A Communication Error - Part 4

[Part 3]

After a long soak in the communal bath, Katsuki was finally starting to feel a little more relaxed. He’d been so on edge all week, with his classmates acting like idiots, so it had been a relief when he’d found the bath empty, ready for him to just sink in and close his eyes and let the hot water soothe his aching muscles. It had become a part of his little weekly ritual, to take a good soak at the end of their week of classes, while other people preferred to run off with their friends to the mall, or to see a movie, or even ran home to see their parents for a day, if they lived locally enough. A lot of them didn’t, and it always made Katsuki feel a little guilty for not visiting his own more often, when they were less than an hour away. He was pretty sure Shouji’s parents were down in Kyushu somewhere, and he knew Kouda’s were up in Iwate, so he always tried to keep quiet about his parental frustrations, for their sake.

Okay, he liked a couple of his classmates, so sue him! It wasn’t like anyone had to know.

As he headed for the elevators, a towel draped around his neck to catch any drips from his hair, he caught a word that made him stop in his tracks, one eye already twitching again. So much for his relaxation.

Type.

“Go on, Midoriya,” Kaminari was encouraging him. “You can tell us, I swear we can keep a secret!”

“Yeah,” Mineta agreed. “We’ve got a huge collection, I bet we’ve got something you’ll like.”

“Collection?”

“Yeah!” Kaminari grinned. “Okay, what if I go first? So I’m really into tall, muscular dudes. A guy who looks like he could just pick me up and snap me in half if he really wanted, but is actually super sweet and gentle, and just uses his strength to help his friends move house and stuff like that, you know?”

“I like someone with a big chest,” Mineta said, as if that was a surprise to anyone. “Especially if they have a cute face, so you get the best of both worlds.”

“Oh, and someone with soft hair, so you can snuggle into them more comfortably,” Kaminari added.

“Idiots,” Katsuki muttered to himself, his good mood already ruined. He’d known he shouldn’t have stopped to listen, but that question had piqued his attention. Stupid.

“A big chest is good,” Izuku agreed quietly, a far away look in his eyes, like he was staring at something no one else could see. “Comfy to lean on when you’re being affectionate.”

“Oh?” Mineta asked, far too eagerly. “Do you have experience with that, Midoriya?”

“I guess so? Doesn’t everyone? Our classmates are always snuggling on the couch and stuff.”

“What else do you like?” Kaminari asked. “I bet you love a good blond.”

“Sure, blond hair is nice,” Izuku agreed. “Everyone always thinks my hair is dyed, it’s probably nice to be blond and not be questioned all the time.”

“I think your hair is great!”

“Thanks, Kaminari.” Izuku chuckled. “That’s sweet of you.”

“It sounds like you’re not sure what your type is,” Mineta suggested. “You don’t have a pattern in the kinds of people you like?”

“Uh... I guess not?”

“Why don’t you come up to my room and we’ll see if we can figure it out? I’ve got plenty of magazines we can look at, too.”

“Magazines? Oh, like the hero journals I get? Sure, that sounds fun! Should I bring my latest editions along too?”

Katsuki opened his mouth to cut in, to help the oblivious nerd out, but another voice beat him to the punch.

“Sorry babes, Midoriya is busy tonight,” Sero announced, showing up just in time to sling an arm around Izuku’s shoulders and start leading him away from the madness. “You promised we were gonna watch that documentary together, remember?”

“Oh! Right! Sorry, Mineta, Kaminari. Rain check? Or you can come watch with us, if you want!”

“Nah, they don’t watch documentaries,” Sero answered for them, ushering Izuku through to the common room. “Too intellectual. I’ve got it all set up for us, grabbed some pillows and a blanket, I even grabbed us some good snacks.”

“That sounds great! Thanks for setting everything up, Sero!”

“My pleasure,” Sero grinned, pinching Izuku’s cheek lightly. “We never get to hang out, it’s about time we got to spend some quality time together.”

“I always love spending quality time with my friends!”

Katsuki was pretty sure that quality time was going to be spent putting his stupid hands on Izuku’s thigh, seeing how far he could take things before Izuku either called him out or got the point – honestly, Katsuki was a little concerned about which one might come first. The nerd could be bare-ass on a bed, sweaty and gasping, and he probably still wouldn’t get the point if it was written on a freaking neon sign on the roof of the bedroom. He wondered if that was his fault, on some level; like he’d been so mean to the poor kid that he could no longer believe anyone might think he was special, like he didn’t fully understand what friendship was and just assumed all the stupid moves his classmates were making were just friendly friends being friends.

Whatever, he decided finally, turning toward the stairs with a scowl. There were worse people Izuku could have ended up spending his night with. At least Sero understood the word ‘no’, he’d back off when Izuku finally caught on and used it.

[Part 5]