painless.

CHAPTER 012.

"to ask, i need to ask.. um, izuku?." katsuki mumbles the first part to himself, and speaks up in the last. he's walking izuku home from his appointment, like he does everyday.

"what?" izuku smiles, looking up at the younger boy.

"i was wondering-like, it's totally okay if you don't want to, just-um, like,"

"get on with it." izuku nudges katsuki's shoulder, fully expecting what comes next.

"would you go on a date with me? like, a proper date." katsuki asks bashfully, looking izuku in the eye.

"of course." izuku replies, standing up on his tip-toes to give katsuki a little kiss on the tip of his nose.

katsuki just blushes harder than he already had been. "i'll pick you up tomorrow, at five?" katsuki suggests.

"sounds great." izuku responds as the pair walks up to his house. he says goodbye before heading inside, to see his mother sitting at the kitchen table, paperwork laid out in front of her. izuku knows it's for him, it always is.

izuku feels like such a burden sometimes. he doesn't think he's worth all the work his mother puts in for him, or all the money she spends on him. izuku isn't suicidal, really, but sometimes he just thinks the world would be a better place if he wasn't there. there wouldn't be this freaky boy who doesn't feel pain just hanging around everyone. don't get him wrong, izuku really loves life. he's glad he was born. he, just, doesn't know if everyone else is.

"oh, hey izu! how'd your appointment go?" inko smiles.

"it was fine. mitsuki is starting me on that naxo-whatever drug in two days." izuku replies.

"have you gone pee yet today?" inko asks and izuku blushes. that's right, he can't feel when he has to pee, either. it's quite embarrassing. what if his bladder just exploded one day? that would be embarrassing, but not painful. at least, not for izuku.

"yes." he replies, scurrying off to his room. as he sits down on his bed, his phone goes off in his pocket.

from katsuki: wear something medium fancy tomorrow, please. :)

medium fancy? izuku scrunches his eyebrows and texts back what he was just thinking.

from katsuki: a tshirt and nice jeans would be great. :)

izuku smiles at the little smiley face and texts back an 'okay', picking on a black tshirt with the words 'love will tear us apart' written on it, and a pair of black skinnies. he thinks that the term katsuki was looking for is 'casual'. it-a tshirt and jeans-doesn't seem medium fancy to izuku. he supposes that it's between a suit and pajamas.

shrugging it off, izuku sees someone walking up to his house. this guy, he isn't built like katsuki, and he's definitely walking up to izuku's house. before his mom can get to the door, izuku answers it.

"hi! i'm eijiro." the guy introduces himself, sticking his hand out to izuku. izuku shakes it cautiously. "i just wanted to introduce myself. you know, i've been living down the street for five years now, and i've never said a word to you. i figured it was about time."

"uh, alright." izuku replies, prying his hand out of eijiro's when eijiro won't let go.

"so, can i come in?" eijiro asks as he peeks past izuku and into his house.

"sure, yeah. okay." izuku replies awkwardly, smiling at his mother as he and eijiro walk past.

inko doesn't say anything, she's just happy that izuku is making new friends. before katsuki, he just had two. one, named tenya, left for university the past year. he still calls sometimes, but apparently his art major classes and girlfriend ochaco keep him pretty busy. izuku doesn't mind, he figures that if he were at uni he wouldn't think about calling home all the time. and shoto, who's a pretty good friend. like, he's there for izuku when he's needed.

"so, you're friends with katsuki? i'm friends with katsuki, too. y'know, he's in my english class. we sit right next to each other." eijiro babbles. "he's really smart, yeah? his hair is cool, too."

izuku is just kind of listening to eijiro talk about katsukikatsukikatsuki awkwardly, thinking about how creepy this kid is.

"are you obsessed with him?" izuku interrupts as eijiro started to talk about katsuki's height.

"what? no, no way. he's just fascinating, is all." eijiro replies. "so, what are you two? friends, more than friends?"

"friends." izuku responds, surprised eijiro actually left room for izuku to talk.

izuku thinks he might have heard eijiro sigh an "oh, good." but, he's not sure.

"so, enough about katsuki, then." eijiro says and izuku's relieved. he'd rather not listen to eijiro obsess over izuku's... friend? romantic interest? "do you have any siblings? i have two, makoto and hina, and they are both at uni right now. i get lonely at home, y'know? that's part of the reason why i came over."

"part of the reason?" izuku asks aloud, though he didn't mean to.

"yeah, the other part is that i was kicked out of the house for sneaking a bottle of vodka into my room. i came over to meet you and for some hospitality." eijiro lies, but izuku doesn't know he's lying.

"oh. so, when are you allowed back home?"

"who knows, my mom will probably let me back in the house at any time. it's my dad i have to worry about." eijiro says, the lying coming naturally to him. "i'll just go back home in an hour or so, i'm sure my pop won't mind it."

"are you sure?"

"oh, yeah. when makoto was in high school he was quite the troublemaker. i couldn't really do anything that would top what he used to do." eijiro says.

izuku is actually quite annoyed by eijiro; his obsession with katsuki, his rambling and not letting izuku talk, and his all about me attitude all contribute. izuku does feel kind of bad for the guy, though. with a personality like his, does he have any friends?

"...so then, we had to call the cops..." eijiro says, continuing a story that izuku had stopped listening to a few minutes ago.

then, like the lifesaver she is, inko comes to izuku's room.

"it's getting late, and dark. i think it's time for your friend to leave, hun." inko says, referring to eijiro as his friend. ha, yeah, right.

"okay," eijiro responds. "bye, izu!"

izuku winces at the use of the nickname, that is just for katsuki and his mom. not eijiro, no.

"bye." izuku says back, looking at his mom as if to say thank you, and then flopping onto his mattress, thinking about how tomorrow might go.