Quaran-teens - Chapter 2

[Chapter 1] 

Day Two.

Izuku was a little surprised to wake up to an empty bedroom. He'd half-expected Katsuki to kick him on his way out, or at least wake him up as he opened or closed the door. Instead, though, he'd left the bed neatly made in his wake, and Izuku suspected the faint smell coming from the kitchen was his doing.

“Good morning sweetie!” Inko chimed, the moment Izuku stepped out into the hall. “Did you sleep well?”

“Yeah,” Izuku yawned. “I did, actually. Did you?”

“I did, thank you!”

“Is Kacchan cooking?”

“Sit your ass down, nerd,” Katsuki called in answer. “Stay out of my kitchen!”

Izuku cracked a smile, and Inko giggled, leaning in a little when Izuku sat down on the couch.

“He got up extra early to go grocery shopping, the sweet boy. I woke up to him getting back with so many bags I thought he'd keel over!”

“Not like Deku would do it properly,” Katsuki grumbled. “He'd get himself sick just in the queue.”

“I would not!”

“You'd lick the concrete so no one would take your spot in line.”

“Kacchan!”

Katsuki cracked a smile, and Izuku sighed to himself, turning to look through to the kitchen. There were three pots on the stove, as well as the rice cooker working away on the counter, but Katsuki didn't have an ounce of stress in his body as he moved back and forth between them.

“I went an hour early,” Katsuki explained, much to Izuku's surprise. “Was the first in line, gloved and masked, got in and out before the people behind me even realised the doors were unlocked.”

“Kacchan is amazing.”

“Wasn't gonna let your mom risk getting sick,” he shrugged. “And you wouldn't have been careful enough.”

“He even disinfected everything before he brought it in from the hall,” Inko added. “He changed his gloves, wiped everything down, changed them again to unload into the kitchen, and then took a shower. Meticulous as always!”

“If there's one thing you can count on Kacchan for, it's hygiene,” Izuku smiled fondly. “And blowing stuff up.”

“Damn right, nerd. Whatever, we should have enough food for the lockdown now. More, even, in case it gets extended.”

Izuku looked back when the news started playing on television, eyes widening at the massive queues that wound around the block just to get groceries – Katsuki really had gotten it right, going before opening.

“I don't get it,” Katsuki spoke up, when the empty shelves showed on screen, devoid of the toilet paper people so desperately wanted. “Why the hell would they hoard toilet paper of all things? Do they all live in the dark ages of squat toilets with no bidet?”

“I dunno, I use a fair amount of toilet paper? I'm worried we're gonna run out, now. I hadn't thought about it.”

“You damn heathen, clean your asshole!”

“I do!”

His pout gave way into a smile when Inko giggled at them, shaking her head fondly when they both turned her way.

“It's just nice to have you boys here,” she explained, even Katsuki softening a little at the fondness in her tone. “I missed you both!”

“I missed you too, Mom,” Izuku assured her, shifting closer to hug her lightly. “I feel bad leaving you all alone when I'm at school.”

“You don't need to worry about me, sweetie. Just keep yourself safe, that's what matters most!”

“Deku? Keep himself safe?” Katsuki snorted, ignoring Izuku's glare. “Don't worry, I keep him safe, since he can't seem to get it right.”

Inko actually seemed to be comforted by the words, and Izuku found himself pouting again, torn between glaring or whining at them for their lack of faith.

Then again, the abundance of scars he'd gained since starting high school might have lended a little weight against him.

“You guys are mean,” he answered finally, settling once and for all on whine. “Stop ganging up on me.”

“Thank you for taking care of him, Katsuki-kun,” Inko beamed. “I feel much better knowing he has you to take care of him!”

“You both suck.”

Izuku quickly realised that he'd never really seen Katsuki stressed before. He'd seen angry, anxious, annoyed, but never stressed. As it turned out, he had some odd little coping methods for it – not that Izuku really minded.

The first one was the cooking, which he adamantly did not mind. Every time he sat down, he found a plate shoved in his hand, a gruff voice demanding “taste this, tell me if it's shit.” There were savoury muffins, full of egg and bacon; little pastries filled with berries; even a chocolate chip cookie or two. And that was before the clanging of pans that was Katsuki making dinner.

“It's all so good,” Izuku whined, when Katsuki slapped his hand away from the fridge. “I just want one more cookie!”

“Wait for dinner, asshole! Here I am, cooking for your nerd ass, and you can't even be patient?”

“I'm still gonna eat the dinner!” Izuku insisted, pouting as Katsuki shooed him out of the kitchen. “It smells so good! Kacchan is such a good cook!”

“Then sit your ass down and wait for it.”

With a dramatic sigh, Izuku returned to the dining room, collapsing onto a seat at the table. He gave Katsuki his best puppy-dog eyes when he looked up, but Katsuki seemed unaffected – he'd dealt with too many years of Izuku to be guilted by him, he supposed.

Not to mention he was stubborn.

“Do you think we should go for a walk after dinner?” Izuku suggested, leaning his head on his hand. “Get some fresh air?”

“You want to increase your risk?” Katsuki huffed. “Go for a walk when you're going crazy without it, not on day two.”

“But they said we can! We just wear masks and stay two metres from anyone else and don't touch anything!”

“And what about when some asshole refuses to stay away, huh? What about when you trip the hell over your clumsy-ass feet and end up with your face and hands all over dirty ground? Or you run into some villain that you just have to fight, and suddenly you're exposed to a dozen people because you have to do police reports. Open a damn window if you want fresh air.”

“Okay,” Izuku pouted. “I guess you're right, if a little... obsessive.”

“Damn right I'm right.”

“I think my old weights are still in the closet, so I can still do some exercise that way.”

“I'll make the great sacrifice of sitting on you while you do push-ups if you want.”

“Thanks,” Izuku grinned. “I'll let you know.”

For a few minutes Izuku just watched quietly, examining the way Katsuki moved with such confidence in the kitchen, like he knew exactly where anything and everything was, despite having only been in the apartment for a day. He looked away quickly when Katsuki glanced up, though, distracting himself with his phone so he wouldn't be caught staring.

“Eat it, nerd,” Katsuki grumbled, dumping a plate on the table in front of him. “Don't you dare leave any scraps.”

“Understood! Thanks Kacchan!”

He was a lot kinder about handing over Inko's, when she joined them, his ears even tingeing with pink when she praised him for how good it looked. In a moment of boldness, Izuku reached out, ruffling soft blond spikes and watching them pop back up as his hand moved. He grinned despite the glare it earned him, only retracting his hand when Katsuki shifted to sit down, picking up a fork that Izuku slightly feared might go into his flesh if he didn't cut it out.

“Thanks for dinner, Kacchan! You're gonna be such a good wife one day!”

Katsuki burned bright red, and it took Izuku a moment to catch on, mouth opening and closing repeatedly like a dumb goldfish as he struggled to figure out how to defend himself.

“Any boy or girl would be lucky to have you,” Inko answered instead, smiling her usual kind smile. “It's a pleasure to have you around, Katsuki-kun, please feel free to come back and visit even after this all ends!”

“Y-Yeah,” Katsuki ducked his head, busying himself with cutting his chicken. “Um, thanks.”

[Chapter 3]