I end up . . ."

"Shut up, shitty nerd." Katsuki looked Deku in the eye. "You're not gonna fuckin' kick the bucket before you pick a successor. All Might gave you that Quirk because he knew that you'd make it to be the best of the best. I ain't gonna let that shit pass. I won't take your fucking Quirk after you've made it your own, so eat shit."

Deku sighed, seeming a little more confident, but Katsuki could tell that Deku hadn't been satisfied with his answer. "Kacchan . . ."

"Look, Deku. You're sayin' you're scared that your Quirk's gonna die with you, but guess what? No one else knows you've got All Might's Quirk. You ain't hot shit, but you're strong. I've invested too much of my own goddamn time and effort to help you figure your shit out to let you and One For All die."

Deku smiled. "Thanks, Kaccha—"

"I wasn't fuckin' finished. You're gonna be the best hero ever, so get your ass on that and stop thinking about dying, 'cause that shit ain't happening until you're like, eighty and by fuck I'll be there to make sure of it."

Katsuki couldn't quite interpret the look on Deku's face when he turned to face him.

But, slowly, shyly, even, Deku's gloved hands reached closer to Kacchan's face, and he removed the black mask from Katsuki's face, gently setting it down next to him.

"Deku . . . ?"

Deku made no movement to explain what he was doing. Instead, he just shuffled closer to Katsuki and gently held Katsuki's face in his hands. "Thank you, Kacchan," he breathed, his thumbs gently gliding over Katsuki's cheekbones.

Had it been anyone else, their hands would have been blown up by now. But no, this was Deku, the same Deku who'd always been familiar to Katsuki, the same Deku who knew exactly what Katsuki was.

So Katsuki let him.

And Katsuki continued to let him, as Deku's face drew closer, even as he could feel Deku's breath on his face. "Kacchan . . . may I?"

Katsuki couldn't find the words to respond without snapping, so instead, he just closed his eyes and let Deku's lips meet his own.

The kiss was innocent, nothing further than a touch of Deku's lips on Katsuki's own, yet somehow . . .

Somehow, it was perfect.

He found himself not minding in the slightest when Deku pulled away, his face bright red with embarrassment—and Katsuki was sure his was the same.

"Heh, fuckin' nerd. You look like a tomato." God, I love you, Katsuki thought. Maybe things could go smoothly from now on.

That, of course, never happened—the next day's edition of Hero News Headlines had already capitalized on this little tidbit, and Two of UA's Most Promising Future Heroes Found Locking Lips?! had made the front page.

Katsuki groaned as he tossed the newspaper aside. Normally, HNH had good shit to read about, but for whatever reason, the only thing headlining today was his fucking kiss with Deku.

Ashido was gonna lose her shit.

Good thing I'm never gonna come out of this room, then, Katsuki decided, knowing his face was blowing up in a fucking blush.