I Bet on Losing Dogs

chapter two

It had been a week since the party and the bet was the last thing on Katsuki's mind. He hadn't seen the nerd in months, the only reason he knew Deku still lived next door to him was because of his mom. School was approaching quickly and Katsuki was nothing if not prepared, he didn't have time to worry about the freckle faced geek.

Until now. Katsuki would die before he lost a bet to Sero of all people.

On this sunny day, Katsuki could be found indoors, nose buried in a book.

It was a really nice day, actually. It was a bright Saturday morning, something he never got to spend alone considering the amount of practice he's been enduring for the last couple months. This was a relaxing day, and of course the secretly dorky blonde would be hiding in a bookstore.

This book wasn't just any old book either, it was the new All Might comic that people had been talking about for months. The chatter was mostly online but still popular nonetheless. He couldn't believe it was here and nobody had been making a fuss yet. Was this fate? Was there really nobody in this godforsaken town that knew what good storytelling looked like?

He turned, fully intending on buying the stunning book before any extra could get their hands on it until red eyes met curly green hair. His heart stopped for a split second, eyes drinking in the sight before him. It took him a moment to realize.

That right there, in all his stunning glory, was the Izuku Midoriya.

Deku.

His clothes fit a little tighter around his arms, circle shaped glasses sat low upon his freckled nose as he gazed down at the same All Might comic Katsuki still held in his hands. His full curls shadowed his doe eyes as his lips moved gently, mouthing the dialogue of the comic silently with a smile as he read. The curls stopped just above his shoulder blades, green hair grown out to create what Katsuki assumed was a mullet.

The last time Katsuki had seen him was during christmas break and that's only because they lived next door to each other. Katsuki hadn't seen much of anyone that wasn't his teammates towards the end of the school year or during the summer, mostly because of baseball but also because he was working on college scholarships.

It's the end of summer now. The glasses, the haircut, the body. It was all new. It had only been a few months, how had he changed this much?

Had he been changing the whole time and Katsuki just didn't notice?

He vividly remembered the lonely nights at his desk, starry skies shining out his window along with the view of familiar green, also awake, also studying.

Katsuki swallowed hard at the new sight.

Before he could make a move to speak to the once nerdy boy, he was gone.

Katsuki watched as Izuku's head snapped up before his legs carried him towards a child, the brat couldn't have been no more than 7 years old. He watched as he pushed them out the way, a set display toppling over and crashing down all around him with a bang. The child, probably frightened and mostly shocked, started to cry loudly.

Izuku had been fine at first, he was still smiling at least, but when one stray, hardcover book came down and bonked him right in the head; he was out cold.

That's when Katsuki's feet decided to move and somehow he had managed to catch the falling, reckless bimbo before he hit the floor. Gently laying him on the ground, Katsuki yelled at someone to get him a damn ice pack.

——————

Five minutes had passed and Katsuki was admittedly starting to get worried.