{Denial} BakuDeku

Epilogue

————

"Go and kill the shit outta him!"

Izuku laughs, jumping when Katsuki smacks his lower back. "Ow!"

"Crybaby," Katsuki teases, a sharp grin on his lips. "Didn't even hit you that hard. Shut up and win, okay Deku?"

Izuku chuckles lightly, placing a chaste kiss on Katsuki's cheek as he slips his head gear on. "Okay, Kacchan."

————

"How was France? I heard that their firework show last week was brilliant." Inko remarks, smiling to herself as Izuku chatters away excitedly, chewing through his food. Since he's growing, two bowls of Katsudon and a plate of steamed broccoli didn't do anything to his weight, instead it helped him grow more muscle.

"When's Katsuki coming over? I heard he-"

"Knock knock, nerd." Izuku perks up significantly, cheeks full of rice that he eagerly swallows down as he heads on over to his boyfriend and gives him an affectionate kiss. "You're back! Did you win?"

"Gold medal, baby," He returns the gesture in a similar fashion, before turning to Inko, respectfully nodding at her in acknowledgement. Inko hesitates, But smiles warmly right back.

Things have cooled down between them, and yet there was a lingering air of formality that made both unable to interact as closely as to when Katsuki was in middle school.

"Congratulations, Katsuki. Here, I'll make an extra bowl for you. You must be tired, right?" She says, voice soft, and Izuku turns to her, glowing with happiness and Inko decides that she wouldn't have it any other way.

————

Katsuki presses their foreheads together, whispering a prayer under his breath before kissing the tip of Izuku's nose.

The other man brushes their cheeks together before pulling away, and Bakugou feels his stomach flip at the sight of Izuku's eyes, soft with the love he had for him and him only. "Fight," he whispers. "Win, Kacchan."

"I will." And Katsuki steps into the spotlight, and the crowd roars.

————

Not all of them ended up in the spotlight.

"Ojiro! Shoji!" Izuku laughs, hugging his ex-classmates, ever the affectionate nerd. The jealousy that Katsuki used to feel had long since dissipated, leaving a fondly smiling Bakugou in it's wake.

The taller one out of the three laughs lightly. "How's police work, Ojiro? Shoji? Oh, the get together's next week and-!"

"Relax, Midoriya." Ojiro grins, patting his shoulder. "Glad to see you too."

———

"Hey. I brought you um, fruit. Mom said that you'd like it."

Hisashi hesitates but nods, and Izuku meekly puts the basket of grapes and mangoes on his bedside table. ".. How are you?"

And Izuku can't help but feel his chest flutter, because for the first time, his dad made an effort to speak- a tremendous effort, since every single time a muscle slightly moves, it triggers the pain in his ribs, making his father weak and vulnerable.

"I'm fine." His phone buzzes. "Oh, Kacchan's already home. I'll just excuse myself, um, Hisashi."

Strained. Stilted. And yet, it wasn't as bad. Izuku doesn't know if he'll ever be close with his dad again- after everything he's put Inko and him through- but there was a mutual respect of boundaries between them, and Hisashi begging for forgiveness a year ago on his knees managed to tug at Izuku's heart strings.