Sweetheart

Chapter 3

Katsuki wasn't sure how he'd ended up in this situation. They'd had another fancy dinner, with Deku decked out in another brand new suit – this time, navy blue. The nerd brought two suits with him on his work trip? Ridiculous.

It had just been a simple invite back to his hotel, to check out the fancy onsen and maybe have coffee – or tea, he guessed, since the nerd wasn't a coffee fan. And it had been great, sitting in the hot water, chatting about work.

He wasn't sure when things had changed between them, but as they stood in the elevator on their way up to his room, a scarred hand had rested on his lower back, and for some reason Katsuki hadn't pushed him away.

"You looked really handsome tonight," Deku told him, as if the words were no big deal, as if he said them every day. "And now, of course! You're cute when your hair is all floppy like this! It's getting long, is that on purpose?"

He toyed with the damp strands, and Katsuki still didn't stop him.

"Mm, needs cutting," he mumbled, running his own hand through it in an attempt to spike it back up. It never behaved right after he washed it – or, well, after someone else did. He still felt warm from Deku's gentle touch, humming as he lathered up the blond spikes.

"Been too busy?" Deku asked, moving from playing with his hair to petting it fondly. "I know you're always swamped at work, I'm happy you could find time for me! Two nights in a row, at that!"

"Yeah, well, you have good taste in food," Katsuki smirked. "And apparently a fat wallet."

Deku laughed, and when the elevator door opened he led the way down the hall to his suite. He tapped the keycard over the reader and waved Katsuki in ahead of himself, letting him survey his surroundings. It was clean and white, a lot bigger than his studio apartment, without even a speck of dust or a hair out of place.

"Fancy," Katsuki mumbled, catching a little smile as Deku headed to the kitchen and turned on the jug. "You get left a ton of money by some rich uncle I don't know about, or some shit?"

"No," Deku laughed. "But every time I finished an international job I got a big bonus that went into my savings account, so I'm still getting interest on that. Plus work pays for my flights and hotels and stuff, so everything I earn has gone into savings instead of on bills. And, well, I know I'm only tenth, but as you know, the higher you get in the rankings, the more you start to get paid."

He paused for a moment to pour hot water, sliding a mug across the bench to Katsuki when it was ready.

"Are you having money problems, Kacchan? I'm not sure if you're just teasing or not."

"Not problems," Katsuki huffed. "I'm fine, I'm just not... THIS."

"Hmm," Deku hummed to himself, sitting down on the couch and dragging Katsuki with him. "I missed your birthday, this year. I was in... China, I think? Or maybe Korea."

"It's fine, you know I don't give a shit about birthdays."

"I know, I was just thinking I should get you a present."

"I am not taking your fuckin' money, I'm not desperate, don't you fuckin' dare."

"I'm not stupid, Kacchan," Deku snorted. "I wasn't gonna offer you cash. I was just thinking I haven't seen you relax in a long time, until our bath. You could use a massage or something."

"I don't do that dumb shit."

"No kidding," Deku smirked, watching Katsuki pout a little in response. "You have tomorrow afternoon off, right? I'm gonna book you a spa appointment, just give it a try!"