pandora's box [bakudeku/tododeku] [pt.1 of where's my love fic series]

smoke gets in your eyes

summary: katsuki can't help but feel that something is extremely wrong throughout the day. his fears are confirmed.

notes: this chapter's song: "smoke gets in your eyes" by the platters.

warnings: implications of death, panic attack.

noon, hours before the midoriya housefire.

the slamming of a lunch tray on the table startles mari and aya, making aya let out a squeal at the harsh sound, while mari squeezes her juice box, spraying juice all over her face. mari frowns and gives katsuki a glare, grabbing a napkin to clean some of the juice that spilled onto her face. "what's up your ass today, firecracker?"

"izu isn't at school today," katsuki grumbles as he pulls out the chair, sitting across the two girls. he angrily picks up his chopsticks, muttering a quick 'thank you for the food' before digging in. "sensei said something about his bastard of a father calling in and saying he's sick."

"baku, eat with your mouth closed!" aya scolds as she throws a crumpled napkin at katsuki, who only blocks it instinctively. "how many times do i have to tell you that?" katsuki only flips her off as he angrily eats some more of his spicy ramen.

mari raises her eyebrow at katsuki's blunt rage at izuku's father, deciding to store the information for later, "so? maybe izuku-kun is sick."

katsuki shakes his head, putting some more ramen in his mouth. "he's not fucking sick," he states matter-of-factly.

"really? how do you know?" mari raises one of her eyebrows, a slight smirk pulling at her lips when she notices the tips of katsuki's ears start to turn red. aya notices the sly look on mari's face, holding back a giggle as she speaks up.

"yeah, baku! how do you know? izu-chan doesn't have a phone!"

katsuki drops his gaze to his bowl of ramen, glaring at the bowl as he mutters. mari perks up, raising her glasses to rest on top of her head. "what was that, sparky? i couldn't quite hear you."

"i know that because he stayed over last night!" katsuki says loudly, drawing some attention from some of the surrounding tables. he glares at them, ending any of their curious glances. mari and aya giggle at katsuki, enjoying his flustered reaction.

"oh, he stayed over, huh?" mari draws out the end of her sentence, a teasing smirk on her lips. aya chokes on the juice she's drinking, her hand flying to the nearest napkin to avoid getting any stains on her clothes. "did you finally kiss him?" mari asks, stirring her noodles with her chopsticks mindlessly.

"no, you dumbass," katsuki's face heats up for a second before rolling his eyes. "it wasn't like that," katsuki quickly denies as he picks up his chopsticks again. mari hums, her brown eyes squinting at katsuki suspiciously.

aya cleans her chin with her napkin, her light blue eyes darting to katsuki. "you know, if you never confess to izuku he might just fly away. gone. like the wind."

mari lets out a small chuckle at katsuki's groan, moving her chopsticks to her napkin. "that reminds me," she starts, drawing the attention of the blonde boy and the pink-haired girl. "bakugo, have you thought about what we talked about last time?"

"last time?" katsuki's eyebrows furrow in confusion, his lips turning down into a frown. "what the fuck are you talking about?"

"really? you're playing the clueless card?" mari shakes her head in fake disappointment, ignoring katsuki's harsh curses directed at her.

"we're talking about you figuring out why you got so jealous when toshiaki took midoriya-kun on those dates before he moved away, baku," aya joins in, shooting mari a sly look. "have you figured it out yet?"