Yuanfen [Bakudeku]

Chapter 8

Just as Izuku's done for the day, Katsuki calls him to come inside their meeting room.

"Wha- what happened, Katsuki? Hey- no, I'm not coming inside. Todoroki called me thrice already!" Izuku whines, but Katsuki doesn't stop and continues pulling him into a room with the team.

"Oh- um... Hello." Izuku mumbles in an embarrassing tone. The entire team was looking at him, the coach was there too.

"Oh, Aizawa Sensei, right?" Izuku asks their coach, who nods with an amused smile. Aizawa's rare smile surprises the team, but for the sake of their life, they don't question it. 

"Nice to meet you, Deku," Aizawa replies, Izuku feels a little surprised but doesn't dwell on it. 

"You're what now?" Kirishima immediately questions, turning around so fast they can swear they heard him crack his neck. 

"I'm Izuku Midoriya? People called me Deku when I was in high school." He answers confused.

"So you're the Deku everyone talked about." Kaminari chuckles, confusing Izuku further.

"I- I didn't know you guys knew me. I just thought Aizawa Sensei would've known me, we've met a couple of times."

"Who doesn't know you, kid? You were so famous back then, especially among the coaches. Though I'm surprised how I didn't recognise you until today." Aizawa explains, ruffling Izuku's hair. Izuku immediately pouts, adjusting it back.

"Ah, I grew a lot. I had more greenish hair, it's nearly black now." Izuku giggles, remembering his high school days.

"But- why didn't you turn up for your final match? We were supposed to play with you." Katsuki asks, a little louder than he intended. "The guy they substituted you with was shit. Felt like he was blind or something." Katsuki grumbles.

"Can we not talk about it? Sorry, it's just- a little- you know." Izuku continues mumbling, trailing off, Katsuki's eyes widen before he shuts them tightly. He curtly nods, looking away. 

"Um- yes. Sorry, it's just- never mind. We just wanted to ask you about the match. If you could give us some ideas or something." Katsuki grumbles, walking away when Izuku sits down with them.

Izuku's face drops when he sees Katsuki sit away from him. Katsuki had purposefully walked away from him to sit around the table.

"First, let's start from the first set-" the night went just like that. By the time the meeting got over it was past midnight and Todoroki was beyond pissed.

"Bakugo. You better make sure he reaches somewhere safe, alright? If something happens to him, I'll blame you and make sure his mother finds you, mind you, she's scary when it comes to him." Todoroki had warned, and let Katsuki assure you, Todoroki never gives empty threats.

"Um- Midoriya. I mean- Deku or Izuku or whatever." Katsuki starts, already worsening their relationship.

"Um- Deku is just fine." Izuku chuckles awkwardly, noticing how Katsuki's eyes seemed to wander everywhere but his eyes.

"Right. Deku, how are you getting home?" Katsuki asks, mindlessly walking out of the building towards his car.

"I figured I'll take a cab. I came with the press team, and they left hours ago, so..." Izuku trails off, pointing towards the road, "I'll take my leave, bye Katsuki."

"Wait no. It's nearly 1 in the morning. You won't be able to find any cabs." Katsuki quickly pulls up an excuse. 

"Well." Izuku shows a cab which just picked up one of their teammates. 

"Okay, let me rephrase. You won't be able to find any safe cabs. And I do not want Todoroki or your mom to kill me." Katsuki mumbles, opening the passenger seat for Izuku.

"Oh, you're a gentleman, aren't you, Katsuki?" Izuku teases Katsuki who just grumbles, hopping into the driver's seat.

"Are you ignoring me?" Izuku immediately asks, almost letting Katsuki crash onto a light post.

"What- no? Why would I do that?" Katsuki nervously answers his gaze straight on the road.

"I can see you purposefully walking away from me, pulling up excuses to not talk to me. There are so many more. Why, Katsuki?" Izuku sounded so upset, Katsuki felt a little guilty. Even if they weren't dating (yet) Katsuki shouldn't have avoided him.

"Look- it's just... A huge surprise and I don't think my mind's caught up with it." Katsuki mumbles softly.

"You think I'm pathetic, don't you? One of the best players in the team, losing his position and becoming a news reporter ?" Izuku murmurs, looking away.

"What- no! Don't assume that, Deku. It just-... this is very embarrassing to say, but whenever I talk to you, it feels like talking to a celebrity, alright?"

"Wait- Katsuki, you've got to be kidding me." Izuku chuckles, looking over to Katsuki, who was indeed blushing.

"You avoided me, cause you felt like you were talking to a celebrity? I'm literally a news reporter." Izuku giggles louder.

Now Katsuki snaps, "Well when you word it like that, I don't know what to say. I've always looked up to you, in a way, I guess. Everyone talked about you and stuff. You were the ace I aspired to be." Katsuki admits bashfully, his cheeks heating up.

"Honestly, I feel like it's the other way round. You're so famous and so handsome an-"

"You think I'm handsome?" Katsuki immediately intervenes, glancing at Izuku whose cheeks turn pink.

"I think we've already established that," Izuku yells at Katsuki with a beet-red face, asking him to shut up.

Katsuki laughs a little too hard, almost swerving towards a tree.

"Well, here you go. Get home safe and text me once you reach, alright?"

"Katsuki, you've dropped me in front of the apartment," Izuku says amused.

"I mean, you still need to go up a couple of floors and I'm not sure how safe you're from Todoroki, so, stay safe, alright?" Katsuki mutters with a fond smile.

"I will, Katsuki. Will we be able to meet tomorrow? When's your next practice?" Izuku asks, leaning on the window and talking to Katsuki.

"Well, I don't have practice tomorrow, it's a break. But we can still meet if you're up for it." Katsuki answers smugly.

"Oh? For what?" Izuku asks in a single breath.

"For a date."