Archive of Our Own

Anybody who had met Bakugou Katsuki for even a moment would know that he was an aggressive person. With an almost constant scowl on his face, he was loud, rude, and cussed enough to fill millions of swear jars every year. The only thing that mattered to him was blasting through obstacles and rising to the top.

To prove that point, Katsuki kept himself at the top of the class in all aspects, with his high intellect and impressive control of his Quirk. As for keeping his reputation as a brash hot-head, he talked to even his friends and classmates like they were stupid.

Though, a few weeks before their first year ended and after they returned from the break as class 2-A, Katsuki had been calmer. It was an unexpected change since it hadn't been apparent just a few weeks before. The class didn't mind him yelling less at all, however.

But he was mostly the same, they noted, when he shouted at Kaminari for leaving his dishes in the sink.

Anybody who had met Todoroki Shouto for even a moment would know that he was a stoic person. With an almost constant flat stare, he was polite but reserved. He was in the top five of their class and continued to impress with his dual-wielding Quirk and abilities - more so when he started using his left side.

Like his classmates, he wanted to be a hero. They continued to support him on his road to be the best he could - independent from his father.

Ever since Shouto had befriended Midoriya, he'd been more open with his feelings. He talked more and made jokes delivered monotonously. But since a little more than a month back, he'd started smiling more and seemed more like the teenager he was, rather than the child plagued by Endeavour's expectations.

He was mostly the same, though, they noted, when he simply stared blankly at Kaminari when he made a joke about his fan club.

The two subtle changes in Bakugou Katsuki and Todoroki Shouto had no connection.

At least, it seemed that way.

After all, who would believe that the two had ended up together?

Shouto's day had started like always. He got up, had a quick breakfast, and headed to the first class of the day together with Midoriya, Iida, Asui, and Uraraka.

That was until he was paired up with their resident hot-head for patrol by Aizawa, around the shopping mall in the Kiyashi Ward. Uraraka had voiced her concerns while she got ready to head out for her patrol with Shouji, seeing as Shouto and Katsuki didn't get on very well.

"Don't worry," he'd said. "We'll be fine."

After all, they were dating.

Both he and Bakugou were private people, so they had agreed that it wasn't anyone's business if they were together or not. They didn't do PDA and only let themselves relax when they were alone in one of their dorm rooms.

There was also the fact that his relationship might get back to Endeavour somehow, which Shouto doubted he would appreciate. It wasn't that he cared what his father thought, but it was still an unpleasant possibility.

Despite Katsuki commenting on how many fucking people there were at the mall and that it would be impossible to see any crimes being committed, they found one quite quickly.

A simple robbery, it seemed, as a shopkeeper ran out of her shop, yelling after a man in a hood who ran away with a bag clutched in his hands.

"Stop! Get back here! Someone, please, stop that man!"

Katsuki and Shouto ran up to her and she seemed relieved after seeing their hero costumes. After quickly explaining that he had stolen some of their most expensive jewellery, the two were off in chase of the thief.

"What kind of fucking idiot steals in broad daylight?" Katsuki grunted as they dodged through the crowds. People yelped and threw themselves out of the way as they ran past.

"It's easy to lose someone in these crowds," Shouto said. "Perhaps he has a Quirk that allows him to blend in?"

The man was quite a bit ahead of them, though he wasn't being very inconspicuous with him running full-speed with his hood up and backpack, which was now slung over his shoulder.

"Go left, I'll trap him in the dead-end farther up!" Katsuki pointed straight to the stairs to the side which led down to a big, open area. It was possible to get up to the second floor by another staircase on the other end of the mall.

"Got it."

"Stay right there, asshole," Katsuki grinned sharply, hands crackling. "I'll break your arm if you try anything."

Shouto watched the man attentively, watching for any signs of trying to flee. Not deterred by the hero-in-training's words, the hooded man smiled slyly.

Bracing his legs, Shouto sent a row of ice toward the man as he threw himself straight into the wall. Then, he phased through it and was gone.

"Fuck! That's how he got through the cases in the store! We'll catch him outside – get to the entrance, Icyhot!"

Despite that not being his hero-name, Shouto nodded curtly and the two partners threw themselves off the railing, catching themselves with their Quirks.

Right before the exit, Katsuki slammed into a woman who had her back turned. She yelped as she fell to the floor.

Katsuki groaned, pushing himself back up on his feet before continuing toward the doors. Helping the woman up quickly, Shouto shot her an apology as they resumed their chase, not hearing her flustered yells after them.

That moment was, unbeknownst to them, perhaps one of the best things that could have happened to them.

"Good job on catching the thief. He's in police custody and the stolen goods have been returned to the store." Aizawa showed them a file, "His name is Koike Saburo, his quirk allows him to turn any solid materials into a mist that he can move through. He operates similarly to Lemillion, using it to get through walls and floors."

Shouto felt a sense of pride rise in his chest, with a twinge of annoyance. Katsuki scoffed, "Bastard clearly needs to do more cardio if he wants to escape us."

The fucker obviously didn't expect Katsuki to hold up his promise of breaking his arm.

The words rang out in his head suddenly, surprising Shouto, which was strange, considering it was his thought.

"The fucker thought I was bluffing when I said I'd break his arm," Katsuki smirked, amused.

Shouto stared at him quietly. That was… a strange case of synchronisation. Perhaps they were rubbing off on each other more than they expected.

When they were dismissed for the day and headed to the dorms, Katsuki bumped his elbow into his side.

"The hell's up with you?"

Concern flooded his system, and Shouto furrowed his brows. "Are you hurt?"

Katsuki looked at him strangely, "What the hell are you on about? You're the one being all quiet."

The concern was abruptly replaced with confusion.

"I'm perfectly fine. I did worry when that thief got a hit in, though."

Katsuki's eyes softened slightly. Subtle enough of a change that nobody else would notice it. "Idiot. Takes more than that to hurt me."

He really was beautiful, Shouto realised, not for the first time. With his crimson eyes gleaming in the light of the sunset and his messy hair from the chase, reflecting the rays to form something not unlike a halo around him. He was so strong, too – pinning down the culprit with his own body, snarking out insults as they handcuffed him.

Always unstoppable. Always unapologetically himself. Refusing to bend to others' expectations of what a hero should be like, cursing up a storm even while handling a child with gentle, warm hands. The same hands that were so capable of destruction.

Shouto smiled softly at him, "I know. You're incredible."

A startled cough came from the blond, "You can't just say that, you bastard."

"It's true."

"...You were pretty cool when you handed him to the police, I guess."

The affection Shouto felt for him at that moment was enough to make his smile widen.

Katsuki moved fluently around the kitchen in the dorms, chopping vegetables and stirring the pot without trouble. Shouto switched from doing his homework to looking at his boyfriend every few seconds. His friends were sitting at the table around him, discussing questions they didn't understand and chatting about other things.

The desire to both be closer to Katsuki and get something to soothe his dry mouth made Shouto get up from the table with a curt, "Be right back."

He lightly brushed his fingers across Katsuki's lower back when he passed by, opening a cabinet to grab a glass. Katsuki didn't react with anything but a soft glance that made Shouto's stomach flip.

As he was filling his glass with water from the tap, an uneasy feeling crept up his neck. Before he knew what he was doing, he put his right hand out to the side, slightly below the counter, all while taking a sip of his water.

A knife landed in his outstretched hand after Katsuki accidentally knocked it off the counter with his elbow.

Shouto put it back on the cutting board as he passed by again. Katsuki sent him an incredulous look, speaking under his breath, "How the fuck did you catch that?"

The dual-wielder shrugged lightly, "Just a feeling." 

Shouto was sitting next to Midoriya in the cafeteria, eating his lunch when it hit him.

The anger.

It was completely out of nowhere and made him clench his jaw, hard enough that it hurt. His chopsticks snapped in his hand.

Midoriya looked over at him, shocked green eyes flickering between his face and hands. "U-um, are you okay, Todoroki…?"

The anger only intensified – simmering under his skin, threatening to break out at any moment. His left side tingled and writhed as if wanting to burn the whole building down.

He felt his eyes narrow into an icy glare against his will as he looked over at Midoriya. The boy seemed taken aback, stuttering out half-finished questions. Uraraka and Iida similarly looked floored at his sudden change in disposition.

"Fine," Shouto bit out. He really wanted to break something. Or someone.

As soon as his thought registered, a face popped into his head. Light blue eyes, blond hair, and a cocky smirk.

He turned his glare over to where he knew Katsuki was sitting with his friends. Monoma Neito was standing next to the table, obviously trying to rile up the infamously short-fused teenager.

Katsuki slammed his hands on the table and stood, glaring at Monoma as his hands crackled. Shouto barely noticed himself rising out of his seat and stalking over until he was already behind the 2-B student.

"Huh, Todoroki?" He heard Kirishima ask from his seat.

Katsuki's gaze switched over to him. His scowl turned into raised eyebrows and somewhat wider eyes. Shouto wasn't sure what his own expression had to look like to make the usually unflappable Bakugou Katsuki react in such a way.

Monoma whipped his head around and, almost comically, brought his gaze up from Shouto's chest to his face. The height difference was just enough that Shouto had to look slightly downward.

Though he was clearly caught off guard, Monoma quickly straightened back up and sneered at him.

"Another 2-A student. The one who can't even use his Quirk properly, nonetheless."

Shouto stared icily at him, utterly silent. He could feel the gazes on them from all over the cafeteria. The orange-haired girl from 2-B unfortunately didn't seem to be around.

"I heard you and Bakugou here took down a thief a few days ago - but not before letting him escape first!" He laughed obnoxiously, the sound grating on Shouto's eardrums.

Leaning forward, Shouto spoke quietly, not sure where the words came from. The anger had come out of nowhere and was directed at someone he hadn't even known was around at first.

"Since I can't control my quirk, wouldn't I be let off easy if I happened to burn somebody's face off?"

Amusement flared up in his chest at the same time Katsuki barked out a laugh. Monoma's face paled further than it already had. He coughed out another insult that went ignored before scurrying off.

The anger dissipated as easily as it had appeared, leaving Shouto confused. He glanced over at Katsuki, who was still snickering as he caught his gaze.

"Bakugou," Shouto greeted casually, nodding at his boyfriend, as if he was only then noticing his presence.

Katsuki's grin slid off his face, replaced with a glare that had way too much amusement in it for Shouto to be fooled. "Half-and-half," he greeted the same way.

As Shouto turned on his heel and returned to his table, he heard Kaminari let out a long sigh before muttering, "What the hell was that?"

Over the next two weeks, there were more and less subtle situations that struck Shouto as odd.

He sat in class writing his notes when he suddenly felt irrationally annoyed at Kaminari. He'd get angry almost every day, at random things and people. Other times he would abruptly be struck by adoration for Katsuki, looking up only to see the former already staring at him.

Moreover, multiple times he'd looked at Midoriya and wanted to sneer at him – not out of anger, but of habit.

Which was strange, because he didn't have such a habit.

Shouto definitely knew somebody who did, though.

He sat on the floor in Katsuki's room, who was across the low table from him, focussing on his homework. Shouto supposed he should just voice his theory.

"I think I can feel your emotions," he said.

Katsuki's hand stopped in the motion of writing something. Red eyes slowly came up to look at him.

"I hate to say it, but I think so too."

Shouto smiled, "You do?"

With a groan, Katsuki put his pencil down and spread his hands out incredulously. "There's no way I would look at Deku and feel," he grimaced, "fond."

"Aren't you childhood friends?"

Guilt, anger, and regret welled up in him, the mix of it enough to make Shouto physically recoil. Katsuki noticed and cussed under his breath.

"I don't wanna talk about it," he said. "But you can feel it anyway, can't you, you bastard?"

Shouto tried not to let the feelings that felt so much like his own affect his words, "I don't think it's my fault we can feel each other's emotions... Should we tell Mr. Aizawa about this?"

Since a couple of weeks back, Katsuki had been feeling different.

When he'd been eating dinner with the other extras he'd been struck with sudden adoration for cold soba.

While in class he'd suddenly been confused despite already knowing all the answers to the questions.

When Kirishima had put an arm around his shoulder, instead of swearing and shrugging him off, he'd felt relaxed and… happy.

At the same time that happened, Shouto had been relaxing on the couch, watching cat videos.

It was weird, no doubt about it.

He was paired up against Shouto during a sparring session and they hadn't gotten a single hit in on each other, only dodging and blocking each blow without blinking.

But when he and Shouto were paired up together, they worked seamlessly. They'd absolutely destroyed Ponytail and Dunce Face. They moved like one person without even uttering a word to each other.

Shitty Hair had told him they'd been "terrifyingly efficient."

There was also the fact that when Deku started muttering under his breath at a hundred words per second, instead of getting annoyed, he'd felt fond. Like he would when Shouto tilted his head in confusion. And said boyfriend had been looking at Deku with a small smile.

It was really fucking weird.

So when Shouto told him he thought they could feel each other's emotions, his first thought was that it made a lot of fucking sense.

When he then asked if they should tell their homeroom teacher, Katsuki's first thought was yes, I don't wanna feel someone else's stupid emotions.

But then he thought about it.

The way they worked together better than ever before. How they somehow knew if one of them dropped something or was about to enter a room.

Not to mention that it made him feel safe, knowing that Shouto's feelings for him were real – and the fact that Katsuki could automatically tell if he was injured. That was certainly a bonus.

A smirk grew on his face, making Shouto raise his eyebrows in question.

"Nah. Let's keep it a secret for now."

Shouto chuckled softly, propping his chin onto his hand. "I can feel your intentions, you know."

"Then you get that this is the best way to mess with people, right?"

Katsuki could already imagine their classmates' confusion when they got their asses handed to them even worse than before.

"I suppose it could be fun... You're not worried about how this happened, though? If this is the result of somebody's Quirk, we don't know if there are any side-effects."

Katsuki grunted, "It's been two weeks, I think we'd have noticed. And what kind of villain would use this on us?"

"It was more likely a civilian or another student, probably by accident... Do you remember coming into contact with anybody unfamiliar?"

"Not really." The only person I'm touchy with is you, anyway.

Shouto smiled at him in a way that made Katsuki's mind reel. It was practically the whole reason he fell in love in the first place.

"I know. Me too."

"You don't know anything, you Half-and-half bastard," Katsuki grumbled, feeling a blush creep up his neck. He turned back to his homework. "Finish your assignment."

Later in the common room, Kirishima casually put an arm around Katsuki's shoulder, making the boy scowl and curse at the redhead. He tellingly didn't force the arm off him.

I can feel your fondness for him, Shouto thought deliberately, smiling in their direction.

When Katsuki caught his gaze, he narrowed his eyes. Shut the fuck up, Shouto could practically hear him saying. He wondered if he actually was. It had to be some form of telepathy, he figured, based on the evidence so far.

Shouto widened his own eyes in faux-innocence. I didn't say anything.

The glare deepened but ultimately had no effect as Shouto could feel the amusement radiating from him. He had to push down a chuckle when Midoriya asked him what he thought about a new up and coming hero.

Katsuki woke up in the middle of the night, chest tight with a familiar sense of panic. But it wasn't his – it wasn't him that woke up from a nightmare for once, reliving the worst moments of his life.

Images flashed in his head of boiling water, a panicking woman pressing her hands to his (no, not his, someone else's) face. Then pain – excruciating pain all over and the screaming and crying that followed.

A man so, so familiar, yelling at him to be better and stronger – to be the perfect soldier he was made to be. Pushing past his limits until he passed out.

Gentle faces with concerned frowns and words. Someone important – red hair turned white and teal, anguished eyes suddenly void from his life.

The burning hatred for himself (not himself, not Katsuki's despise) and at his Quirk. A white-haired woman sitting by a window, the walls around her a stark white.

A voice that had brought Katsuki both comfort and anger all throughout his life. "It's your power, isn't it!?"

And the doubt and guilt following – is it really my Quirk, though? He made me just because of the chance that I would inherit the best of both my parents. Who am I supposed to be, if not a perfect creation? The point of my entire existence is to be the best. To surpass everybody.

Then, the sight of Katsuki himself from somebody else's eyes. The same familiar teal eyes from his childhood, carrying an unfamiliar hatred. Those eyes belonging to a man with a face and hands marred with scars – those same hands holding onto Katsuki's neck.

"Don't come, Deku," spat from his own mouth.

The overwhelming fear that consumed him (no, no, no, not him – someone he knew, someone he loved) after the portal closed.

Katsuki breathed heavily, hands trembling and sweat spreading the nauseating smell of burnt sugar through the room. Emotions changed quickly enough to give him whiplash.

Panic, guilt, anger, fear – despair.

Heaving himself out of his sweat-soaked sheets, Katsuki wobbled over to the door of his room on unsteady legs. He opened it as quietly as he could, knowing it was pitch black outside and everyone was asleep. Except for maybe Eyebags and Bird Brain.

Either way, he tried to mute the sound of his bare feet against the wooden floor as he moved toward the lift. He pressed the button for Shouto's floor, feeling as if he was being pulled toward him by an invisible force.

Now that his mind was clearer he knew the person whose eyes he saw through was his boyfriend. He knew Shouto had nightmares – quite a few of their classmates did, including the both of them. They had confided in each other, being the only ones they trusted enough to be vulnerable around in that way. But seeing and feeling it himself was a whole other thing.

It was disquieting.

He bumped his hand lightly on the door to the room he entered almost as often as his own. There was the quiet sound of shuffling from inside before the door cracked open.

Shouto's mismatched eyes that Katsuki could drown in, even as red-rimmed and exhausted as they were, met his own. Without a word he stepped to the side to let Katsuki inside.

They both sat down on his futon, still silent. After a minute they ended up lying down, legs tangled under the duvet.

Katsuki spoke first, voice hushes enough not to disturb the atmosphere. Shouto reached out and laced his hand with Katsuki's, holding them in between their bodies on the futon.

"I love you."

They had never said those words before, but they had thought it. They knew it every time they looked at each other, feeling it amplified because of the Quirk.

Shouto breathed out softly, relieved. "I love you, too."

His chest swelled with affection from the both of them.

"Seriously," Katsuki said, just as softly, "I really love you. You're not a soldier or a perfect creation. You're Todoroki Shouto, the strongest bastard I know and the only one worthy enough to date me."

He almost expected the joke to fall flat, but Shouto leaned in and kissed him gently.

It still made his heart pound even after all these months.

"Thank you," Shouto said after a few quiet moments of them breathing the same air. "I do know, but it's still difficult to believe that I'm my own person sometimes."

"Endeavour can go to hell, but nothing he can do will change the fact that you're gonna be a kickass hero one day."

Katsuki kissed him again, trying to convey that he understood and was with him every step of the way. He never would have thought that he'd be so sappy with someone, but he wouldn't have it any other way now.

"Not better than me, though."

Shouto breathed out a quiet laugh, "Of course. Thank you, Katsuki." They stared at each other for a minute before he spoke again. "I love you very much. It's nice to be able to say that."

"I was first this time, though," Katsuki smirked a bit.

They shared a laugh.

A few months ago when they started dating, Shouto had gone up to Katsuki after school and said "I like you. As more than a friend." With a straight face and all.

Katsuki's first thought then had been to exclaim that they weren't exactly friends, but he instead replied with "I like you too, you damn bastard! Fuck you, I was supposed to say it first!"

Since then it had been somewhat of an inside joke whenever one of them did something before the other, whether it was centred around their relationship or not.

"I'll be first next time," Shouto countered. "Do you want to return to your room?"

"No," Katsuki shuffled closer, their hair mixing on the pillows. "I'll stay here."

"Icyhot, what's, ah, up with you today?" Katsuki breathed, shuddering when Shouto's hands went under his shirt and over his waist.

The mix of hot and cold on his bare skin was dizzying. The half-and-half bastard clearly knew it, too.

Shouto hummed in between kisses, "I want to touch you, that's all. And now that we can feel each other, it's…" he pressed a long kiss to Katsuki's lips, tongues intertwined, "...overwhelming."

Katsuki tangled his hand into red and white hair with his other bunched up on the front of Shouto's shirt. "In a good way, I fucking hope."

He knew what he meant, though. He could feel the love and pleasure twofold because of the damn Quirk that hit them.

"Definitely," Shouto confirmed, kissing his jaw and moving to his neck. Sucking a mark onto his smooth skin, Shouto admired it, running his thumb over the quickly reddening bruise. "You're all mine, right?"

Snorting, Katsuki cupped his face and tilted it up so they were looking at each other. Shouto's cheeks were smushed in a way that made him look adorable, especially with his suddenly confused expression.

"What a stupid question," he said, squeezing gently. "I'm yours," he continued, brushing his thumbs over his cheekbones, "and you're mine. You're not getting out of this relationship that easy."

Shouto kissed him again, slowly and turning Katsuki's insides to mush before responding.

"I wouldn't dream of it."

All twenty students of 2-A stood before Thirteen, Aizawa, and All Might. Despite the latter's retirement from hero work he had decided to remain a teacher, since he wanted to teach the students whatever he could.

"Hello, everyone!" Thirteen chirped, clapping her hands together. "Today we'll be doing rescue training in groups! There will be four groups with five students in each one. Two of those will be civilians, spread out in the zones, trapped in buildings or stuck under rubble."

She gestured down the stairs toward the various areas of USJ. "The third group will be the heroes, with the fourth being the villains. The objectives for the two groups are the same – get to the civilians before the other group does!"

After explaining how they would need to save or "kill" the first two groups (with capture tape, not actually, to Katsuki's only half-joking disappointment) she told them they would be switching teams after every round so they could all experience the different roles.

"Should the villains and heroes encounter each other, they of course need to try and capture them, as well," she continued. Thirteen looked over to the other two teachers, "Anything you would like to add?"

Aizawa looked over at his class, "Don't be too rough on each other while fighting, we do not need any broken bones or internal bleeding today." Nobody mentioned his lingering gaze on Midoriya and Bakugou, who looked sheepish and annoyed respectively. "And remember that in certain buildings your Quirk could prove hazardous. Try to keep collateral damage to a minimum, if you will."

All Might nodded along with a small smile but had nothing else to say. Thirteen turned back to the class, "Then, let's split you into groups!"

For the first round, Shouto was put in the hero group along with Kirishima, Shinsou, Jirou, and Ashido. He looked over at Katsuki, who was in the villain group with Satou, Uraraka, Shouji, and Hagakure. His boyfriend returned the look and despite his facial expression not changing, Shouto could feel his determination.

Stay out of my way if you don't wanna get blasted.

The dual-wielder smiled slightly. Go ahead and try.

Shouto had found three of his classmates on the civilian team when a sharp pain erupted in his abdomen. It was sudden and harsh enough that his knees buckled. A white-hot ache spread throughout his torso, spiking in his left shoulder.

"Todoroki! What's wrong?" Iida exclaimed worriedly, having just been "saved" from the conflagration zone. He bent down and placed a warm hand on Shouto's back.

Shouto opened his mouth to respond but could only let his words turn into a sound of pain as it seared over his back.

"I'll get Mr. Aizawa, wait here!"

Can't do much else, Shouto thought sarcastically, surprising himself. His friend was simply worried and, to be frank, so was he. He'd been standing up and helping Iida out of the zone just a moment ago.

He tried to get his breathing steady as he pushed himself back upon his legs. It made no sense – he hadn't even encountered anyone from the villain team-

Shouto's breath caught, but not from pain.

Katsuki.

Running out of the zone, following the pulling feeling in his chest, he ignored the throbbing in his limbs. He had to find Katsuki. Something was wrongwrongwrong. They weren't supposed to seriously hurt their classmates, Aizawa had even specifically reminded them of that.

Katsuki was one of the strongest people he knew, in multiple ways. He would be fine. It was probably an accident – a minor one – not somebody actually trying to hurt him.

He would be okay.

Shouto could only hope that was true as he rushed to where his heart led him.

Katsuki had fallen out of a building.

He'd been fighting with Kirishima when he set off an explosion right when the other had kicked him. His Quirk had caught one of the walls, breaking it further and leaving him tumbling down four floors.

Shouto couldn't get the feeling out of his head. It crawled under his skin and left him… scared. Not the pain, no – that was bad but nothing he couldn't handle.

It was the horrifying nothing he felt when Katsuki lost consciousness.

Shouto had thought for a moment that his own heart stopped when the pain was replaced with a hollowness he could only describe as terrifying. Especially after almost a month of feeling Katsuki's every emotion.

Recovery Girl hadn't healed him, claiming it would drain too much energy. Energy that he didn't have right then. He got patched up the old-fashioned way and was resting in the infirmary.

"It seems he'll make a full recovery, but we'll have to wait until he wakes up," she'd said.

That was five hours ago.

Shouto could almost feel every second ticking by as he sat on his futon in the dorms, staring at his hands.

Nobody except Aizawa was allowed to see him until he was awake. Shouto wanted to protest, but when he felt a steady thud-thud-thud in his chest that wasn't his own heartbeat, he'd concurred.

He didn't know how long it had been when he felt confusion stirring in his head. Shooting up from his mattress, he almost slipped on the floor on his way out. He ran out of the dorms, kicking on his shoes as he ignored the confused questions from behind him.

When he got to the infirmary, he slid the door open so hard that it banged against the wall. He was panting as his eyes locked onto Katsuki's form in one of the beds.

Recovery Girl was next to him, checking his temperature and giving him some water. She looked over at Shouto when he neared.

"Hello, dear. You're right on time," she smiled gently, "he was asking for you just a few seconds ago. Mind you, he's on quite heavy painkillers right now and has a concussion, so he might not be in complete control of what he says. I'll be right over here if you need me, and Mr. Aizawa is on his way."

When she returned to her desk, Shouto took a seat next to Katsuki's bed. The blond looked over at him, grimacing slightly at the pain over his spine as he turned his head. Shouto knew because he could feel it too.

"'Sup, hottie," Katsuki mumbled, words almost melding together.

Shouto smiled back weakly, hoping to disguise his concern because he knew Katsuki would tell him not to worry. He failed, going off the expression on Katsuki's face.

"Hard t'hide your feelings fr'me," he said quietly, voice raspy, "cause, y'know, I can feel 'em too." He waved a hand in the air dismissively, an action that was at once endearing and ridiculous.

"I know. I was just worried."

Worried I'd lose the love of my life. The one person who makes me feel like I belong somewhere in this world.

Katsuki's brilliant red eyes were half-lidded and somehow became softer than they already were. "S'okay, m'all good. Back t'kickin' your ass soon."

"That's a relief." Shouto couldn't describe how much of a relief, but he hoped Katsuki felt it. A dull ache spread through his body and he felt exhausted all of a sudden. He wasn't even sure if it was due to the Quirk that time.

"Y'big sap," Katsuki drawled teasingly, but the words were laced with fondness. He stretched his hand out to let Shouto take it, squeezing as hard as he could in his state.

They sat in silence for a few peaceful moments before Katsuki yawned. Shouto told him to rest, that he would be there when he woke up.

"'Kay, just don't miss class tomorrow," Katsuki said slowly, clearly fighting sleep. He was going to be stubborn until the end, it seemed.

"I won't."

As he watched Katsuki's breathing even out and felt his hand go slack in his, Shouto was struck by just how much he truly loved him. How much he would do for him.

I won't ever love anybody else like this. Only him.

Bakugou Katsuki, the one person he wanted to die with. To spend the rest of his breathing moments alongside. Life wouldn't have a point anymore without him and his snarky comments, sparking hands, and loving smiles reserved just for Shouto.

My reason for breathing. The one I want to spend the rest of my life beside.

"You bastard…"

Shouto opened his eyes, not realising that he closed them in the first place. Katsuki's eyes were half-open once more, shiny with what looked like tears.

"...I'm sorry," Shouto said after a couple of seconds. Maybe Katsuki didn't feel the same and was uncomfortable at what Shouto felt and thought.

"Y'should be. I was… supposed to… say it first."

The words startled a small laugh out of Shouto, filled with relief. His own eyes got wet as he pressed a kiss to Katsuki's hand. "Of course. God, Katsuki, I love you so much," he breathed.

"Love you… too, Shouto." Katsuki focused on breathing for a few seconds before he drank some more water with the help of his partner. "Y'don't think Aizawa'll let this go, d'ya?"

With how quickly Shouto found him and the state he himself had been in when he carried Katsuki toward the entrance of USJ? No, he did not expect Aizawa to dismiss it.

They would have to reveal the Quirk they suspected hit them, and probably their relationship as well.

They both knew Aizawa cared for them all and wouldn't judge them, but it was still a little nerve-wracking to tell him about such personal matters. He hoped they wouldn't have to go too far into detail.

"No," he replied finally, "I don't believe he will."

As they both suspected, Aizawa did not let it go. It had been a day before Recovery Girl used her Quirk on Katsuki, but now he was back to his regular schedule.

Aizawa held them back in the classroom while the rest of the class left. They sat in their seats, Katsuki looking bored and Shouto feeling slightly uncomfortable.

"So, do you want to tell me what exactly happened at USJ? Bakugou, I know what happened to you was an accident. But Todoroki, you seemed as in pain as Bakugou would have, had he been conscious." He levelled them with a stare, "But when he was taken back to school it seemed like you weren't fully present."

Aizawa sighed when they both remained silent, clasping his hands together on the podium at the front of the classroom. Shouto tried his best to convey his question to Katsuki without saying anything.

Do you want to inform him about the quirk?

"You're not in trouble, but I have a hard time believing that was just Todoroki's worry getting to him. There have also been the times you've been paired up during previous classes. You worked together better than ever before, but I know you haven't been training together during your free time."

They remained silent yet again, and Shouto didn't feel anything notable from Katsuki.

"So," Aizawa drawled, "what happened, exactly?"

Fine.

Shouto opened his mouth, but Katsuki beat him to it. "When we caught that dumbass thief at the mall a month and a half ago, we think we got hit by a Quirk."

A raised eyebrow was directed at them both. "Pray tell," their teacher said, unamused.

"A Quirk that allows us to feel each other's emotions, Sir," Shouto explained. "It seems to extend to pain and physical states. I suspect also reflexes, certain habits, and intentions are also shared."

"He caught a knife I knocked over the counter," Katsuki shrugged. "It helps us work together, obviously, so it's not a big deal."

"Except for when one of you get injured, you mean," Aizawa said. He sighed again, rubbing his eyes with his index finger and thumb. "You didn't inform me of this because you believe it's not a big deal?"

Technically we didn't figure it out for a while, Shouto thought. The rhetorical question hung in the air before Aizawa continued.

"That's not all, is it? You would think feeling each other's emotions would be intimate... Yet, there haven't been any instances of you blowing up the dorms or fighting during classes."

Katsuki stared at him, posture and expression revealing nothing. But Shouto felt the anxiety under his façade.

"We're dating, so it doesn't bother us."

Shouto smiled, ducking his head to hide it. Aizawa's stunned silence was almost enough to make him laugh.

Almost.

"...I see."

"May we leave now, Mr. Aizawa?" Shouto quickly composed himself, tilting his head to accompany his polite tone.

"...Yes, you may go. Just – don't cause any more trouble, got it?"

Katsuki sent their homeroom teacher a mocking two-finger salute as they left the classroom. "'Course not, Teach."

Despite the blond's obviously sarcastic reply, Shouto caught sight of Aizawa's exasperated smile as he muttered "problem children" to himself.

Roughly six months had passed since the Quirk started when Katsuki woke up and didn't feel the grounding thud-thud-thud in his chest that wasn't his own heartbeat.

For a second he panicked, mind filling with all of the things that could have happened to his boyfriend. He hurried over to Shouto's room. When the boy opened the door and looked fine, if not a bit tired, he relaxed.

"Seems the Quirk's worn off," he said, ignoring the pang of disappointment within. Something about being able to feel Shouto's emotions was relaxing and made him feel safe. Comfortable.

Whatever. We were fine before the Quirk, we'll be fine now.

A smile tugged on Shouto's lips as he leaned against the doorway, "I agree, it was nice, feeling things from your perspective."

Katsuki blinked. "I didn't even fucking say anything."

"I know. Seems we know each other well enough even without a Quirk." His half-smile turned into a full one. "We're going to continue being on top, right?"

Huffing, Katsuki returned the smile with a slightly dangerous edge to it. "Damn right we are, Half-and-half."

They went over to the lift together, heading down to the first floor. It was a couple of hours until class started.

This idiot definitely wants to eat soba for breakfast, he thought, noticing Shouto licking his lips and drifting off.

"We're out of soba, we'll get some later. By the way, the old man and hag invited you over for dinner this weekend."

He'd honestly much rather stay in the dorms and enjoy the building being almost completely empty as they usually were over the weekend. His mum always wanted to gush over their relationship and reminisce about dumb memories.

"We're not staying here all weekend, Katsuki. I'll go."

"Ugh, whatever. You better not make the hag bring out the baby photos again!"

"I wouldn't dream of it."