A Careful EmbrAce - Chapter 3

Izuku was ready to jump in and change the subject, when the teasing began, but to his surprise Katsuki didn't walk out.

"Go on Bakubro," Denki grinned, nudging him playfully. "Share with the class. You're a teenage dude, you must have some kind of kink."

"Being treated with care and affection without trying to get in my pants in return."

The room fell silent, and Izuku gawked at him, lost for any kind of response.

"That was a joke, assholes," Katsuki said finally. "Stop looking at me like that."

"Bakugouuuuuu!" Mina whined, throwing herself on top of him and squeezing him tight. "I'll give you all the love in the world!"

"If you want a hug you should just say sooooo!" Eijirou chimed in, grabbing them both in his strong arms. "I'll give you hugs whenever you want!"

"Get the fuck off me!"

Izuku giggled a little, covering it with his hand, and when Katsuki looked up there was a strange softness in his eyes instead of the deep scowl Izuku had expected. He finally managed to throw the pair off of himself, with a little help from a sympathetic Ochako dragging Mina away, and a small part of Izuku was weirdly jealous. He wished he had the confidence to do the same, to hug Katsuki with no warning, no questions to clarify if it was okay or not first, just grabbing him and holding him warm and tight in his arms.

"Are you okay, Midoriya?" Shouto asked quietly. "You're staring a lot."

"Oh, sh- Um, thanks! I'm okay!"

He froze again when Katsuki squirmed away from his friends' teasing, shuffling over to lean against the sofa at Izuku's side. Izuku flashed him a wobbly smile, and Shouto gave him his usual impassive thumbs-up, excusing himself to talk with Eijirou instead. Izuku wasn't sure if it was intentional or not, but he managed to casually distract Eijirou from his Katsuki-teasing, and Izuku smiled easier when Katsuki relaxed a little.

"Are you busy tonight?" he asked quietly. "Homework or anything?"

Katsuki shook his head, gesturing toward his boisterous friends vaguely.

"Was meant to help these idiots but they decided it's their night off being productive or some shit."

Izuku found a little courage somewhere deep inside, dragging it out before he could think twice.

"You wanna go for a walk? Move our bookstore trip up a day?"

"Sure."

He stood up, walking out without a word, and none of his friends said a word about his disappearance. Izuku was a little more nervous, giving the room a little wave as he slipped out just in case anyone was watching, and hurrying after Katsuki to the front door.

"Did you have a good day?" Izuku asked, cringing at how awkwardly it came out. "I mean, I know we had classes together and everything, but we didn't really get to talk so-"

"It was good," Katsuki cut him off, shoving his hands deep in his pockets when a breeze came their way. "That physics class was alright."

"Yeah!" Izuku grinned, lighting up in a way that made Katsuki look away in a hurry. "It was super interesting! I've been bored in physics for a couple of weeks, but it's finally picking up again!"

"The downside is now I have a couple of idiots breathing down my neck for help with their homework."

"You can always tell them you can't help because you have a date," Izuku teased, shouldering him lightly "I don't mind if you show up and demand a date with me."

"Can the dates be the two of us sitting quietly in your room and avoiding everyone else?"

"Yeah!"

"Sold."

They exchanged a quick little smile, and Izuku's heart soared, a laugh bubbling out of him with no real justification for it, though Katsuki didn't seem to need it.

"Bookstores always smell so good," Izuku hummed, taking a deep breath as they stepped through the doors. "I love that new-paper smell."

"Yeah," Katsuki nodded, running his fingertips along the spines of a shelf of new novels. "What have you been reading lately?"

"I've been on kind of a mystery kick, actually. Had an urge to read some old Sherlock Holmes stuff and branched out from there. You haven't picked anything up in the past two days, I assume?"

"No, been thinking about it since we talked, though."

"Anything special you're in the mood for?"

"Maybe some outrageous fantasy stuff."

"Ah yes, your guilty pleasure," Izuku giggled, only laughing harder when Katsuki rolled his eyes. "It's nothing to be ashamed of!"

"I know that, nerd. We're not in middle school anymore."

"Then why are you so worried about people thinking you're a nerd, still?"

"Haah?! I'm not, asshole!"

"Oh yeah? So if I called you a nerd in front of everyone you wouldn't punch me in the face?"

"Of course I would, otherwise all those shitty extras would think they can do it too."

"So I'm allowed to call you names, but no one else is?"

"Isn't that how dating works?"

Izuku stifled a laugh, biting down on his lower lip, but when Katsuki glanced over a little smile curled at his lips, too.

"I'll pick you something to read," he said after a moment, touching his pocket to make sure his wallet was in it.

"Okay! I'll find you something, too!"

"Alright. Twenty minutes, then we'll meet for coffee in the back."

"Got it!" Izuku grinned, glancing at his phone for the time. "I'll find you the best book ever!"

"You better."

They parted ways, slipping into the maze of shelves and colours, already on the hunt. Izuku knew Katsuki would find him something amazing, he always did, so he had to be extra amazing to keep up.

It took a solid ten minutes for Izuku to realise exactly how cheesy the whole thing was, but he smiled to himself as he mulled it over. Of all people, it had been Katsuki who decided on something as cliche and cute as finding each other new books.

He suspected he should probably avoid describing it that way to Katsuki, though.

When twenty minutes had passed, Izuku still couldn't make a decision, so he sheepishly carried three books to the counter, handing all of them over to buy. He had to buy them before Katsuki saw, otherwise he would absolutely object to the gift.

With his bag in hand, he wove his way through to the little cafe in the back of the store, set up with comfy couches and armchairs so people could make a start on their reading. Katsuki was already waiting for him, sitting on a two-seater couch with a little coffee table in front, a bag of his own resting on the table with two steaming mugs.

"Took you long enough," he smirked, when Izuku sat down beside him with a grin. "Been waiting for you."

"The mugs are still hot," Izuku pointed out, leaning over to pick up his favourite tea. "Can't have been waiting more than a couple of minutes."

"Four."

"Then you should have told me to meet you in sixteen minutes!" Izuku poked his tongue out childishly, before taking a long sip. "Tastes so good! Thanks, Kacchan!"

"It's fine."

He picked up his bag from the table, and for a moment he looked almost apologetic as he held it out.

"I couldn't decide," he explained, mumbling the words like they were embarrassing to him. "So I got both."

"I got three," Izuku giggled, thrusting the bag into his lap and accepting his own. "They all looked so good, I couldn't resist!"

"Fucker, now I'm gonna pick you a third one on the way out."

"Nooo, you paid for the tea and coffee! We're even now!"

Katsuki scowled at him, but still Izuku just smiled sweetly, waiting for Katsuki to collect his thoughts.

"Fine," he conceded. "But I'm planning the next date."

"Oh! Okay! I thought our next date was just gonna be hanging out in my room to avoid your friends? Not that I'm complaining! I'd love to go on another big date with you!"

"Shut up," Katsuki snorted, his frown finally relaxing a little. "The next going-out date, not the next at-home date."

"Okay! Deal!"

Izuku didn't even have the words to describe the way it made him feel, hearing those words. Katsuki was not only going along with the dates Izuku planned and dragged him into, he was actively planning them. Izuku could have died then and there and done it with a smile on his face.

Of course, he'd rather stay alive to go on the date, but that was beside the point.

"I'll give you details when we hang out," Katsuki informed him, with an odd sense of finality to the words. "Just give me a day or two to plan it out."

"Take all the time you need, Kacchan! I'll wait years if you ask me to!"

"Sappy piece of shit."

"Awww, I like you too!"

Katsuki busied himself with his bag of books, sliding the first one out to contemplate. Just as he had when they were kids, he skipped the front cover, ignored the blurb on the back, didn't even look at the first page. He flipped it open about ten pages in, skimming over a few sentences, and finally gave it an approving nod.

"Did I get the Kacchan seal of approval?" Izuku teased, leaning in and batting his eyelashes. "No dragons, I promise."

"You remember that?"

"Of course I remember that!" Izuku gawked at him, stunned by the surprise in Katsuki's face. "You think dragons are an overdone plot device that are only put in there to make people go 'wow! dragons!' and never serve any literary purpose."

"You actually listen to me complain."

"Of course I do!"

Katsuki's cheeks rushed with colour, and Izuku had to lean right forward to see it, Katsuki's head quickly darting away to hide it.

"Shitty classmates just smile and nod and don't give a shit," Katsuki explained quietly. "Don't listen to a word I complain about, then don't understand why I get angry when I have to repeat it a dozen times."

"I listen to all of it, Kacchan," Izuku said sincerely, sitting on his hands to keep from reaching out. "Every word that you'll give me, I want to hear it. And I know you listen to me, too, even if you'd probably deny it in public. You listen to everyone, even when they think you aren't."

"What's with the fuckin' psychoanalysis?" Katsuki huffed, reaching for his dark coffee to distract himself. "Look at your books, make sure you haven't read them yet."

"Okay!"

He poured both of them into his lap, smiling when he saw the shiny colours. One was a brand new release, a mystery he'd been eyeing up since it was first announced, but hadn't gotten around to finding yet. The other was unfamiliar, older, but when he flipped it over to read the back, he was immediately enthralled.

"Kacchan has good taste," Izuku hummed, fingers itching to open it. "I'll read them both tonight!"

"Make them last, nerd," he snorted, reaching into his bag to inspect the next of the purchases. "I'm not gonna buy you a new book every day."

"Hmm, yeah, that would get expensive," Izuku agreed. "Um, maybe a library instead? Since the school one is terrible, we could go to a public one together?"

"You want our first regular date night to be in a library?" Katsuki teased.

"Well it makes sense," Izuku huffed. "We're both huge nerds."

"Shut up."

He paused, watching Izuku giggle at him, then looked down to the book in his lap, open on page fifteen.

"You have pretty good taste too," he admitted. "Or, well, you know my taste, I should say."

"Yeah! I tried my best!"

"Maybe the end of each month," Katsuki mumbled. "I'll look up the biggest library in the city and we can go spend the day there."

"That sounds amazing!"

"It's a date," Katsuki smiled wryly. "Alright, you wanna read for a bit before we go back?"

"Yeah! When do they close?"

"We still have a couple of hours."

"Okay!"

Izuku dithered between his new books, whining quietly as he tried to decide, and Katsuki chuckled at him when he saw the torn look on his face.

"Read the new one," he instructed, poking at the shiny new release. "People online will still be nerding out over it."

"Aha! Clever Kacchan!" he grinned, slotting the older book back into its bag for later. "Okay, new one it is!"

Katsuki pulled the final book from his bag, replacing it with the two he'd already inspected, but he didn't bother to check it out first, just opened it to the first page, ready to start. Izuku felt strangely warm knowing that Katsuki trusted his picks enough to not stress about which one he'd like the best, his smile quickly going from wide and excited to softer and fonder as he watched scarlet eyes drop to the words.

"Do you think I could lean on you?" Izuku asked quietly, cursing his tongue immediately for speaking up. "It's okay if you don't want me to!"

"Yeah," Katsuki answered, without even stopping to contemplate it. "It's fine."

Izuku wanted to sing, when Katsuki shuffled a little closer, giving him room to rest against his shoulder. Despite the layers of fabric between them, from school uniforms not yet abandoned for the evening, their arms pressed together made Izuku so comfortably warm.

He tentatively dropped his head, resting his cheek on Katsuki's shoulder, and still his friend – his boyfriend, he supposed, if they were planning more dates – didn't even flinch. With a little smile on his face, Izuku turned his book in his lap to match, snuggling in to get started.

Waitresses came by to replace their drinks, and other customers came and went, but nobody disturbed the pair on their little couch, flipping pages quietly. Izuku wasn't sure he'd ever felt more at peace than he did that evening, as the sky darkened beyond the little windows, and still they remained together.

"Alright," Katsuki yawned, tucking a receipt into his page to mark his place. "They're about to start closing, we should get out of here."

"Oh! Yeah!" Izuku agreed, shocked when he glanced at the time. "Shoot, I got so caught up in the story!"

"Me too," Katsuki admitted, slipping his book back into the carry bag. "I was gonna say we should get out of their way ten minutes ago, but then he discovered his first fire spell and I was sucked back in."

"Do you always like the fire ones?" Izuku smiled wryly, as he drained his last sip of tea and picked up his bag. "I guess explosive magic isn't very common."

"Fire is always shown in kind of an aggressive way," Katsuki shrugged. "It's the closest to how I fight. I get tired of these little do-good water mages with their peace and tranquility. Can't they give me an asshole who drowns people for once?"

"Maybe you should write a book."

"Like hell, I have no imagination," he scoffed. "And no time, for that matter."

"I wonder if we'll ever have enough time in a day," Izuku smiled wryly, waving to the cashier as they stepped out. "I guess we could argue that we had free time tonight, since we got to come out and read together, but even then I wish we could do it for hours more, you know? Surely date-time is just as important as friend-time and family-time and gym-time and homework-time and-"

"I get it," Katsuki snorted, clapping a hand over his mouth as they walked. "Never enough hours in the day, I know."

When he took his hand away, it lingered between them for a moment, and Izuku just watched curiously as Katsuki's face twisted with some expression he didn't recognise.

"I want to try something," he said after a moment, gathering himself enough to make words. "I don't know if I'll like it, and I don't want you to be upset if I don't, but I just... Can we try it?"

"Of course, Kacchan! What do you want to try?"

"Can you hold my hand?"

Izuku's eyes filled with tears immediately, and Katsuki groaned when he saw it, turning away pointedly.

"Forget I said anything!" he insisted, flooding bright red. "I changed my mind!"

"Of course we can try it, Kacchan!" Izuku sniffed hard, wiping away his tears. "You just surprised me, that's all! I'd love to! And if you don't like it, we can stop!"

"Ugh."

He snatched Izuku's hand all the same, letting them hang linked between the pair as they continued their walk, and Izuku did his best to contain his excitement when Katsuki didn't let go.

It wasn't until the dorms came into view that they finally separated, exchanging awkward little smiles as they parted by a few centimetres, making sure there was a visible space between them where it hadn't been the rest of the night.

"Can I ask what you thought?" Izuku asked, as they climbed the front steps. "Do you want to do it again some time?"

"Yeah," Katsuki nodded, averting his eyes again. "Just, um... I don't want it to lead anywhere, you know?"

"Don't worry, Kacchan, hand-holding isn't a gateway drug," Izuku giggled. "It can just be hand-holding! It's nice to be close to you and be able to hold on to you! It doesn't need to go further than that!"

"Okay," he nodded. "Um, let's do it again, then. Next time."

"I'll be looking forward to it!" Izuku grinned. "We should go get changed and have some food, I think Sato and Sero were cooking tonight!"

"Remind me to bring a barf-bag."

"Sato is a good cook!" Izuku pouted. "You're so mean! And Sero is good at following directions!"

"I guess we'll find out."

Izuku hugged his books to his chest, smiling again when Katsuki reached for the door.

"I had a really nice time, Kacchan."

"Yeah. Um. Me too."

"I'll see you at dinner!"

"See you in five, nerd."