Practice!| bkdk

Chapter 2. The First Night

Izuku stares at Katsuki diagonally from where he's still sitting at the table. His mother had started cleaning up and was walking towards the kitchen, just behind him, separating the dining table and kitchen by a marble island counter that Izuku had no idea how they could afford.

"so-"

"Don't!" Katsuki interrupted. "Don't try to make conversation, shitty nerd." He lowered his voice as Inko looked at him.

"R-right..." Izuku chose to ignore what he said-

"Just so you know, I didn't tell her. She just found out."

"Yeah, I guessed as much," Katsuki said with absolutely no malice, which freaked Izuku out a little. It also made him happy because the lack of yelling made this seem almost like a conversation. That was until it hit him that Katsuki was probably avoiding causing conflict with Izuku in fear of Inko's fury.

"Izuku, honey, why don't you show Katsuki your room. He hasn't been here for a while." Inko smiles.

"Okay," was all Izuku could say.

Without indicating for Katsuki to follow him, he gets up, puts his and Katsuki's plate next to the sink, and walks in the direction of his room.

Looking at the All might room tag with the words "Izuku" in what was obviously Inko's handwriting gave Katsuki chills that he'd never admit he had. The deja vu was very much present the moment he walked into the Midoriya household. Not that any of that concerned him

As Izuku opened the door to his room, the sound of a rainstorm outside the open window became clear. The dark room lights up as lightning strikes and casts shadows across the room, dramatically emphasizing Katsuki's dread for the night.

"You can have the bed," Izuku dismally stated.

Izuku left the room for what Katsuki could only assume was for a separate mattress and extra blankets.

He took a quick look around the room, utterly uninterested in what he saw, considering absolutely nothing had changed except for the newly bought All Might figures and posters and- Is that an All Might carpet??

'For someone who loves All Might, you'd think he'd avoid stepping on his face.' Katsuki smirks to himself at the nerd-like behavior. But, of course, it wasn't in a fond way. He just found it amusing how dedicated Deku can be to his favorite hero. Sure Katsuki has a figure of All Might somewhere on his shelf but he'd never go as far as- ALL MIGHT BATHROBE???? Katsuki couldn't think of whether he should be appalled or be crying himself laughing at what he was seeing.

Izuku walked back into the room with another mattress. Katsuki watched from the side of the room, near the end of the bed, as Izuku prepared his own bed. As Izuku covered the mattress with a sheet, Katsuki decided that he was officially getting bored and that he knew his mother might force him to stay here with Deku for even longer unless they at least appeared to be getting along. And so he attempts.

"All might bathrobe nerd? Never thought of you as a pervert." Well, shit, that didn't come out nice at all, not that he really cared.

Izuku tensed from his position over the mattress.

"I thought you didn't want to talk," Izuku said, pushing the limits of Katsuki's temper.

"Yeah, well, I'm bored, and the fucking hag won't let me leave 'til we get along, so I might as well prepare myself to have to pretend. Plus, I'm bored." Katsuki said.

"You said you're bored twice," Izuku said bravely.

"To enunciate it, nerd, read a book."

For the first time in years, they were actually having a conversation. It must have been that Katsuki was strictly not allowed to bully Izuku anymore that that tension was slightly off their shoulders. As well as the fact that something about being in Izuku's childhood room made Katsuki feel a sort of refined comfort. A breath of normality between them.

This embarrassed Katsuki, so his immediate response was to say, "Shut it, you fucking nerd, you're a dumbass anyway."

Izuku was not surprised at the random harsh comment knowing how Katsuki can be. However, the short time they were having a scarcely normal conversation shocked a quiet, hitched breath out of him, deaf to Katsuki's depleting hearing.

As Izuku laid his duvet over the mattress, a small smile found his lips. Despite what Katsuki does to him, or well did to him, he truly does like the guy. He's admirable, strong, determined, charming-

"What are you mumbling about, nerd? Seriously, it's getting on my fucking nerves." Katsuki spits out.

"N-nothing!"

Izuku won't deny that small moments like these make his heart race. He should really get over his social anxiety.