A Careful EmbrAce - Chapter 7 [Final!]

Katsuki jumped when his door slammed open, his pen clattering from his hand to the desk as he whirled around to look. He half-expected to see Izuku in the doorway, the only one generally bold enough to burst in on him unannounced (for good reason, he was willing to admit) but instead he found his idiot friends fighting to be first through the door, faces and bodies squished together as they clawed their way in.

“Priiiiiide!” Mina yelled over their heads, giving everyone one last shove and sending them careening through the door, tripping over their own feet. “Blastyyyyy!”

He blinked at her, stunned, as she climbed neatly over her squad, throwing a large sheet over Katsuki's head and draping it around his shoulders. When he looked down, he recognised the colours immediately, his hand curling weakly into the fabric as he tried to process.

“For me?” he asked stupidly, cursing himself for it immediately.

“Yeah!” Eijirou grinned, worming his way out from underneath Hanta's sprawled form. “We found it online and thought it was about time you had something to decorate with!”

“Yeah dude, this room is so boring,” Denki nodded, stumbling a little as he climbed to his feet. “At least you can get a little colour into it – I mean, one stripe of it. Trust you to pick the flag that was seventy-five percent monochrome.”

“When did you learn percentages?” Katsuki asked, the teasing weak even for him, but getting a laugh all the same. “I, um... Thanks.”

“We wanted to show you we love and accept you just the way you are,” Mina hugged him tight, and for once he didn't pull away. “And we're sorry for all the stupid comments, we should have realised there was something bigger going on, but we were idiots and bad friends. Can you forgive us?”

“What are you talking about?” he snorted, ruffling her hair with a hint of fondness in his eyes. “You're fine.”

“Aww, I love you too,” she grinned, messing his hair up to match. “You like our little gift, then?”

“I do,” he admitted, pulling it a little tighter around his shoulders. “I'll hang it above my bed, in case shitty Deku goes getting any ideas in his dumb little head.”

“Do we need another for his room?” Hanta teased, finally making his way off the ground to join the little huddle. “Is there room in there with all his merch?”

“Like we would ever get carried away with all those All Might eyes staring at us,” Katsuki laughed surprisingly brightly. “Really, guys, it was... It was nice of you. Um, thank you.”

“Wait, wait, can you say that again?” Eijirou fumbled at his pockets, eyes wide. “I need to record it.”

“Shut the hell up, asshole!”

“Damn it, gone as quick as it came,” he smiled fondly despite his words, clapping Katsuki on the back. “You're the manliest dude I know, Bakubro. I'm proud to call you my friend.”

“Eugh. Someone hand me a bucket, I'm gonna puke.”

“Do you want to see the rest of your present?”

“Huh?”

Each of them pulled out a little package, holding them up with matching grins, and tears pricked at Katsuki's eyes. Eijirou's, big and floppy, wrapped in black. Hanta's, extra small, wrapped in grey. Denki's, thick and squishy, wrapped in white. And Mina's, two tiny packages wrapped in purple, tied together with a matching ribbon.

“Are you guys serious?” he asked, choking a little on his words. “Why?”

“As much as you'd like to deny it, you're the most supportive friend we have,” Mina leaned in, winding an arm around his shoulders knowingly. “You know you were the only person I wasn't afraid to come out to?”

“Like I care who you guys want to date.”

“Exactly.” She pushed the packages into his hand, grinning. “It's just something little, don't worry, we didn't go out and spend millions on you just for fun.”

He unwrapped them carefully, setting the paper and ribbon aside on his desk, covering up the homework he'd apparently abandoned for the foreseeable future. Inside he found two pairs of socks, one in stripes and the other checks, both in those same four colours as his flag and his wrapping paper.

“You guys are idiots,” he grumbled, hugging her without waiting to be asked. “They feel warm, too.”

“I'm glad you like them,” she laughed knowingly. “Alright, who's next? Let's get this party rolling.”

He switched his boring black socks for the fun stripes, setting the second pair down for later, and when he looked up there was a black parcel in his face. Eijirou dropped it in his lap, and he nodded once, unfastening the tape to put the paper aside with Mina's.

He was confused for a moment when he found a dark t-shirt inside, but when he flipped it over he couldn't help but laugh.

In big, bold letters, the same stripes of colour: “Nope.”

“It's great,” he said sincerely, tangling his fingers in the soft fabric. “I'll wear it on my date tonight, see if the nerd notices.”

“My turn, my turn, my turn!” Denki insisted, shoving his messily-wrapped package into Katsuki's hands. “You have no idea how excited I was to find this!”

The moment his hand passed through the paper, Katsuki froze. The material inside was the softest, fluffiest thing he'd ever felt, and when he unfolded it, shaking it out, he found those same stripes once again, too big to even hold in his hands.

“For your bed!” he explained, gesturing toward the plain grey covers that lay on Katsuki's mattress. “Like I said, a stripe of colour to hopefully break up this boring elegant nonsense.”

“It's so soft,” he marvelled, immediately forgetting to look stern and composed when he touched it to his face. “Holy shit it's soft.”

“I knew you'd like it,” Denki laughed. “You always pick the warm stuff!”

“Yeah,” he nodded, hugging it in his arms. “I do. It's, um, it's perfect.”

“Lucky last!” Hanta interrupted, shoving the last little parcel atop his new blanket. “Now you can be all decked out!”

Inside the last gift he found a stripy beanie, just as warm as his socks and blanket, and despite his hair's protests, he pulled it on right away.

“Listen up 'cause I'm only gonna say this once,” he began, cheeks flushed. “Thank you. It's... It's all great. Oh god I sound like such a nerd, what the fuck am I doing with my life?”

“Group hug!” Denki announced, all four of them immediately surrounding him and holding him tight, smothering him in their warmth. “We love you, dude!”

“We love youuu!” the rest chorused, laughing when Katsuki started to squirm.

“Word of advice,” Mina stage-whispered, leaning in close. “Maybe don't wear them all at once. It's a little much, you know?”

He looked up at his mirror across the room, choking on his own laugh as it spluttered its way out, and nodding faintly when he saw his own stupid face.

“Yeah,” he agreed. “I look like a dork. I'll be sure to rotate my options.”

“Alright, we'll leave you in peace now!” Eijirou informed him, dragging the others off Katsuki's poor squashed body. “Finish your homework so you can go on your cute little date! We love you!”

“One day he'll say it back,” Denki sighed dramatically, as Eijirou grabbed him around the waist and hauled him away. “One day!”

“I fuckin' love you assholes too, alright?” he snapped, swallowing hard to force back the stupid well of emotions squeezing at his chest. “I'm never saying it again, don't get used to it!”

All four of them were in tears as the door swung closed, Eijirou ushering them back to their own lives, and when Katsuki hugged his new gifts, he added a fifth.

─────

As they stepped through the massive front doors into the warmth of central heating, Katsuki peeled off his jacket, and immediately Izuku's eyes locked on his chest. It seemed to take him a moment to understand, but then he broke into a wide smile, giggling like a child.

“Where did you get it?”

“Was a gift,” he admitted, running his fingertips down the front of the shirt lightly. “Um, my shitty- my friends, they got me some stuff. To, um, remind me they still love me or some sappy shit like that.”

“That's so cute!” Izuku fawned, leaning in closer. “What else did you get?”

“In a sec.”

They found themselves a little sofa in the corner, setting down their bags, and Katsuki scrolled through his phone for a moment.

“Here,” he mumbled, handing it over. “Picture.”

Izuku teared up as he looked at the photo, framed perfectly as always, taken with some kind of self-timer he could only assume. Katsuki modelled two different socks, his jeans hitched up and feet kicked out to show them off; a stripy beanie pulled down low over his ears, blond hair fighting to escape; and the t-shirt he still wore now, dark with a single word spelled out in four colours: “Nope.”

What surprised Izuku even more, though, than the artsy model in his new pride-wear, was the massive blanket spread across his bed, equally new and another perfect match, a fluffier version of the pretty flag that hung on the wall.

“When did you do all this?”

“This afternoon. The Idiot Squad brought them by while I was studying, and I guess I wanted to put them up right away? Shut up, I know I'm a dork.”

“You're not,” Izuku assured him, kissing his cheek briefly and watching him blush. “You're a super strong, manly, perfect boyfriend, who is well within his rights to celebrate his sexuality and wear his pride colours proudly.”

“Nerd.”

“Look who's talking.”

Katsuki tucked his phone away with a little smile, unable to resist the charms of his dorky boyfriend and his unending levels of support and adoration.

“Alright,” he yawned, stretching his arms behind his head. “What are you in the mood for today?”

“Something fun and light-hearted! Nothing heavy and dramatic.”

“Hmm. Okay.”

“What about you? Anything in particular?”

“Not really,” he shrugged, running a hand through his hair. “Something cheesy, I'm in a sappy mood today.”

“Okay!” Izuku grinned. “I'll find one with a purple cover!”

“Dork.”

With a last little smile, they parted ways, vanishing into the maze of library shelves, and Katsuki marvelled over how massive the place really was. He contemplated different titles, scanned random pages to see if they drew his attention, even conceded to reading a blurb or two on the backs.

When the timer on his phone went off, he collected up his little stack of options and carted it back to the sofa, finding Izuku already waiting with a pile of his own.

“Try one of these!” he beamed, offering Katsuki a pile. “They look cheesy and fun!”

Katsuki swapped piles with him, taking a moment to understand when he looked at the little collection.

Black. Grey. White. Purple.

As much as he wanted to punch Izuku for being a dork, he found himself smiling again, his jaw already aching with how many times it had happened in the past twelve hours alone.

“Nerd,” he said softly, double checking that no one was around before he planted a kiss on Izuku's soft lips.

Izuku accepted the touch, returned it happily, and when Katsuki backed away he simply snuggled in, practically burying himself in Katsuki's side. Katsuki wrapped an arm around him with no hesitation, opening up a book with the other hand, settling in like it was no big deal, when only a few weeks ago he'd been concerned about holding hands.

Katsuki had certainly grown.

For all Izuku's time flustered around pretty girls and eyeing up cute guys, it had only ever really been Kacchan. Years of his life on the internet hadn't offered him much, other than a distaste for poor grammar in fanfic, but it had all been worth it to understand that one word when it mattered most.

Ace.

His Kacchan.

He picked up Katsuki's bookmark from where it sat in the side pocket of his bag, smiling at the shiny purple ribbon that served as a new addition. When Katsuki looked up, Izuku reached for his hand, winding the little strand around his finger twice.

“Marry me, okay? One day.”

Katsuki smirked at him, leaning over to kiss his curls, and nodded just once.

“Purple wedding?” he asked fondly.

“Purple wedding.”