Palms sweaty

[wannasmash]

WHO: Izuku Midoriya wannasmash & Katsuki Bakugo nitropowered
WHEN: After Mission 004
WHERE: The forest by a river
WHAT: Having a picnic and a gay panic
NOTES\WARNINGS: Anime rivals, MHA spoilers (anime-friendly)

Katsuki asked him out. On a date. Out of nowhere. They were in the middle of dystopian suburbia on a mission, which doesn't make for a nice time, so they didn't plan to do it right away. This left Izuku with way too much time to overthink all this.

And now it's the day of, and he's had to change his shirt to a blue button-down because he got so nervous he sweated through the black one. He keeps trying to smooth down his unruly curls (to no avail) and double checking his notes.

...He made notes.

He wasn't even sure he liked boys, but now he has to overanalyze every time he ever stared at Katsuki and wonder if that was the case all along. Izuku never thought anyone would look at him this way, so he never considered it.

He just thinks Katsuki is one of the most admirable people he knows, and he really doesn't want to blow this. He's always wanted to live up to the challenges he gives him, make sure he's happy, and give him an ass-kicking when he needs it. Isn't that what a good rival does?

He arrives by air at the appointed time with picnic supplies in his backpack. It seems Katsuki is already there in a nice shady spot with a view of the river. Figures he'd be early. Izuku descends in an arc to a soft landing with Float.

"Sorry Kacchan, were you waiting long?" he asks slightly breathless (though not from any exertion). His heart drums against his ribs. He can feel color rising behind his freckles. His instinct is to hide it, but he doesn't want to avoid eye contact with his rival either. He looks at him steadily, because when push comes to shove, he doesn't shrink.

Comments

[nitropowered]

Things get a little less awkward when Izuku finally smiles, then moves to dig out a picnic blanket and spread it out on the grass. The location is nice, with a lazy river drifting by and a nice patch of grass skirted by evergreen and leafy trees - the day is nice too, warm but not too hot, with blue skies and white clouds scudding by. Katsuki had picked a good day for a picnic, at least, and that's something. Maybe the whole thing won't be an embarrassing disaster.

Izuku gets himself settled on the blanket after a moment, and stretches his legs out, toes curling a little inside his socks, and Katsuki watches him, expression still a little serious. He's not sure what to talk about on a date either, or how he's supposed to be acting right now. Katsuki had always pictured going on a date with someone after he decided he liked them and all that crap, not before any of it.

Does he like Izuku? Like that?

Moving almost robotically, Katsuki takes off his shoes and settles down on the blanket after setting the basket he's been carrying down between himself and Izuku so he can dish it out in a bit. But Izuku tells him about one of the moves he'd been practicing to surprise him, and Katsuki blinks a little. Is that what you talk about on dates?

"Oh, really?" he asks, finding himself surprisingly interested, "What kinda move? Or is the whole thing a surprise?"

Katsuki can't help but notice the way Izuku is rubbing at his wrist, though, and withou thinking, he reaches out to take the other boy's hand and pull it towards himself, running a thumb over the spot Izuku had been rubbing. Is it broken? Fractured? Sprained? Knowing this idiot, it's probably one of those things, and he's probably making light of it.

"You better not be hurting yourself."

[wannasmash]

Izuku only has the faintest idea how to do a date. He's aware people talk about whatever activity they're doing on dates, and surely he will get to praising Katsuki's cooking in a moment. But the exercise both of them undoubtedly do in the morning was the first thing he seized upon when scrambling for something to talk about.

Nerd.

Normally Izuku experiences only a momentary flutter in his chest when Katsuki comes into his space in everyday interactions. Just admiration for his rival, surely. In this context, his heart threatens to leap into his throat.

"I—I'm not. It's just a little sore."

He'd normally wave away Katsuki's hand, downplaying it all, but... what if he didn't? Izuku feels like he's going vibrate out of his skin in a pleasant way. He is now faced with the question of what if he didn't always keep a distance? What if he, poorly socialized for most of his childhood, allows someone he trusts to run a thumb along his wrist? Krouse did encourage Izuku to seize the day.

But anyway, he remembers to answer his question.

"Only along the outside here up into my thumb. You know how Blackwhip is on the arms. The rest is a surprise."

He really does want it to be a surprise, and the corner of his mouth rises a little. The smirk is still wholesome on him, but there is a glint of challenge in his eyes like a promise. He could be persuaded to debut his move early, but he wants to try to get it just right.

His nose twitches, and he blinks. "What did you bring? It smells really good."

[nitropowered]

Katsuki kind of hates it, the way he feels like his skin is going to jitter off of him. If there's one thing Katsuki isn't used to, it's being nervous. Usually, he's naturally pretty great at whatever it is he wants to do, but this feels different. This relies on another person altogether, and the fact that the other person is someone he grew up with and bullied for years, with the weight of his recent apology on both of them, doesn't seem to help. Usually, he'd scoff and tell himself he doesn't really give a crap what Deku thinks of him, but this...it's different. More vulnerable. It's not part of the plan, dating isn't something he'd been considering dealing with til he was older.

When Izuku tells him that he's not hurt, that it's just a little sore, Katsuki runs a thumb over it again, red eyes downcast to look at the wrist, and then flicking back up to look at Izuku through blond lashes. A moment later, he realizes he's basically holding Izuku's hand, and he lets go, pursing his lips and looking away abruptly.

"Good. Last thing we need is you incapacitating yourself before the next mission just for some new moves." he says, his voice a little gruff, but sincere enough. The comment on the food has him looking back at the other boy, though, and he reaches for the basket, taking a breath. At least his cooking is something he can be totally confident in, and he smirks a little as he opens the basket.

"Katsudon. It's your favourite, isn't it?" he says, looking into the basket for a moment to make sure the food is still in good shape, "Good. It's still hot."

Reaching in, he pulls out a bowl that's been covered with a towel and a piece of string and hands it over to Izuku before pulling out his own, "I made some castella cake too."

[wannasmash]

He twists his mouth in a face at him, but he can't even argue. He has incapacitated himself unnecessarily in training before. It's annoying when Katsuki is right because he's so damn good at everything.

Izuku is slightly relieved he lets him go, for the sake of his nerves, but he also feels... slightly wanting. It's not a familiar feeling, wanting. He never wants things for himself like this. He blinks several times and looks away to dispel it. His face feels a little warm.

He doesn't want Katsuki to feel weird about this. Izuku considers him his friend, but recalibrating what that means is a long road, along which are Katsuki's apology and his insistence that he has his back. Izuku has a protective streak a mile wide, so of course he wants him to feel at ease—

"Kacchan, you remembered...! Yes, it's my favorite! That's so thoughtful of you..."

His eyes swim with appreciation, awkwardness forgotten to be replaced by his brand of unabashed feeling (which often makes other people awkward). He moves to take his bowl and help with the rest of what they need. It's inevitable they'd brush hands in the process, but Izuku resists the urge to apologize for this. He is determined not to make it awkward. (He's making it awkward.)

"We'd better start right away before it gets cold. Itadakimasu."

It's good. Of course it's good. He's eaten Katsuki's cooking before. There wasn't any doubt.