katsudon & izumo soba [KIDA X RORI 1X1]

[donnydobie]

✶✶midoriya izuku
Izuku has fought villains at cosmic proportions, fought in a war, lost an arm, gained it back, gave his quirk to his greatest enemy, and went to the villain route and back. He's lost himself and gained it all back, but it's still—

Kacchan. Nothing else has quite compared to or prepared him for the absolute vision of seeing Bakugo Katsuki in a well-worn tank top and the same sweatpants from high school leaning against his front door. It wouldn't be so bad—not that it's bad at all, actually, but he does feel a little spaghettified—if they had seen each other after graduation, but it's been years. Seen each other in video calls weekly, in passing, sure, but...

Holy moly. Awooga. Those arms. His waist. Izuku feels his cheeks and the tips of his ears warm as he grips his backpack with one hand, the other loosely holding his phone. If he wasn't in the middle of the doorway, he'd be sprinting right back to his apartment to scream into a pillow. This is the type of stuff he dreams about after they video call, and he's here. Kacchan is right in front of him.

He swallows, mouth suddenly dry. He's going to be thinking about this for a while. "The walk was, uh, good. Good. Weather's getting cooler, and it's—" The same color as your hero costume. "Nice. And good."

Kacchan makes a face, probably at how weird Izuku is being, so he shakes himself out of the haze and sets about walking past him into the genkan to take his shoes off. He ducks his head, trying his best to hide whatever flush has made it's way down his neck, and toes his shoes off with some effort. His brain is a bit preoccupied at the moment.

[Kida]

⊗ BAKUGOU KATSUKI

Katsuki's gaze narrows as Izuku speaks, his red eyes following him as he walks past through the doorway. He just barely noticed the flushed look on his face before he entered. What was that? He gently closes the door behind them and locks it, glancing sidelong at his guest. For some godforsaken reason, it feels like his heart has jumped up into his throat and it's all he can hear. How utterly annoying. He deals with so much worse on a daily basis; why was this the situation to stress him out suddenly?

"You can set your stuff down wherever," he mutters, taking a few steps past Deku to stand just outside of the entry area. "Just don't go into my room." A glare is shot over his shoulder as he closes the door to his room, making that boundary very clear. The glare almost immediately softens as he looks his friend up and down; he's gotten... thinner. His eyes look tired. Katsuki wants to ask if he's alright, but the choking feeling from before has returned. He grits his teeth slightly.

The scent of well-cooked eggs drags his attention back to reality and he makes his way into the kitchen, grateful that he left the heat rather low. He takes the pan off the burner to ensure the food doesn't burn, then grabs a couple wide bowls from a cabinet.

"You hungry now, or do you wanna wait?" He calls from the kitchen, his own stomach rumbling just a bit. This felt... weird, having someone else in his space. He wasn't sure if he liked it or not. He was leaning more towards the latter so far.

[donnydobie]

✶✶midoriya izuku
Izuku can feel Kacchan's eyes follow his movements even after he moves into what Izuku assumes is the kitchen, and part of him starts to feel self-conscious. He knows he's lost some muscle mass, but it can't possibly be that noticeable. The hoodie he's wearing isn't that oversized. Sure, he bought it when OFA was still his reality, but his doctor said that the muscle atrophy would be gradual. He supposes he can't help it if Kacchan notices changes like that. They've known each other long enough that it doesn't surprise him, given how perceptive Kacchan is.

He bites his lip, setting his backpack gingerly on the floor next to his shoes. Maybe it hasn't been as gradual as he thought. He should ask his mom next time he sees her. Making a mental note to remind himself once he heads back to his apartment tonight, he shifts his focus to his surroundings.

Izuku is in Kacchan's apartment. It's hard for him to actually make it all make sense in his head, how he got here, but he tries to settle as he uses the space between them to look around. As Izuku hoped, the place is home-y. It's simple, decorated in a personal but minimal fashion that he would expect from Kacchan, a few plants on the balcony and a few personal items set around the place. Izuku zeroes in on a photo frame of them at yuuai that's angled perfectly towards him and it's--

Kacchan is smiling. Back when he didn't have an undercut, or a scar on his face, and when they first started talking again. Kirishima is behind Kacchan, trying to jump on his back. Denki is doubled over, holding his stomach. Izuku had no idea how they'd gotten so close. The part of him that he's tried to bury for years starts to resurface, all righteous anger and jealousy. That should be me, it says. They have no right to touch my kacchan like that!

Izuku swallows around a lump in his throat and blinks rapidly. He cautiously follows the noise (and incredible smell) into the kitchen. Leaning into the entrance, he holds back a smile, expression clearing into something fond.

"It smells so good in here! What did you make? I know we talked on the phone about dinner, but you never really said what you were making." He shifts his position so that he's leaning against the wall, facing Kacchan and taking it all in.

[Kida]

⊗ BAKUGOU KATSUKI

Bakugou suppresses a jump, his focus on the food so intense he nearly forgot about Deku for a moment. "It's, uh--" He recalls the phone call earlier and how Izuku had said he wanted this particular dish. That inkling of pride nags at him again. "Katsudon," he says with a glance over his shoulder, keeping his gaze towards the stove in the hope that he could blame the warmth of his face on the heat from the burner.

He carefully grabs and separates the wider bowls from before, serving a couple scoops of rice from the long-finished cooker into each one. His attention turns back to the warm pan, burner turned off, as he uses a spatula to divide the egg-covered pork cutlets into two servings, scooping and placing them onto each bed of warm rice. Grabbing the finished plates, he brushes past Deku to put them on the table; a breath that he didn't even realize he was holding leaves his chest.

As he walks back into the kitchen to grab silverware, he glances at Deku and nods towards the table, gesturing for him to take a seat. He rolls open the drawer and grabs two sets of chopsticks. There's a moment of hesitation before he decides to grab regular silverware as well. Just in case it's more comfortable for Deku to use.

[donnydobie]

✶✶midoriya izuku
Izuku watches Kacchan move around him with interest, taking note of all the new scars he can see in the kitchen lighting and how gentle his hands have become with experience and age. There's a few new ones on this hands (to be expected, given what he does for a living), small and thin and already fading. A scatter of lines on his knuckles, a large patch of scar tissue on a knuckle on his right thumb. Izuku wonders if that's from their time in yuuai or if it's newer than that. It would make more sense, given how obsessed Izuku was with Kacchan's hands in high school. Something so noticeable would've never gone under his radar.

When Kacchan passes him to set the food on the table (which smells so insanely good), the scar on his shoulder is in full display, still bruise-pink. Izuku swallows and takes a short breath, trying to push the feelings associated with it away. Part of him feels like he can still smell the hospital room, feel the sheets against the slivers of flesh not covered by bandages. He shakes it off. It's just a flash of memory, he shouldn't let it dictate how this night goes.

Feet moving on their own accord after Kacchan gives him the go ahead, he sits down at the able. Here, he can see essentially the entire apartment. It's nice. It's cozy, which isn't something he expected from someone like Kacchan, but Izuku supposes he never really got to see how he decorated his dorm at yuuai.

Also: oh my god, he made katsudon. Izuku thinks he might die. He watches Kacchan walk back to the able with...three sets of flatware?

"What's..." Izuku gapes, cheeks pinking, as Kacchan sets a pair of chopsticks and also a set of western-style cultery. "Oh. "

He hasn't told a single soul about his nerve damage. It's actually something he actively avoids talking about, given the feelings attached to the cause. His mom knows only because she was the one visiting him on the hospital and talking to the doctors, and All Might knows because of course he does. Kacchan was unconscious was most of the ordeal, from what Izuku remembers, hopped up on pain meds and near-constantly distracted by the Bakugou's and his friends from yuuai.

He stares at the flatware. The flatware stares back.

"Ah, Kacchan is so throughful," He looks up and smiles hesitantly, unconsciously waiting for the other boot to fall. "Making me dinner and taking care of me."

[Kida]

⊗ BAKUGOU KATSUKI

Brows furrow and Katsuki shoots Izuku a sharp glare as he grabs a bottle of shichimi from the counter and takes a seat at the table, readying his chopsticks. "Shut up, nerd," he grumbles, looking down towards his meal. A deep exhale leaves his nose as he seasons his food, ignoring Deku's stare as he starts to eat. The eggs were a little dry, he left them on too long. Oh well. The rest was amazing, and the shichimi helped to bring it up to his preferred spice level without subjecting his guest to it.

He poked around at the pork cutlets before eating them, getting lost in thought again. He should make small talk, ask how things have been lately, right? It would be rude not to. He glances over at Izuku's hands, noting the recognizable scars scattered on his skin. He swallows the mouthful of food before speaking.

"So how have you been?" He asks softly, glancing up coolly and meeting his gaze-- green to red-- for just a moment before returning to his food, taking another mouthful of pork, egg, and rice and chewing slowly to savor the taste.

[donnydobie]

✶✶midoriya izuku
Izuku smiles to himself as he tries out the chopsticks, flexing his fingers to see if his grip strength is up to the task. "It's been, um... y'know, a lot of adjusting. They have me in some temp housing while they get a room in the teachers' dorms. Not that I'm ungrateful! I'm happy to just have a place to sleep. Everyone's been so wonderful! Mr. Aizawa still asks about you sometimes."

This much is true--everyone at yuuai is still getting used to Izuku and not Katsuki-and-Izuku in the halls. It's been weird for Izuku, too, not having this constant banter with a more explosive, louder shadow. His brain keeps waiting for Kacchan to show up out of nowhere just to mess with him. (His students have caught on to this, teasing him about his crush on Mr. Dynamight. They don't know how right they are, though he wouldn't admit it unless under the threat of violence. He respects Kacchan too much.)

Izuku adjusts in his seat, hopefully subtly, crossing and uncrossing his ankles. He takes a small bite of katsu and rice, testing his appetite, which seems to be growing the longer he's in the same proximity to his favorite food. Kacchan used his mom's recipe, his brain unhelpfully mentions. He overcooked the eggs because you were too busy taking up the doorway and ogling him like a pervert.

He stares intensely at a drop of condensation before pulling himself together and looking back at Kacchan and taking another bite. The kastudon was seriously good, holy lord.

"How have you been?" He asks, like he doesn't have a external hard drive nearly full of his pro hero work, including articles and news clips. Every interview Kacchan has ever done is stored under his futon. "Pro hero work can't be easy, but I'm sure you're finding a balance. You've always been better at that than me."

[Kida]

⊗ BAKUGOU KATSUKI

Katsuki lets out a soft grunting laugh in response. "I should visit campus sometime," he mutters, thinking back to his former teachers. It would be nice to see them again. He would also love to see Izuku more in his element, not that he'd ever actually say that. To literally anyone. Ever. He starts to chew on another mouthful of food, swallowing right as Izuku asks his next question.

"Been alright here, just annoying," he grumbles. "Some days are fun, and some days are just a drag." He pauses, stopping himself from saying it would be better with Izuku working beside him. Thank God he has an effective filter. Sometimes. Ugh.

He continues eating, savoring the taste of the food and occasionally adding a tad more seasoning to the plate.

"Do you have any work you need to finish before we watch a movie?" He asks absent-mindedly as he slides the last few bites of food around his plate, taking his time to finish so that Deku doesn't feel pressured to eat quickly.

[donnydobie]

✶✶midoriya izuku
Izuku swallows a noise of surprise with another bite of food. He clears this throat quietly before talking. “I mean, ah, technically. My class had a history quiz today and I told another coworker that I’d take care of it, even though it isn’t technically my subject. She had a family event tonight, and she’s been so kind to me that I couldn’t just do nothing, plus I didn’t originally have plans that would interfere with it. I can do it tomorrow since the kids are having a three hour training exercise—“

Rambling, giving too much detail. It’s one of the things he’s been working on letting go of in adulthood. Everything moves so fast, it feels like, not leaving him nearly enough time to say what he wants when he wants how he wants. Izuku swallows around a suddenly very dry throat and takes a drink of water before giving Kacchan a weak smile. He doesn’t want to waste their very precious time together or keep Kacchan anywhere he doesn’t want to be (not that he really could).

“Sorry. To answer the question directly, yes but no. I can catch up on it tomorrow.” The grip he has on his chopsticks is very quickly becoming painful, so he tries to subtly adjust his stiff fingers and wrist. He isn’t sure how successful he is, given how the chopsticks clink onto his bowl, but he supposes that it’s the thought that counts.

“It’s been so interesting following your guy’s rise in the hero rankings! Ochaco and Iida-san called me on my way here and told me how their patrols have been going recently. They seem to be having an easier time with the press than you.” He laughs a little, flexing his hand in his lap and ignoring how his forearm smarts at the angle. It’s a little distracting. “Kirishima-san texts me sometimes, too! Him and Denki-san hang out a lot. They tell me how much of a homebody you’ve become in your…how did they phrase it? Old age?”

Izuku smiles, wrapping his right hand in a neutral position around his waist, resigned to using his left hand to finish off the last bites of katsudon. It’s so good. It tastes exactly like it did the few times Kacchan allowed him to stay over for dinner when they were kids. Izuku takes a moment to look up from the katsudon to assess the Kacchan in front of him, so different from the Kacchan he knew.

The scar on his shoulder is still peeking around the time-worn strap of his tank top. Izuku knows that if he were to pull the collar down a few inches, the large scar in the middle of his chest would be clearly visible, stark against Kastuki’s golden boy skin. It makes his heart hurt. There’s a brief thought about anyone checking up on Kacchan that’s shut down by the numerous reassurances from their classmates, photo and video evidence of him in civvies in restaurants and group outings saved to his phone.

Izuku takes a bite using his left hand, missing the mark by the slightest bit and adjusting at the last second.

[Kida]

⊗ BAKUGOU KATSUKI

Katsuki listens intently, but masks it by finishing his plate at the same time. He tries his best not to grin as Izuku begins to ramble, just like he always has. It used to annoy him back in their school days, but now it was quite endearing...

He notices the clinking of the chopsticks on the bowl, glancing over to catch a glimpse of the unsteadiness of his friend's scarred hands. This is exactly why he provided the silverware, though he wasn't sure if he could do anything else to help at this point. His focus turned back to his food.

An annoyed twitch of his eye surfaces as their mutual friends are mentioned.

"Yeah, well, the press can choke for all I care," he grumbles, stretching his arms upward and rustling his hair with a hand. "If those extras are calling me old behind my back, I'm going to annihilate them." He exhales and places his chopsticks into his now-empty bowl, slowly standing from his seat. A hand idly itches at the scars of his arm and shoulder before he picks up his plate. He'll pick up Deku's once he's finished.

"So you do have work to finish," he says calmly, walking into the kitchen. He really should have asked before inviting him over; he doesn't want to be the reason for Deku overworking or stressing himself. Stupid. "Sorry for making you come over," he mumbles.