If he's anything like me - BakuDeku

Sore Winner

"I have an idea," Izuku said, breaking the silence that wafted between them. It wasn't an awkward silence, just stressful. They had been lounging in Izuku's bedroom, brainstorming ways to get him back home, and so far, they didn't even manage to scrape up a fiber of a clue. Katsuki had suggested beating Izuku to a pulp, thinking that maybe being on the brink of death would send him back to his reality. It ended with Izuku busting Katsuki's lip with a dirty sucker punch.

So they sat in silence as Katsuki pouted and Izuku thought. Then he had an idea, which caught Katsuki's attention. "Well, what is it, Deku?"

Izuku rolled his eyes. "What was that? You want me to punch you in the fucking face again?"

Katsuki tried to hide his shiver. "Calm down, loser," he spat, hiding the way his voice box trembled. "It's a force of habit. You know I didn't mean anything by it."

"I don't care," Izuku scoffed. "That's not my name, Kat. You know it, and I don't want you to call me that."

Katsuki crossed his arms over his chest, thinking that maybe the defensive stance would actually help him rebuild his fractured confidence. "Well, that isn't my name, either," he said.

Izuku blinked, staring blankly. "Huh?"

"What you called me! That's not my fucking name!"

Izuku tilted his head. "You mean... Kat? Technically it is your name. It's just shortened–"

"I don't want you to call me that," Katsuki huffed. "It doesn't sound right."

"Pfft, okay, Bakugou." Izuku mocked. "Better?"

"No," Katsuki growled. "Call me what my Deku calls me."

"What the hell?! No, that's stupid! I'm not seriously calling you that! It's corny as fuck!"

"No it's not!" Katsuki screamed. "And anyway, you're him! You guys, like, share a brain or something! I don't know!"

"Dude, are you listening to yourself?" Izuku mocked. "This is fucking ridiculous. We have more important things to get to right now."

They fell back into an ocean of silence. It was awkward the second time around. Izuku tried to force the gears in his mind to turn, but he couldn't stop thinking about Katsuki. Kat, actually. He was here, which meant this Katsuki's Deku was with his Kat. Were they getting along? Did Kat like Deku more than he liked Izuku?

Izuku pinched the bridge of his nose. This was getting ridiculous. He and Deku were literally as close to the same person as physically possible. They had the exact same DNA, same fingerprint, same glossy green eyes, and same splotchy freckles. The only difference was their environments.

Izuku was starting to realize that was a big difference.

He wondered if Kat realized it, too. Wherever he was, doing whatever he was doing.

Izuku didn't want to think about it.

"You're an ass," Katsuki said out of nowhere. He didn't lift his gaze from the floor, didn't bother letting Izuku know who he was talking to. For all Izuku knew, Katsuki could've driven himself insane and started talking to his imaginary friends.

Izuku fought back the urge to punch him. Or tease him, for that matter. Getting so upset over a childhood nickname? Over Kacchan? How childish. Of course, Kat wasn't all that mature, but it was a better solution for Izuku's speech impediment than Kacchan. 

But Izuku didn't tease. He noticed how Katsuki changed from calling his freckled boy Deku to his actual name. He was opening up– begrudgingly and painfully slow, but the effort was there. Izuku couldn't punish him with mockery after such a massive step forward.