Sweetheart - Part 1

A fic for Shem's birthday! This part is SFW.

─────

Katsuki wasn't sure how he'd ended up in this situation. It had just been a simple invitation, a request to hang out and catch up over dinner – Deku's treat, he had insisted.

It wasn't that Katsuki was broke, but it had certainly been a while since he'd been to an actual restaurant. No one to go with, for one. The grueling process of fighting his way up the charts despite his shitty attitude, for another.

And yeah, okay, he would admit it: The pay was pretty shit. There were so many damn heroes fighting for attention, fighting over villain captures, not to mention having to pay stupidly high insurance costs for his damage-prone quirk.

So yeah, after a ton of nagging from the nerd, he'd caved. He'd put on a button-up shirt he managed to unearth in his closet, had combed his hair (not that it made it much more presentable than when he didn't), and had started his walk.

Halfway there, in the night breeze, he wished he'd forked out for a ride. He didn't like riding trains and busses at the best of times, not now that his face was considered recognisable, and in formalwear? No thank you.

Maybe he should have sucked it up, though. Or else paid for a taxi. He could spend a little cash once in a while, right? It would just mean cutting back a little on his meal budget next month. More carbs, less fresh fruit and vegetables.

It was too late for that now, though, he supposed. He was almost there, and he could suck it up and take a train home, when there were less people around. He just had to get through an hour or so listening to Deku's insane enthusiasm first.

“Kacchan!” Deku bleated, the moment he pushed open the front door. “I'm so happy you came!”

The nerd hadn't changed at all, still short and slim, toned rather than bulky, still baby-faced as all hell.

“Hey,” Katsuki answered finally.

The hostess showed them to a table immediately, and Katsuki blushed when Deku pulled the chair out for him with a big grin, as if he did it every day. It was so damn stupid and cheesy, but Katsuki sat all the same.

“I'm so glad you came,” Deku reiterated, when they were seated opposite each other with drink menus in hand. “It feels like I haven't seen you in forever! I mean, have we met up even once since you moved?”

Katsuki shook his head. He hadn't seen much of anybody since he left town. Miruko had offered to let him be her sidekick, despite her general stance against teaming up with people, and he'd had to admit, it was a damn good offer.

They worked well together, had similar personalities, both worked incredibly hard and weren't afraid to throw down with the people who deserved it. He loved his job, even if the hours were awful and the pay almost as bad.

“Yeah, well,” he snorted quietly. “Wasn't gonna pass up free food, was I?”

Deku giggled, signalling to the waitress, and Katsuki finally glanced down at his menu.

“Do you drink, Kacchan?” Deku asked.

“Sometimes,” he nodded. “Uh, I try not to do it too often.”

“Of course! But we can share some nice wine, right? A toast to our careers finally taking off!”

“Yeah.”

He knew the words were meant genuinely, but they stung all the same. Deku had hardly even needed to try to get noticed. He was All Might's successor, after all. He didn't need to be a sidekick, he just smiled sweetly and beat up assholes.

Katsuki just watched as Deku ordered a bottle of wine that just sounded expensive. He'd never even heard of the damn brand – not that he was exactly a wine connoisseur, he'd have to do some research next time the nerd was in town.

“Did you want anything else, Kacchan?”

“No. Uh, thanks. Wine is good.”

“Okay!”

With a little bow, the waitress stepped away, and Deku turned his full attention back on Katsuki.

“Tell me about work!”

“Miruko is cool,” he began, well aware that it was exactly what the nerd was looking to hear. “We, um, are similar. We fight a lot, but it's... It's good.”

“Are you her first sidekick?”

“She tried a few before me but didn't it didn't work out”

“She seems to like you though!” Deku grinned. “As she should! Everyone should love Kacchan!”

“Shut up, idiot,” he scoffed. “It won't last forever, neither of us is really the teamwork type.”

“But she chose you herself!”

That was fair. Plenty of people had begged her, after all. He knew for a fact that a certain purple-haired cretin had begged her for months until she punched him in the face, and that was after he'd gotten the same reaction from Mt. Lady.

“We talked about it,” he answered truthfully. “She wants to help me get a foot in the door, and then we'll part amicably, before we get sick of each other.”

“I never would have guessed!” Deku gaped at him, eyes wide. “That's so nice!”

“Yeah. I had just hit the top one hundred when she called, she wants to get me into the top fifty. So I guess when I hit fifty we'll go our separate ways.”

Deku had been in the top fifty a month after graduation, but Katsuki knew he wouldn't mention that.

“That won't be much longer!” Deku grinned instead, “you're climbing so fast! Are you excited to go out on your own? Are you gonna come back home? We need some more good heroes, it's been super rough around Tokyo!”

“I don't know yet, I hadn't thought about it.”

“Well, if you need to talk about it, you know where to find me! I don't mind listening to you get your ideas straight!”

“Uh, thanks, I guess.”

The waitress returned, and Deku turned to thank her as she filled their glasses. For the first time in the night Katsuki noticed Deku's suit – clearly brand new, and if he correctly remembered years of nonsense from his parents, expensive.

It was practically made for him – or maybe it was. It was perfectly tailored, if not. Showed off his slim waist, and the dark charcoal of his jacket made his eyes seem extra bright. He smiled when he caught Katsuki looking.

Katsuki turned away with a huff, leaning on his hand to hide his warm cheeks. He felt like they were on a goddamn date with the way the idiot looked at him, so full of warmth and freakin' love.

Then again, he was paying. Shit.

“Am I supposed to fuck you after this or some shit?” he muttered, a little relieved when Deku laughed rather than agree.

“Did you come here even with that in your head?” Deku teased. “You must be really hungry. Or thirsty?”

Katsuki nearly spat out his wine at the way the nerd said it, freakin' winking  at him when he huffed his unamused sigh.

“Maybe I just thought I'd throw the damn dog a bone,” he countered. “Maybe it'll shut you up for a while.”

Deku laughed, and Katsuki buried his face in a menu, a little alarmed when he saw the prices listed by each item. He'd known the place was fancy from the quick search he'd done on his phone, but wow.

“My treat,” Deku reminded him, catching a glimpse of the alarm in his face. “I got a nice bonus at work, and I couldn't think of a better way to spend it than on a super yummy dinner with my oldest friend!”

“Then buy me the lobster,” Katsuki smirked, stabbing his finger at the ridiculous pricetag. “If you're so damn well-off these days.”

“Really? I didn't take you for a lobster man! Or have you never tried it before?”

“Does it matter?”

“No,” Deku smiled wryly. “I can always buy you something else if you don't like it.”

“Cheeky piece of shit. Let me guess, you've eaten all of this fancy crap during your world travels?”

Deku had spent his first year as a Pro jetting around the world to contribute to various hero projects under All Might's guidance. He'd even dragged his mother along with him, and to be honest, Katsuki had never seen Inko happier.

“I have!” Deku agreed easily. “There's lots of yummy food out there, me and Mom wanted to try it all! I gained almost ten kilograms in Europe, but it was so worth it!”

“You're still tiny,” Katsuki snorted. “You need the extra ten.”

“You're not,” Deku grinned, leaning in closer as his eyes raked up and down Katsuki's torso. “I knew you'd gotten buff from TV, but watching you walk in the door just now? Holy shit, Kacchan, you got strong!”

Katsuki found himself blushing again at the praise, feeling oddly like some kind of zoo exhibit under Deku's gaze. Or maybe one of those particularly tasty dishes the man had just been talking about.

“Let me order for you!” Deku continued, as if nothing had happened. “I'll pick you something really good, I promise!”

“Whatever floats your damn boat, nerd.”

Deku actually clapped in his glee, like a damn child.

“You won't regret it!”

Deku ordered with confidence when the waitress returned, rattling off starters and mains and even desserts. Katsuki wasn't sure he'd ever seen the nerd so bold before, without the stuttering or awkward smiles.

It was kind of hot.

Part Two!