Fresh Air [Izuku Birthday 2025]

It took every bit of Katsuki’s willpower to keep from prying. It was obvious that something was wrong, but it was obvious to Izuku’s friends, too, and they were sure as hell gonna be better at cheering him up than Katsuki was. Katsuki’s only move was “yell at him a bit and make him fight me” which he’d generally been told “wasn’t gentle enough” and all that shit, which usually he wouldn’t care about, but... well, he’d been trying to do better, where Izuku was concerned. Izuku still laughed at him over every stuttered “Izuku”, and teased him every time he slammed his mouth shut to keep from biting the dumb rage bait his classmates kept tormenting him with, but they were... good. That was what mattered the most. The fact that Izuku would laugh at him, and would tease him, probably spoke volumes about just how far they’d come; but the nerds got priority, they got the first opportunity to cheer Izuku up, while Katsuki waited until they failed before he resorted to beating him senseless. It seemed like they were getting close to that stage, though, considering it had been days now and there was still no improvement, still nothing had changed. Behind Izuku’s back, his friends whispered about respecting his privacy and his wishes, but Katsuki just wanted to go grab him by the hair and give him a good shake, hope some answers came rattling on out.

“Maybe he’ll feel a bit better when he gets back,” Iida suggested. “Some fresh air always helps clear the head, right?”

“I guess you’re right,” Uraraka sighed, glancing toward the hallway. “If he’s not back soon, I’ll go up and see how he’s doing.”

Up?

Up.

Katsuki’s chair scraped loudly against the classroom floor as he threw it back, slamming it into Izuku’s desk without a care for if anything got broken. He shoved people out of the way to get to the door, his shoes slipping as he turned in a hurry and sprinted down the hall toward the staircase. Shouts rang out behind him, either asking what was going on or telling him to quit running in the halls, plus he got glares from the teachers he passed, and yelled at by students he slammed out of the way without a care for what happened. He’d deal with any stupid consequences later. He had to run, had to move faster, resisting the urge to use his quirk in the stairwell to blast himself up. He’d light something on fire, no doubt, and then he’d—

You know what? Fuck it.

As soon as he had some clear space, he jumped, launching himself skyward and avoiding the stupid curling staircase and the people who sat in the middle of it for no fucking reason. He vaulted over the topmost railing, barged through the door, and—

“Izuku!”

The freckled face darted up, and Katsuki’s adrenalin quickly faded, his heart rate finally beginning to calm itself a little. Izuku’s eyes were wide, staring up at him in alarm, but Katsuki just stood there, catching his breath, trying to think of something to say that wouldn’t make him sound like an insane person. Not that that really mattered, with Izuku. He always understood.

In the end, he settled for sitting down at Izuku’s side, leaning back against the building and staring out at the cloudy sky. It was that weird kind of thready, slightly translucent cloud, where you could still see peeks of colour breaking through, that Katsuki knew meant they’d get an amazing sunset, if it stuck around for long enough. Izuku, too, turned to look out at it, the two of them just sitting quietly, side-by-side, watching the clouds slowly shift across the sky.

“I know I already apologised,” Katsuki began softly. “But the things I said, when we were kids... I hope you know how sorry I am.”

Izuku’s head whipped around, staring at him again, understanding slowly dawning on his face. It made Katsuki blush, quickly looking away to cover it up. After a moment, he felt warmth against his side, and looked back to find Izuku leaning against him, slowly dropping his head to rest on Katsuki’s shoulder. He still didn’t say anything, but he looked surprisingly peaceful, for the first time in days, so Katsuki just sat dead still, trying his best to not disturb him.

“I’m sorry I scared you,” Izuku said quietly. “I would never. Not then, and especially not now.”

Katsuki lifted a hand, gently setting it on Izuku’s head. He expected to feel a flinch, expected Izuku to tense up and brace for the worst, but Izuku just hummed quietly, staying in his spot. Tentatively, Katsuki shifted his grip, and Izuku’s eyes sank closed as Katsuki stroked his hair awkwardly.

“Do you wanna tell me?” Katsuki asked, a little gruffly. He really wanted to just demand it, but also... well, he kind of liked the peace they’d built. “I’ll uh. Listen.”

“You know I was gonna go home for dinner tonight?”

“Yeah. Teachers change their minds or some shit?”

“No, my mom called.”

“Is she okay?”

He nodded against Katsuki’s shoulder, and Katsuki curled his fingers slightly, combing them through Izuku’s soft hair.

“My dad cancelled again,” he explained, voice barely a whisper.

Fuck.

Izuku’s father had always been a bit of a prick, in Katsuki’s mind. Over the years, he’d gone from visiting every other month, to every quarter, to just for holidays, and finally, just once a year, on Izuku’s birthday. No matter how much he cancelled at other times – and Katsuki hated him for all those cancellations that had made Izuku cry as a kid, and become numb to it as a teenager – he’d never missed a birthday before.

“Asshole,” Katsuki grumbled, in lieu of the yelling and screaming that bubbled up inside of him.

Izuku shuddered a little against him, and Katsuki resisted the urge to wrap an arm around him; the nerd had been getting better about crying over every little thing, but it wasn’t surprising that he’d still break on occasion.

“Bastard never keeps his damn promises,” Katsuki complained. “He’s not worth your tears.”

“I’m not crying,” Izuku assured him. “I’m not even surprised.”

“Yeah,” Katsuki said. “Disappointed.”

“Exactly. You always get me.”

Despite the words, Katsuki still glanced down, surprised to see Izuku’s face clear of tears. He’d been telling the truth, after all. Huh.

“You’ll still have a good time with your mom, at least,” he said. “She’ll probably make you katsudon for dinner.”

“Mm. I was thinking about cancelling. Well, postponing.”

“What? Why?”

“I guess I’m just not in the mood anymore. I don’t want to celebrate.”

Katsuki grimaced. He understood, to some extent, but he knew Izuku would have felt a hell of a lot better if he’d let his friends celebrate with him, if he’d put the sadness aside and embraced the people who cared about him.

“Your nerd squad let you get away with that?” Katsuki asked. “I wondered why there wasn’t any shit going on this morning.”

“Yeah, they respect it. I just told them I don’t feel like celebrating this year.”

“Assholes.”

Izuku giggled, and Katsuki cracked a smile of his own, tugging at Izuku’s hair lightly.

“Text your mom, tell her I’m coming with you.”

“What?”

“We’ll go do something fun, then head over for dinner. You’ll forget all about that shit head.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I want to. Been a while since I spent your birthday with you.”

Izuku paused, and Katsuki could practically hear him overthinking.

“I kind of want to just spend the night in my room, curl up and watch a movie maybe.”

“We will,” Katsuki agreed, feeling Izuku’s head tilt to look up at him. “In your room at home. We’ll stay overnight, All Might will convince the school.”

“You’re not gonna let this go, are you?”

Katsuki finally looked down, smirking, and Izuku smiled faintly, conceding a nod.

“Fine,” he caved. “I’ll send mom a text.”

The bell rang to send them back to class, and Izuku climbed to his feet, looking a tiny bit more cheerful as he held out his hand. Katsuki accepted it immediately, letting Izuku haul him to his feet, and he couldn’t help but chuckle to himself.

“You’re too damn strong,” he said, making Izuku blush. “Stop trying to one-up me.”

“Never!” Izuku answered, grinning and lighting up Katsuki’s entire world again. It just didn’t feel right, not having that smile in his life. “We’d better get back, Kacchan.”

“Yeah,” Katsuki agreed reluctantly, leading the way back down the stairs with their scorch marked railings. “Gimme like ten minutes after class to grab a change of clothes for the night, then we can go.”

“There’s no rush.”

“Sure there is,” Katsuki argued. “More time to curl up in your room.”

“Thanks, Kacchan.”

He could feel all their classmates’ eyes on them, as they returned, and it took him a moment to understand; he’d kind of forgotten how frantically he’d sped out of there. He’d returned with a more content-looking Izuku in tow, though, so hopefully they wouldn’t ask too many questions.

Classes dragged on far longer than usual, as Katsuki got lost in his own head. He hadn’t thought to get the nerd a gift – that had never really been something they did – but now he regretted that. Maybe they could stop for coffee on the way home, and he could buy him one of those fancy colourful monstrosities he loved. It wasn’t much, but it was something.

Finally, the bell was ringing again, and Katsuki brushed off his friends’ attempts to engage him in conversation. He went straight back to his room, changing out of his uniform and shoving a clean one in his backpack for the morning. His toothbrush went in, too, but everything else, he’d be able to borrow from Izuku. No point taking soap to a lived-in apartment, after all.

Izuku was already waiting, when he got downstairs, and Katsuki didn’t understand how. He’d been so damn quick, hadn’t he? Izuku hadn’t hurried out of class the way he had, and they’d both changed out of their uniforms. How the hell had he managed to beat him?

“Deku! Wait!”

They both turned around, despite her only calling Izuku’s name, and then Uraraka was in front of them, breathing a little harder than usual as she held out a little paper gift bag.

“I know you don’t want to celebrate,” she said apologetically. “And if you want to talk about it, at some point, I’m here for you! But I had to at least give you your gift, it’s just something small.”

Izuku accepted, a little shyly, and Katsuki leaned over to peek, when he opened the top. It was lined with green tissue paper, and inside were a few bags of Izuku’s favourite snacks and treats, carefully positioned so he’d be able to see all the labels at first glance.

“Thank you so much, Uraraka,” Izuku said softly, handing the bag to Katsuki so he was free to hug her. “I’m sorry I’ve been a bit weird.”

“It’s okay!” she assured him. “It seems like maybe you’re a tiny bit better now?”

“Yeah,” Izuku agreed, glancing at Katsuki when their hug ended. “Kacchan and I had a talk.”

“I’m glad. You’ve always been so good at cheering him up, Bakugou.”

Katsuki just shrugged, but internally he felt a little proud – of course he was good, he’d known the nerd forever, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t nice that other people noticed it too. Especially Izuku’s closest friends.

“I’m gonna stay over at my mother’s tonight,” Izuku explained, taking the bag back from Katsuki. “This will be perfect to snack on while we have a quiet night in!”

“I’m glad, you deserve a cozy night! And, um, I know it’s... technically not what you said, but... do you think we could do something on the weekend? With the class? If you’re feeling better, I mean.”

Izuku hesitated, but Katsuki reached out, ruffling the nerd’s hair roughly and smirking at him.

“Yeah, he’ll like that,” he answered for him. “Something low-key, yeah? Dinner with the classmates?”

“Sure. That sounds fun,” Izuku agreed, despite a hint of reluctance still in his face. “Thank you. I know you’ve been telling everyone to cool it, I appreciate that.”

“Any time, Deku,” she promised. “I’ll let you go, you don’t want to miss your train!”

“Yeah. Thank you again, Uraraka. It means a lot.”

She waved from the doorway as they left, watching them get safely around the corner, but then it was just Izuku and Katsuki again – Deku and Kacchan, like it was always supposed to be.

“Want to grab coffee?” Katsuki asked, glancing at his watch as they fell into step together. “I’m buying.”

“You don’t have to.”

Katsuki just shrugged, and after a moment, Izuku nodded.

“Sure,” he said. “I heard they’ve got a new seasonal flavour out.”

“Gross,” Katsuki said, grinning as he elbowed Izuku in the ribs. “Drink it black, like an adult.”

“Like a masochist, you mean.”

“Says you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Katsuki just looked at him, and Izuku huffed.

“I don’t hurt myself for fun,” he complained. “It just... happens.”

“Stop it happening.”

“I’m trying, you know that.”

“Yeah,” Katsuki conceded, grimacing. He didn’t like to think about all that shit. “Whatever. Let’s get coffee.”

“Right behind you.”

Their favourite store was just inside the station entrance, where they could grab a couple of cups on the way to the platform, and drink it together as they waited for the train to arrive. Between the stops to change clothes, and then to talk to Uraraka, and then their slow walk to the station, they’d long-since missed the first train they could have run for, but that just meant more time to drink their coffee and hang out.

“The mango one?” Katsuki asked knowingly, getting a sheepish nod from Izuku. “Alright, just this once, since it’s your birthday.”

Izuku laughed, and Katsuki rewarded him with a smile. It was good to hear him happy again, even if it was just for a brief moment at a time.

“Large mango vanilla bean thing,” Katsuki said, when they got to the counter. “Extra cream. And a large black coffee, no sugar.”

He paid for it before Izuku could protest, but still the nerd huffed at him quietly, shoving him lightly with his side. Katsuki just raised an eyebrow at him, though, and Izuku quickly caved.

“Thank you,” he said, when they stepped to the side to wait. “It’s sweet of you.”

“Whatever, nerd, it’s just coffee.”

“Fancy coffee.”

“Putting more words in the name doesn’t make it fancier.”

“Does too!”

It didn’t take long for their cups to arrive, and Izuku smiled as he picked his up, pausing to take photos of it before he inevitably had to stir it and ruin the prettiness. In a moment of weakness, Katsuki poked his own cup into frame, getting another sweet laugh as Izuku snapped pictures of both their drinks together, like the sappy idiot he was. Then, finally, they headed out to the station again, tapping their cards and walking to the platform they’d both frequented so much over the years.

“Are you doing anything good during the summer?” Katsuki asked, when they’d found a couple of seats to wait on. “Just hanging out with your mom?”

“I’m not sure,” Izuku admitted. “I uh, wasn’t sure how long he would hang around.”

“Oh. Well... Asshole.”

“That’s your answer to everything,” Izuku chuckled, leaning in again and bumping their shoulders together. “Do you wanna hear the worst part?”

“If you want to tell me.”

“He didn’t even tell me himself,” Izuku said, his lips twisting into a little frown. “He told my mother, and she had to call me and break the news.”

“That fucker.”

“Makes a change from asshole.”

“Asshole is too good for him,” Katsuki grumbled. “I call the extras at school assholes too.”

“You’ve never liked him, huh?”

“I’ve barely met him,” Katsuki pointed out. “Every year he cancelled on you more and more. You know that, right? And the first time...”

“What?” Izuku asked, when Katsuki cut himself off. “The first time?”

“It was right after you found out,” Katsuki grumbled. “You were sobbing, your mother was sobbing, I was pissed, my parents were lecturing me about how I couldn’t tell you I was mad, and your fucking... sperm donor, he just said ‘sorry, I can’t come home after all’ and it all went south from there.”

“Oh,” Izuku said breathlessly. “I uh, didn’t know you’d noticed that.”

“Of course I fucking noticed,” Katsuki huffed. “It was a shitty move and he only got worse every year from then on. I had, like, the tiniest amount of respect left because I saw how damn happy it made you every time he came back for your birthday, but that’s fucking gone now.”

“Thank you.”

“What?”

“For getting mad for me,” Izuku explained. “Everyone else was just upset and crying and apologising, and that made me cry too. I thought you were mad at me, when it all happened, but hearing you say that... I don’t know, it makes me happy, I guess.”

“I was mad at the fucking universe,” Katsuki said. “I guess I wasn’t the best at showing that, as a kid. I was mad for you, not at you.”

“Yeah. So thank you.”

“Shut up.” Katsuki felt his face get a little warmer, and he shoved at Izuku’s cup, jamming the straw into Izuku’s mouth. “Drink up, train is coming.”

They still had a solid seven minutes, and they both knew it, but Izuku smiled all the same, taking another long sip.

“Thanks for this, Kacchan.”

“It’s just coffee, idiot. Stop thanking me.”

“I didn’t mean the coffee.”

Katsuki paused, glancing over, but Izuku just stared out at the train tracks, a tiny smile waiting on his lips.

“Yeah,” Katsuki said finally. “Any time.”

The train finally pulled in, and Katsuki took both their empty cups, tossing them away in the platform bins before he followed Izuku on board. The trip was mostly silent, just the two of them standing next to each other with their phones in hand, occasionally bumping into each other when they rounded a sharp corner. Katsuki found it oddly comfortable, though, especially when they took turns leaning over to show each other memes and shit, trying to make each other laugh in the silent train car.

Before he knew it, they were climbing the stairs to Izuku’s old apartment, bathed in nostalgia he’d long forgotten about, and—

“Kacchan!”

Katsuki felt his face turn red, only compounded by the stupid arms that wrapped around him, as Inko squeezed him in a tight hug.

“It’s been so long!” she continued, laughing when Katsuki reluctantly hugged her back. “Izuku tells me everything, of course, but it’s so good to see you! Look how tall you’ve gotten! Oh, I’m sorry, I’m doing that typical old-person thing, aren’t I?”

“It’s good to see you too,” Katsuki said, relieved when she finally released him. “How are you?”

“I’m doing well! It’s so good to have you here. And there’s my son! Happy birthday, Izuku! I’m so glad to see you!”

“Hi Mom,” Izuku laughed, hugging her much more tightly than Katsuki. “Thanks for having me. Us. I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too! You’d think after so long, I’d be used to not having you at home, but especially with everything that’s happened, it never seems to get easier.”

“I know the feeling,” Izuku said softly.

“What about you, Kacchan? Do you miss your poor old parents yet?”

“Never,” Katsuki snorted. “Sometimes I think it’d be nice, though. Just two of them to deal with, instead of the whole class.”

“It must get so overwhelming for you,” Inko said sympathetically. “I bet they’re always showing up at your door, too, trying to drag you out to do social stuff, so you probably don’t get any real peace, huh?”

“Izuku been telling you shit?” Katsuki laughed. “You nailed it.”

“Lucky guess,” she assured him. “I know Izuku’s friends do the same thing, but he needs the interaction, so it’s good for him. For you, though, I’m sure just being in classes together and eating lunch together is enough social energy for one day.”

“Too much.”

Inko laughed, and Katsuki cracked another smile of his own, patting her on the shoulder fondly as he stepped inside properly. The pair of them was still hugging, it was getting kind of ridiculous, but Katsuki supposed they both needed it.

“I hope it’s okay, I did buy a cake,” Inko said sheepishly. “I know you said you just wanted a quiet night, but I figured if we forgo the singing, cake is plenty quiet!”

“Thanks, Mom. Cake sounds great.”

“And I’m making enough katsudon for you to take leftovers with you for lunch tomorrow.”

“That sounds amazing.”

“You as well, of course, Kacchan,” she told Katsuki with a grin. “I know Izuku is going to make those puppy eyes at you and try to steal it, but I expect you to eat it, got it?”

“I’ll do my best,” he promised. “I’ve been speed training lately, so I can hopefully stop him swiping it.”

“Wanna bet?” Izuku teased. “I’m still the fastest!”

“Like hell you are.”

She ushered them into the living room, getting them settled on the sofa before she excused herself to the kitchen, checking in on all her dinner prep.

“Been a while since I saw her,” Katsuki said quietly, kicking his feet up into Izuku’s lap and making him whine.

“Yeah?”

“Forgot that she called me that too.”

“Called you—? Oh!” Izuku giggled, and Katsuki felt his face burn in response. “I mean, that’s probably my fault, since she mostly hears about you from me.”

“Tell me about it,” Katsuki smirked, despite his embarrassment. “You never shut up about me.”

“Don’t be mean on my birthday,” Izuku complained, still giggling all the same. “You make it sound so weird!”

“It is weird.”

“Nuh-uh! Normal people talk about their best friends!”

“Is that what we are?”

Izuku froze, regretting the words instantly, and Katsuki sighed. Great, now they were gonna have to do the whole feelings thing again.

“Genuine question,” he clarified. “I mean, we’ve been... everything. Friends, enemies, rivals, friends again. You always say childhood friend when you talk about us. Wasn’t sure where that left us now.”

“Oh. Hmm.”

Katsuki raised an eyebrow, but Izuku didn’t notice, already lost in thought.

“I think I say that because it means the most to me,” Izuku explained. “Saying best friend is great and all, but I could have met you a week ago, you know? But you and I have been together our whole lives, and I guess childhood friend is the closest title I have for that. You’re right, though, it kind of sounds like we were only friends as children, which is probably why I’ve used it for so long, while I didn’t really know what to call us. Maybe I can come up with something better.”

Fuck it.

“Boyfriend?” Katsuki offered.

Izuku squeaked, his whole body going rigid and his face flaming redder than the damn shoes he’d shed in the doorway. Katsuki was about to take it back, about to laugh at off as just trying to embarrass the nerd as usual, but then Izuku was reaching for him, squeezing Katsuki’s hand between his.

“Do you mean it?!” he asked, eyes wider than Katsuki had ever seen them. “Don’t mess with me, Kacchan! That’s mean!”

“Fucking nerd,” Katsuki snorted, eyes darting away to give himself a chance to find a hint of composure. “The entire fucking world knows that I’ve been in love with you forever.”

“What?!”

“Did you think it was casual when I came running after you in the damn rain? When I got stabbed for you? Even the fuckin’ villains knew how much you meant to me. Everyone in the damn country saw it on the news. You’re the only one so blind that you wouldn’t realise. You think so little of yourself, you can’t imagine anyone ever caring about you that much. And if you don’t feel the same, that’s fuckin’ fine or whatever, just say so, but I’m pretty sure you do and we’ve both just been tiptoeing around it forever because we both think we aren’t good enough.”

“You’re Kacchan.”

“And you’re Deku,” Katsuki answered immediately. “Look at yourself, nerd. See what everyone else sees, for once.”

Izuku just stared at him, jaw hanging open, and when Inko returned with two glasses of Izuku’s favourite melon soda in her hands, Katsuki felt guilty for the stupid scene she’d walked herself into.

“Sorry,” he said knowingly, when she looked at Izuku’s stunned face for a little too long. “You know what we’re like.”

She paused, but when she looked down and saw Izuku’s hands still weakly clinging to Katsuki’s one, she smiled.

“I hoped that was why Izuku wanted to bring you over,” she said softly. “Of course, if you were just here as his best friend, I’d have been happy to have you all the same, but I hoped maybe there was something else you wanted to tell me.”

“Well, it’s not technically official yet,” Katsuki said slowly.

“Yes it is!” Izuku burst, clinging a little tighter to Katsuki’s hand. “He’s my boyfriend! I love him! No take-backs! Marry me!”

“Sorry,” Katsuki said again, when Inko chuckled at them. “It’s pretty new.”

“Happy to have you, Kacchan,” Inko said fondly. “Please continue to take good care of my boy.”

“I’m trying, but he makes it damn hard.”

Inko went back to the kitchen, where the smell of katsudon was starting to make Katsuki’s mouth water, and Katsuki allowed himself a moment of weakness, yanking Izuku forward by their joined hands. Izuku collapsed on top of him, but before he could stutter out an apology, Katsuki wrapped his arms around him, holding him close.

Izuku froze at first, all stiff and awkward and not sure what to do, but slowly he began to soften up, to sink into Katsuki’s touch. When he finally ducked his head, tucking it into Katsuki’s shoulder, Katsuki felt like he’d won the greatest victory of his life.

“So,” Katsuki said, a little teasingly. “Boyfriend sound okay?”

“So good,” Izuku whispered. “Thank you, Kacchan.”

“Happy birthday, Izuku.”